Weather: 74ยบ, sunny
About this Hike: In May we visited the Pinal Mountains with the intention of hiking down Telephone Ridge and back up Icehouse Canyon. The sparse US Forest Service map seemed to indicate this would be possible because while the two trails didn't have a direct junction, it appeared they ran parallel and together at one point. Needless to say, I never found that point and ended up doing Telephone Ridge as an out-and-back.
Today we planned to do Kellner Canyon down and Icehouse back up as a loop. After the dusty drive up FR-651, the two parking spaces at the Kellner trailhead were full. We drove another mile or so up the road and parked at the Icehouse trailhead and decided to do this loop in the opposite direction.
A big purpose of this trip was to see fall color atop the Pinal Mountains. With how hot and dry it's been this year, apparently the trees have taken notice. Maples have a washed out pinkish hue, although a few were bright gold which was prettier. The oaks are just turning brown—no vibrant red this year. And the aspens are still green. Higher up the mountain near Upper Pinal CG the foliage may be a little better.
Regardless, hiking down Icehouse was very steep but very beautiful at the beginning. As high-elevation forest gives way to lower elevations, the trees become more sparse. Deciduous trees give way to ponderosa pine and eventually manzanita and high desert.
Icehouse trail is in need of maintenance. Several large, felled trees across the trail made for interesting obstacles. A water pipeline runs parallel to the trail and fills livestock tanks. Evidence of cows grazing was everywhere. And I mean everywhere. It was awful trying to dodge cowpies the whole time.
As we were nearing the transition point from ponderosa to manzanita, we stumbled upon a clearing with a small cattle herd. A bull was among the grazers. I went off trail high on a ridge in an effort to circumvent the docile cattle. I ended up off Icehouse, but on another trail that All Trails app did not have logged. I was on the link trail between Icehouse and Telephone Ridge. But this is not May, and we had a different route planned today. My hiking partner braved going near the cattle and didn't go off trail.
We picked our way back to Icehouse and had to go near the cattle again. We found the correct trail. The trail turned to a rocky old Jeep road, and rounding a bend, we came across two bessies. There was no way around them, and I didn't want to just pass fearing they'd kick. As we walked closer, the cows kept walking down the road in front of us, looking back inquisitively every so often. We drove cattle for 15-20 minutes and then the one cow let out an annoyed 'mooo' and they both trampled down the thorny brush and into a steep ravine.
The cows now safely behind us, we soon intersected the junction for Kellner Canyon. This was a steep climb back up to the high forest. While the cowpies weren't as prevalent as on Icehouse, and the trail was in better shape overall, there was still plenty of cow evidence. Having to go thru two closed cattle gates was proof they graze on Kellner as well.
There are a lot of awesome trails within the Pinal network. I don't think I'll back on Icehouse anytime soon, although I do look forward to exploring more of this beautiful sky island.
