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Home , Christopher Creek, Horton Creek (Arizona), Mogollon Rim

The

The Mogollon rim stretches about 200 miles from near Flagstaff to the White Mountains in eastern . The trails described herein cover about 50 miles of the rim located north and east of Payson to the intersection of Rim Road and route 260 at the eastern end.

In the GPS files attached to this file there are 37 separate tracks covering more than 140 miles. The Highline trail is the longest at more than 50 miles between the Pine and 260 trailheads. It runs between 1,000 and 1,500 feet below the rim. There are tracks for 12 trails that connect the Highline to the rim and 2 more that reach the Highline from below and 3 intermediate trails that go to a rim connector trail. Also 7 GPS tracks connect trailheads on top of the rim to make possible the 6 loop hikes described in this guide below. These top connector tracks are a combination of Rim road, other dirt roads, the General Crook trail, Rim Vista trail and/or some easy off trail parts. The Highline itself has been split into 7 logical tracks to keep good resolution on each segment with 500 or fewer track points to allow them to be transferred to modern Garmin mapping GPS units. Also the 7 tracks in the Cabin Loop described in the other file on this website are included so one file would contain all tracks. There are a few minor trails that are not included but may be added in a future version.

Who’s in charge?

That is a good question for this part of the Mogollon rim. Three national forests share management of this territory. Everything below the rim is managed by the (NF). This includes all of the Highline trail and most of the distance in each of the trails that go up to the rim. After reaching this well defined rim management changes. Everything west of Knoll Lake and on top is managed by the Coconino NF including the entire cabin loop. East of Knoll Lake and also on top of the rim belongs to the Sitgreaves NF including the entire Promontory Butte.

Campsites

There are a large number of Forest Service campgrounds in the area. See Tonto, Sitgreaves and Coconino websites for a listing of these. Also open camping is permitted throughout and you can backpack just about anywhere or find car camping spots near the trailheads or at numerous spots off the sizeable network of dirt roads on top of the rim. If winter weather brings enough snow, the dirt roads on top of the rim are not cleared and the Coconino NF will close them until the snow melts and the roads dry out which is usually in late April. The Coconino NF office is very good about posting road closures and openings on a timely basis on their website.

The Trails and GPS tracks

Cabin Loop (yellow) – Described in the other guide on this website has 7 GPS tracks

Highline Trail (black) – Is 50 miles long and has 7 GPS tracks designated HL1 through HL7 in the attached GPS files.

Trails Connecting to the Highline Trail (red) – Fourteen trails that connect to the Highline. Twelve go from the Highline to the Rim and 2 come from below the Highline to connect to it. An additional 2 tracks (West Milk Ranch and Geronimo) go from the Highline to one of the trails that continue to the top of the rim.

Top Connector Tracks (blue) – Prefixed with an “X” there are 7 tracks that connect to trailheads on top of the rim. These are a mixture of the General Crook or Rim Vista trails, Rim road and/or other dirt roads and/or some easy off trail segments. These tracks allow for day hiking loops that include the Highline trail, a trail going to the top of the rim and then across it to a trail going down to the Highline to complete a loop.

There must be a thousand ways to hike these trails. Many hikers have done a multi‐day backpack of the complete Highline trail and that is great. I have not backpacked the Highline but I have done many day hikes on the rim and my favorites are the loop hikes. These loops are filled with constantly changing scenery including very pleasant hiking in dense forest, great panoramic views from the rim itself, nice water at springs, rivers, creeks and intermittent streams. Hiked at the right time and place and you might also enjoy spectacular fall color and deer or elk sightings.

Not the entire Highline trail is that nice though. Forest fires have taken their toll over the years. The largest one was the Dude fire in June, 1990 that affected much of the area between the Washington Park and Hatchery trailheads. It is almost 19 years later and there has been significant re‐growth. But sections along the way can be an obstacle course as you must hike around deadfall. Also the low growth includes tall grasses that obscure the trail at times. In these sections there are trail markers that help including the silver diamonds nailed to trees, yellow or orange plastic ribbons, cairns, and forest service trail signs with trail number 31 and/or Highline trail. All of these markers are reliable. There are blue plastic ribbons in a few spots that I found confusing so I would ignore those. There is supposed to be a trail sign at all trail intersections but some of those have disappeared in the last two years and I don’t know why.

The GPS tracks included here were recorded by me with care including re‐hiking a couple of trails I found confusing. To the best of my knowledge, they are accurate. A good way to use them is to transfer the ones you will hike on a given day to a mapping GPS and assign them a color that shows up well on your screen. While using your GPS to follow a track, stay zoomed in at 80 or 120 feet or 50 feet if satellite reception is excellent (meaning GPS error is 10 to 20 feet). Zooming in too close will make you think you are off trail when what you are seeing is normal GPS error. Zooming out too far and you will have to drift far off the trail before you realize that you are off trail. At 80 or 120 feet you will know you are off the mark fairly quickly.

