Weather: 69º - 79º dry, sunny
About this Hike: The title of this post is a bit deceptive. I did not complete the 24+ mile Cabin Loop on Arizona's Mogollon Rim. Hikers choosing to complete the full loop (which has to be done over several days) have the opportunity to explore six historic Forest Service cabins. The cabins are in varying states with some being rebuilt and preserved, to others that are merely a foundation and some crumbling ruins.
Previously I have been to the General Springs Cabin and then a few miles up the trail to the remains of Fred Haught Cabin. These two are among the easiest and most accessible.
All of the cabins on Cabin Loop have some degree of road accessibility, even if only by a properly equipped 4x4. Over the course of two days, I visited the four of cabins that I hadn't previously been to. These include Pinchot Cabin, Aspen Spring Cabin, Dane Spring Cabin, and Buck Spring Cabin. Using several different maps and mapping tools, I compiled routes that involved forest road driving plus hiking to access each cabin.
All Trails is my preferred hiking GPS app. While the Cabin Loop trail is well documented on All Trails, it doesn't have a comprehensive map with the cabin locations dropped as waypoints. I downloaded and printed a map from Coconino National Forest with each cabin location and used this in tandem with the All Trails maps to find each cabin. The print map proved invaluable on this adventure.
Dane Spring and Buck Spring were especially challenging to find. I spent the first hour after parking on a fruitless hike. I drove up FR-321 and parked at an equestrian fence area. My study of the map indicated that by beginning my hike here I was shaving some time/mileage off. There was even a side road with a sign reading "Dane Spring - 1." The topography was challenging, and I was frequently going off trail. I never seemed to be moving in the right direction for Dane Spring.
Finally I backtracked on FR-321 and parked at a signed trailhead. From there I easily found Dane Spring.
This same trailhead also gave access to Buck Spring, and a sign pointed the way. To access Buck Spring I used U-Bar Trail. The Buck Spring segment of U-Bar doesn't even exist on All Trails. I found All Trails' recording feature helpful to build 'bread crumbs' on the map, should I have needed assistance on the return. Thankfully the path was worn enough and there were some markers.
FR-137 also accesses Buck Spring, but this would have been considerable extra road miles from FR-321. Instead I opted to hike, which is much more direct and involves a steep drop into a ravine with a climb back out. Once I reached the Buck Springs meadow I found a well-maintained historic cabin and a campsite with a huge teepee-style tent. Apparently there is good road access into Buck Spring.
The next day I set out to conquer Pinchot Cabin and Aspen Spring Cabin via FR-139. This area is a spaghetti-mess of roads and side roads. My guess is these roads exist to support logging operations and possibly fire suppression.
I again started my hike on U-Bar Trail which has a signed crossing over FR-139. There are grassy meadows around the road here, but parking in one of those is not fire-wise (and likely illegal). I drove another half mile or so north on 139 and found a side road with dirt/rock surrounding. This made a good parking area.
Some of this hike involved trail, but a lot of it was over old forest roads. As I made the descent into the meadow for Pinchot Springs I came across a couple and their campsite just above the meadow. The Pinchot Cabin is still complete, although it is crumbing, especially around the roof.
Another mile and a half hike got me to Aspen Spring Cabin. This mile and a half was the most beautiful part of the hike. It paralleled a flowing creek and meandered through forested meadows.
For the return, I found an access road to Aspen Spring Cabin that took me back up to U-Bar Trail. It shaved considerable mileage off the hike, but also meant missing out on the return thru that beautiful aforementioned scenery. Regardless, I was tired and ready to be finished.
I was also tired of the washboarding on FR-300 Rim Road. The side roads on the Mogollon Rim seemed to be in better shape. Using my map, plus the signage placed by the Forest Service, it looked like I could return to the pavement via FR-139 and FR-95. This ended up being a good choice. It reduced my dirt road driving, and FR-95 is an absolutely stunning drive through Clear Creek Canyon.
This weekend the rim felt foreboding to me. I had plenty of maps, but I was still intimidated by the sheer remoteness. I feel like I sharpened my route-finding skills and ended up discovering some beautiful new places in the process. Of course, Coconino National Forest does a good job of maintaining the roads, signage, etc.
