Drew Canyon and 9350 Campground Trails

Weather:  57º, sun

About this Hike:  To wrap up a holiday week filled with great hikes, I decided to check out Drew Canyon Trail up on the rim. I spotted Drew a few weeks ago on a hike along the Highline Trail. Drew intersects with Highline at a prominent horse gate. 

The map indicated that Drew could be accessed from the top of the rim via the 9350 campground. This assessment was correct. With just a few campers on top of the rim today, parking was easy. I chose to park in campsite #15 since Drew trail literally bisects it. 

Down and back up Drew was just under two miles. It was a little steep going down, but not too bad. Nothing like Turkey Springs a little further west on the rim. 

I popped back up at the 9350 campground with the intention to explore more of the trails in area. There are miles and miles of loop trails including Aspen, Carr Lake, and General Crook. I ended up spending the afternoon exploring a combination of all of the above. 

The trails and junctions are all very well marked with tree blazes and signage. I used one connector trail called Boulder Hop, and that one became hard to follow. Eventually I gave up and just continued off trail toward Aspen Trail knowing it was ahead somewhere, per my hiking GPS. 

The other trails take you through typical, but beautiful, Mogollon Rim country. There are grassy meadows, thick ponderosas, and occasional blue spruces and Douglas firs. There are dry creek beds punctuated with pale rust-colored boulders. There may even be a water feature in a wetter season around Carr Lake. 

Carr Lake is where I reached an overlook point. On the drive up this morning smoke from the Horton Fire was not even visible. Fire reports indicate the fire is mostly low intensity and under control. I did see a few wildland fire crews just before Woods Canyon Lake. 

However, the winds seemed to shift this afternoon. The smoke plume became very visible near Carr Lake overlook. I could also smell the smoke and see the haze amongst the pine trees. I opted to turn back. Heading inland away from the edge of the rim meant clearer air and no smoke. I should also mention that I was careful to respect current fire closure boundaries. 

I've wanted to explore both Drew Canyon and the network of trails around 9350 campground for some time now. While the area should have about five feet of snow over it, I'll take advantage of our warmer-than-average December weather while it lasts. 

O'Leary Peak

Weather:  55º, sun

About this Hike:  I've wanted to check out O'Leary Peak near Flagstaff for a while now. Seems like every time I start planning it, something ends up railroading my plans. 

Today was a completely spur-of-the-moment trip. My truck needed dealer service, so I decided to take it to the Toyota dealer in Flagstaff. I learned this morning that I could rent a Toyota from the dealer while my truck was in for service (I remember a time when service loaners were complimentary!). I took my truck in early, rented a Corolla, and then drove up to O'Leary Peak Trailhead. 

In late December I would expect Flagstaff and its higher elevations to be buried in snow. But this year it is in the 50s and sunny. Even the San Francisco Peaks had but small patches of snow on them. While not good for Arizona's water supply and fire risk, I opted to take advantage of the unseasonable temps. 

O'Leary Peak Trailhead is right before the Sunset Crater National Monument. The trail to the peak is a road that rangers use to access the fire lookout at the summit. It's a decent road composed of colorful volcanic cinders. It only gets rutted and steep at the very end. That said, don't plan on driving it. Far as I know, the gate stays closed and is only opened when a ranger passes through enroute to the tower. 

I've read this is a boring hike due to it following a road. I would have to beg to differ. The hike starts out with amazing views of an old lava flow. If you don't feel like paying for Sunset Crater entrance, this is a great way to enjoy some similar scenery for free. The ancient lava is contrasted by ponderosa pine and aspens. About two miles up lookout for an old mine shaft. I wish I would've taken some time to poke my head in, but those old shafts always make me nervous. They seem like ready-made mountain lion dens.

Ascending the road, the views into the geological features that make up Sunset Crater become more apparent. Ancient volcanic mountains with crater-like depressions in the middle become ever more visible. The San Francisco Peaks are visible to the southwest, while Grand Canyon may be visible to the northwest. 

There is a large fire lookout at the summit along with some nice rocks for seating areas. The shutters were rolled down on the tower, but the staircase was open. I opted not to climb it. I have extreme fear of heights, and as neat of an experience as going up those towers is, the see-thru metal grate stairs freak me out. 

I signed the log book and enjoyed the views from the summit for a bit to get rested up. I had conquered five miles and 2K feet of elevation gain to summit O'Leary is just over an hour. I was paying by the hour on that rental car and so time was of the essence. 

The trip down took about the same amount of time. I found it a lot less punishing on my feet than the typical rough, rocky trail descent can be. Chalk it up to that relatively smooth cinder/gravel road. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this hike and was so happy to finally check this one off the list. 

Mazatzal Divide via City Creek and Pole Hollow

Weather:  71º, sun

About this Hike:  Just about a year ago I noted the City Creek Trailhead when exploring the ruins at Doll Baby Trailhead. I was intrigued and planned to come back.

A high in the 70s around Christmas is too warm for Phoenix. It's even worse when you're reaching these kind of temperatures in the high country. Regardless, warmer temps meant today was a good today to visit City Creek and hike up this section of Mazatzal Divide. 

I read some reports of the trail being overgrown. However, the trail was in pretty good shape, likely having received recent maintenance. 

It's the usual Mazatzal scrub and grassland with some juniper and the occasional pinon pine thrown in. There are some cool swirly red rock formations within the first couple miles. The climb is never overly steep, but rather steady. 

At 4.2 miles the overgrowth began to get worse. Still not impassable by any means, just the annoying mix of manzanita and live oak encroachment. I had wanted to get to the Red Hills junction as my goal for today. However, I was bored of this hike. I got my binoculars out and studied the summit of North Peak, some other distant ridges, and the plume of smoke from Horton Fire. 

I opted to turn back. Many times the return hike seems to go by quicker. Not this one. I was ready to be done with this. Besides boredom, I noted the Pole Hollow Canyon trailhead on the drive in. I wanted to check this out as well.

The Pole Hole trailhead along Doll Baby Ranch Road can only accommodate one vehicle. Luckily I was the only one there today. I hiked in for maybe a mile. I observed some interesting pale cliff faces and thickets of young Arizona cypress trees. There were also some cattle grazing along the creek and their 'cow pies' were everywhere. Interestingly, Pole Hollow is not mapped on All Trails, but it is mapped on Google Maps. The trail runs about three miles down to the Mineral Creek Trailhead.

If I'm looking for an easy close to home hike in the near future, I may consider doing the full length of Pole Hollow as an out and back. My plan is to start at Mineral Creek so as to avoid the rutted section of Doll Baby and to ensure enough parking.