Snowy ridges from the Butterfly Trail – below Mount Bigelow. December 2014.
The Bigelow Trailhead, and the highway, were crowded with people enjoying the snow – it was a sleds and snowballs day on the mountain!
In shorts and a t-shirt I had on fewer layers of clothing (and more sunscreen) than any of the people I left behind at the trailhead – I might have been going a little farther, but we were all doing the same thing – just playing in the snow…
The Butterfly Trail covered in snow – not far from the junction with the Bigelow and Kellogg Trails. December 2014.
The hillsides below Mount Bigelow had a fun amount of snow – but by the end of my short hike, where the Butterfly Trail was in the sun, the snow disappeared. 2.76 miles, 800′ of elevation gain/loss.
The junction of the Butterfly, Bigelow and Kellogg Trails. December 2014.
Flowers!!! The flowers along the Bigelow Trail and Butterfly Trail up to Mount Bigelow were spectacular!
Dirt roads and paved mountain roads may not always be my first choice for travel on foot – but I have to admit that some of the most lovely vistas I have ever been to are along roads – and sometimes new routes magically open up once you abandon a strict trails-only approach.
Up the Bigelow Trail – lovely flowers and big trees, onto the Butterfly Trail up to Mount Bigelow, down Bigelow Road – great views and nice to see all the people out camping, onto to highway – Turkeys flying across and on the side of the road – and back to the Bigelow Trailhead – 6.3 miles, 860′ of elevation gain/loss.
About .9 miles down the Butterfly Trail from the Upper Butterfly Trailhead the trail reaches a small saddle with an old campsite. The Butterfly Trail continues downhill from here to its junction with the Crystal Spring Trail – but another trail, un-official but well worn, continues up the ridge from the campsite out to Butterfly Peak.
Looking out from Butterfly Peak. July 2014.
Along the trail to Butterfly Peak there are several nice spots under the trees to stop and near the peak there are nice views of both the top of the mountain and across the San Pedro River Valley – definitely worth a visit!
It was cool at the trailhead and for a few minutes I contemplated switching to a long sleeve shirt, but I am glad I did not – it was hot in the sun! Butterfly Trail to start and then onto the Crystal Spring Trail – such a lovely shaded forest start to the trail – the Keebler Tree came more quickly than I expected today, but I continued on without taking a real break. Ferns and other plants are starting to grow along the trail – already almost covering it in tiny sections – but still plenty of brown.
Brown along the Crystal Spring Trail with just a few green Ferns starting to appear. April 2014.
A Gopher Snake on the Crystal Spring Trail. April 2014.
Some of the (many) drainages were dry – but I was glad to see Alder Canyon, the next small falls and the pools/falls just before the Control Road all had some flow.
Monkey Flowers near the Crystal Spring Trail! April 2014.
Enjoying the cold water in the pools and small falls off the Crystal Spring Trail near the Control Road. April 2014.
At the Control Road I turn around and head back – in the burned sections of the trail it is hot – a nice day to be higher on the mountain!
While driving down the mountain I spot a Mountain Biker sitting by the side of the highway in a small patch of shade waving a water bottle – I pull into the Bug Spring Trailhead to make sure I have a little water left and then drive back up to add a little water, ice and soda to his supplies. He is appreciative and friendly – another car pulls up so I don’t hang out and chat, but a few miles down the mountain I think about the cue sheets on his handle bars… and at home I find Aaron among the 2014 AZT750 racers!
