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| Hiking | 11.90 Miles |
2,400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.90 Miles | 5 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.13 mph |
| 2,400 ft AEG | | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | I did this hike with Wally and Robert. Brian (mt98dew) was on the trail early at 6am because he had to be in bed by 7pm due to work commitments. Our hike was from the Bear Flat TH, we took the Bear Flat Trail to the Big Ridge Trail. We turned around about 10:45am so I could be back home in time to watch Breaking Bad at 6pm. During our entire hike, we never ran into Brian. I'm thinking he must have take the Mescal Ridge Trail and turned around while we were up further along the Bear Flat Trail.
For the most part, these trails are old forest roads used for cattle and pretty easy to follow. The scenery isn't really anything spectacular, but it's nicer than being in the desert this time of year. Although the trails are easy to follow, they aren't really all that easy to hike in sections. The beginning from the Bear Flat TH is very steep and also has loose dirt and rock. The last section of the Bear Flat before the junction with Big Ridge is a long slog of a climb, again with a lot of loose rock.
At the junction, we saw a hunter on a quad runner. He had set up a hunting blind and game camera at the corral and tank about halfway from the TH to the junction. He said due to knee issues, he isn't able to hike like we do while hunting.
Before the corral and tank and after the Mescal Ridge Trail junction, we found a junction with another trail that I haven't seen on any maps. There was a wooden sign at that junction that said "Chris Mt". The map I have says there is a Christopher Mountain north of the Bear Flat Trail, so this trail likely takes you up there and maybe to FR117.
We took the Big Ridge Trail about 2 miles in and turned around. Where we turned around was a long section that descended and was covered with rip rap, making for some semi-miserable hiking.
By the end of the hike, we were all pretty spent. The trail conditions seemed to take a little more out of us. This was Robert's second big hike with us and he did better this time, not having any issues other than one spill. He's been doing more marathons and ultramarathons and was even able to do some trail running on this trail in some sections and got about and extra mile or so more than me and Wally did.
The descent back to the TH on the Bear Flat Trail was miserable. The loose dirt and rock were harder to walk down at the end of the day than it was at the start. Our sore legs and knees didn't help much. I had to really focus on every next step to prevent from wiping out, and still slid in a few spots. the Christopher Mountain hike from Bear Flat TH looks like a good hike to do one day, but I'm not looking forward to the start of the Bear Flat Trail for a while. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