Moderate Day Hikes

Sinkhole‐Drew Loop: The hike starts at the 260 trailhead and goes up about a thousand feet to rim. From there we hike along the Rim Vista trail, a paved walkway with beautiful views from the rim. This trail ends after a while and the path to the upper Drew Canyon trailhead becomes an easy off trail adventure. Two tracks are provided from hikes done in 2005 and 2008. Either of these or anything in between these will get you to Forest Road 9350, a well traveled dirt road leading to the rim, numbered campsites on the rim in the Sitgreaves NF and the Drew trailhead indicated by a large sign on the right (north) side of that road. Hike down the Drew trail to the intersection with the Highline trail and turn left (east) on the Highline trail for the return trip to the trailhead. The Drew/Highline intersection has no sign at the present time and can easily be missed. The tracks for these trails will tell you exactly where that intersection is and you must turn east to return to the trailhead. If you see a silver diamond marker (indicating the Highline trail) nailed to a tree before making a left turn you have passed that intersection and are heading west so turn back and go east on the Highline. At just under 13 miles this is a moderate hike. See Canyon‐Drew Canyon Loop: After starting at the See Canyon trailhead the trail crosses and goes northwest up See Canyon gaining about 1,700 feet to reach the rim at 7,900 feet elevation. Just before reaching Rim road we turn right heading east on the General Crook trail marked by Chevron markers nailed to the trees. At a pointed indicated in the track we hike down a dirt road currently closed toward the rim. Reaching the rim we hike more than a mile on the dirt road along the rim (FR9350) to the sign on the left (north) side of the road indicating the Drew Canyon trail. Hike down the Drew to the Highline (unsigned and hard to see intersection). Continuing straight here has you heading west on the Highline going back to the See Canyon trailhead. This is a moderate 11 mile hike. You can do a side trip to See Spring at the beginning of the hike at the signed intersection. This adds a mile to the trip or ½ mile out and back.

Horton Creek‐Derrick Loop: The trail goes from the Horton Creek trailhead to the Highline trail and only a few hundred feet past that is Horton Spring, a beautiful site with water gushing out of the hillside year round. This is the most popular trail and destination in rim country. There are many camping sites along the creek and near the spring to enjoy. After a visit to the spring you hike east on the Highline trail to its intersection with the Derrick trail. Trail signs once there have disappeared but the tracks will identify it exactly. Then you hike south on the Derrick trail back to the trailhead. This is 8.5 miles and the easiest of all loops described here. Hiking groups do this loop on a fairly regular basis.

West Webber‐Donahue Loop: I prefer to start this hike at the Geronimo trailhead (13.6 miles total) but it can also be started on top of the rim at the upper trailhead of the Webber trail on Milk Ranch road (12.8 miles total). Starting on top means hiking down to the Highline at the beginning of the hike and climbing back up at the end. From the Geronimo trailhead you hike west on the Highline trail crossing Webber creek in only a few hundred feet and follow it for 0.4 miles to the intersection with the Geronimo trail. Stay on Geronimo to the West Milk Ranch trail (this trail joins the West Webber in 1.5 miles) or past that to the West Webber trail. There is almost no difference in distance or elevation no matter which way you go but the lower part of the West Webber has more deadfall than the West Milk Ranch which I prefer. Past the intersection of these trails the West Weber climbs steeply to the rim and on to Milk Ranch road. At the top we hike Milk Ranch road west for 0.4 miles to where it trifurcates and then take the middle fork (the one with the road gate which is open most of the time). Hike 0.6 miles down this road always staying right when it forks several times. There is a pile of rocks blocking the road at this point and that is the Donohue trailhead with a post but no signs. Behind the rocks is the Donohue trail which you will hike all the way down to the Highline trail and then hike east back to the trailhead to complete the loop. This hike is somewhere between moderate and strenuous because accumulated elevation is about 3,400 feet due to elevation changes on the Highline itself. Do this hike in the 3rd or 4th week of October and you will enjoy a brilliant fall color hike especially on the West Milk Ranch or West Webber trails. A short distance past the Geronimo trailhead is Camp Geronimo, a 200 acre Boy Scout camp with considerable facilities.

Pine Canyon Car Shuttle: Starts from the Pine trailhead and goes for 8 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation which can be done uphill or downhill. Drop a car at one end and hike to it from the top or bottom. I prefer uphill. This area is also spectacular in the fall.

Strenuous Day Hikes

These hikes are not for everybody. There are 2 difficult trails going from the Highline to the Rim. These are the See Spring trail which is very steep and the Promontory Butte trail which is very steep with loose rocks, partially eroded trail on steep slopes and deadfall to negotiate. I do these trails slowly and carefully but there is risk involved, especially on the Promontory Butte trail. So stay away unless you are willing to take some risk here.

See Canyon‐Promontory Butte Loop: Starts from the See Canyon trailhead hiking up the See Canyon trail to the upper trailhead at Rim Road. West on Rim road for about ½ mile to Southwest on FR76. As indicated in the track there is a right turn onto FR76B off of the main road and there is no sign there. FR76B will go directly to the Promontory Butte trail which descends 1,150 feet in 0.75 miles and a risky trail for reasons mentioned above. At the intersection with the Highline trail proceed left (east) back to the See Canyon trailhead. This hike is about 13.5 miles.

