Weather: 73ยบ, sunny
About this Hike: Just about a year ago to the day we parked at Icehouse CCC and hiked up Pinal Peak via Sixshooter Trail 197. We enjoyed beautiful wildflowers, a flowing stream, and changing flora with the elevation gain. This year we opted to drive FR 651 to the summit of Pinal Peak and work our way down.
With the summit campgrounds being closed right now, we found minimal traffic on the winding, but well-maintained FR 651. I parked the truck in the shaded pines at Pinal Campground, and we set out for an adventure.
The thought was to do Telephone Trail 192 and then loop back up on Icehouse 198. This appeared possible on the USFS map. While the trails are well signed, at least one junction sign was uprooted and propped against a tree in the wrong location. We ended up doing Telephone as an out and back. At least I think it was Telephone. It could have been one of the other aforementioned trails. For next time, I have a map with GPS loaded to a hiking app on my phone for more accurate results.
And speaking of that map, it fell out of my pocket about halfway down the trail. Thankfully with towers atop Pinal Peak, I had perfect cell reception and downloaded a new copy of the USFS map. Even better, I found my paper map littering the trail on the way back up and grabbed it. Leave no trace.
In addition to magnificent trees and cooler temps, we enjoyed views to the south of the Catalina's in not-so-distant Tucson. There also is a small neighborhood of privately-owned cabins on Pinal Peak with some fascinating history
The original plan for Pinal was to camp there. We may try this again when one of the many area campgrounds re-open. There are a lot of trails in the Pinals, and I'd also like to visit the fire lookout on neighboring Signal Peak. Overall, this sky island just south of Globe delivered a better-than-expected day hiking in the pines.
About this Hike: Just about a year ago to the day we parked at Icehouse CCC and hiked up Pinal Peak via Sixshooter Trail 197. We enjoyed beautiful wildflowers, a flowing stream, and changing flora with the elevation gain. This year we opted to drive FR 651 to the summit of Pinal Peak and work our way down.
With the summit campgrounds being closed right now, we found minimal traffic on the winding, but well-maintained FR 651. I parked the truck in the shaded pines at Pinal Campground, and we set out for an adventure.
The thought was to do Telephone Trail 192 and then loop back up on Icehouse 198. This appeared possible on the USFS map. While the trails are well signed, at least one junction sign was uprooted and propped against a tree in the wrong location. We ended up doing Telephone as an out and back. At least I think it was Telephone. It could have been one of the other aforementioned trails. For next time, I have a map with GPS loaded to a hiking app on my phone for more accurate results.
And speaking of that map, it fell out of my pocket about halfway down the trail. Thankfully with towers atop Pinal Peak, I had perfect cell reception and downloaded a new copy of the USFS map. Even better, I found my paper map littering the trail on the way back up and grabbed it. Leave no trace.
In addition to magnificent trees and cooler temps, we enjoyed views to the south of the Catalina's in not-so-distant Tucson. There also is a small neighborhood of privately-owned cabins on Pinal Peak with some fascinating history
The original plan for Pinal was to camp there. We may try this again when one of the many area campgrounds re-open. There are a lot of trails in the Pinals, and I'd also like to visit the fire lookout on neighboring Signal Peak. Overall, this sky island just south of Globe delivered a better-than-expected day hiking in the pines.
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