Northern leg of Arizona Trail Passage 28
This is an excellent ORHC ride – while flat, very scenic.
Start & finish are 1/4 mile off of Lake Mary Road (county road 3) south of Flagstaff, nearest help or amenities are Mormon Lake village to the N quite aways (15 0r 20 miles) or the USFS station of Happy Jack about the same to the S.
This assumes you have parked at the Gooseberry Springs AZT parking lot off of Lake Mary Road (FS road 92) which is within sight of the pavement, perhaps 1/4 mile of easy dirt road any car can travel on.
Mostly even grade as you head S, there are no intersecting trails, but many dirt roads – follow the AZT signs carefully – at one point you skirt a ranch (fenced) on an old rocky road before returning to singletrack.
It’s quite chunky with rocks in several places – you can roll it, or detour through relatively flat meadows around most obstacles – rocks from baby-head to microwave size mixed with flat meadow and open woodland, with two ponds with tear-round water and frogs, Maxie Tank, and Schuff’s tank (a pond in AZ for livestock is a “tank” and a meadow is a “park”)
Good dog water which *could* be filtered.
The singletrack turns to road at Schuff’s tank (FSR135D) which is the assumed turn-around for this ride.
An option as well for around a 1000ft climb is the ascent of Hutch Mountain at FSR 135 to FSR 135B to the lookout tower.
Elevation ranges from 7500 to around 7800 with he top of Hutch at 8532ft
The AZT to the N is also excellent, crossing Lake Mary Road all the way to FSR 9487K with two excellent water holes along the way, including Van Doren Spring, which looks lie you could swim in it.
Excellent camping all around here, with all supplied available at Mormon Lake.
More Information
Trail Name: Northern leg of Arizona Trail Passage 28
Location: Mormon Lake, AZ, | Map
Type: Narrow trail (< 30"), Start and end at the same point (Out-and-Back)
Rating: Adaptive Level 08
Length: four hours out & back
Steepest Section: Moderate – between 10-30º
Most Off-Camber Section: Mild – under 10º
Terrain: Mostly hardpack, minimal loose sections
Obstacles: Baby heads and/or rock gardens
Help Needed? Nope
Even more info: http://www.aztrail.org
Directions to Trailhead
Follow directions above, trip is around 30 miles S of Flagstaff, AZ.
This is just a small part of the 860 mile long AZT
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