Horton Spring‐Babe Haught Loop: Starting from the Hatchery trailhead I went west on the Highline trail to the Horton Spring trail. A visit to Horton Spring is always a good thing. Then follow the very steep Horton Spring trail to Rim Road and hike the road which offers plenty of views from the rim to the Babe Haught trail. Turn south and hike the Babe Haught trail following the track and/or the many rock cairns until the trail reaches a point and begins a steep descent. Trail following is easy after that. This loop is a little over 10 miles and is strenuous mostly because of the Horton Spring trail.

Horton Derrick Super Loop: The most strenuous of all hikes listed this hike starts at the Horton Creek trailhead, goes up the Horton Creek trail then continues onto the very steep Horton Springs trail to rim road. Then it travels east on Rim Road cutting over off trail a short distance to FR76 and FR76B to the Promontory Butte trail for a very steep and risky descent back to the Highline and going west to the unsigned intersection with the Derrick trail which goes back to the trailhead. This hike is a little less than 15 miles and is only for experienced hikers in good shape.

Additional Resources: HAZ and Highline Guide

There is a very good Guide to the Highline Trail available on the Tonto NF website. It has additional information not covered here but does not provide GPS tracks or any guidance for hiking between trailheads on top of the rim. The hikearizona.com website, short name HAZ, has an alphabetical index to hike descriptions in all of Arizona as well as other sites. Joining this is free and it is the best I’ve seen for getting information about all trails in Arizona and other states as well. I have posted there on many occasions.

GPS Tracks in Attached Files

Track Based Short Name Comments Track Points Mileage

Cabin Loop Trails 91 Barbershop Tricky navigation, use GPS and this track 433 3.9 91 Buck Springs Cabin Barbershop extended to Buck Springs Cabin 126 1.0 141 Fred Haught Easy 481 6.6 130 General Crook Partly Gen Crook Trail 307 4.5 Haught Cabin Haught Cabin Spur off Fred Haught Trail 31 0.3 171 Houston Brothers Easy, long 489 7.5 28 Ubar Moderate, long 429 7.5 Cabin Loop Total 2,296 31.3

Trails Connecting to the Highline Trail 43 Babe Haught Moderate 380 2.5 290&390 Col Devin&RR Colonel Devin & Railroad 173 2.3 33 Derrick2TH Derrick to Horton Creek TH 315 2.2 27 Donohue Moderate 340 2.0 291 Drew Moderate 160 1.0 240 Geronimo Easy 191 2.0 285 Horton Creek Moderate 427 3.4 292 Horton Springs Difficult, very steep 455 1.2 30 Myrtle Moderate, deadfall 358 1.3 26 Pine Canyon Moderate 499 7.9 278 Promontory Butte Diffcult, very steep, loose rocks, deadfall, risky 272 0.8 184 See Canyon Moderate 465 3.5 179 Sinkhole Military Sinkhole 306 2.3 217 Turkey Moderate 154 2.0 West Milk Ranch Boy Scout Trail from Geronimo to West Weber 197 1.4 228 West Webber Moderate 353 2.0 Highline Connectors Total 5,045 37.8

Highline Trail From To Track Points 31 HL1‐Pine2Ger Pine to Geronimo TH 487 7.5 31 HL2‐Ger2WP Geronimo to Washington Park TH 499 8.6 31 HL3‐WP2Myrtle Washington Park TH to Myrtle Trail 486 7.6 31 HL4‐Myrtle2Hatch Myrtle Trail to Hatchery TH 461 7.2 31 HL5‐Hatch2Derrick Hatchery TH to Derrick Trail 492 5.9 31 HL6‐Derrick2See Derrick Trail to See Canyon TH 349 4.2 31 HL7‐See2‐260TH See Canyon to 260 THs 474 6.1 Highline Total 3,248 47.1 Top Connector Tracks (on top of rim) XBabeH2SeeSpr Babe Haught to See Spring TH 195 3.0 XHortSpr2Prom Horton Springs to Promontory Butte TH 420 5.1 XSee2Drew See Canyon to Drew TH 379 3.9 XSee2Prom See Canyon to Promontory Butte TH 288 3.4 XSink2Drew 2008 Sinkhole to Drew TH from 2008 hike 422 4.6 XSink2Drew 2005 Sinkhole to Drew TH from 2005 hike 307 5.0 XWebber2Donohue West Webber to Donohue TH 81 1.0 Top Connectors Total 2,092 26.0

All Tracks Total 12,681 142.2

Note: True mileage is usually greater than track based mileage. Track based mileage is determined by summing the straight line distances between track points. Actual hiking between track points is rarely done in a straight line. The Highline Trail is reported at 50.1 miles in another source. This may be a more accurate number. Add 5 percent to track mileage for a better guesstimate.