| | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 16.54 Miles |
1,829 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.54 Miles | 5 Hrs 4 Mns | | 3.26 mph |
| 1,829 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Belated post. A couple of days in Camp Verde allowed me to add another leg to the BCT. I had scoped out the Orme TH on a previous visit and I was hoping this would get me close enough to allow me hike in to where I turned around on my BCT Copper Mountain Loop. I got to the TH a little before 7am. Chilly, but sunrise wasn’t far off. The trail gets just enough action that it is pretty easy to follow. Around 1.6 you drop down into valley and pass a dilapidated windmill next to a wash crossing. At 2.4 you climb out of the valley and pass under some noisy powerlines. At just over 3 miles you pass through a trail gate. Around 3.5 miles you get your first look at Copper Mountain. Up until then, there was a series of hills blocking your view to the southwest and then a 3.5 you come around a hill…. and see Copper Mountain off in the distance. Sigh. I knew then that this was going to be a bit more than the 12-13 mile hike I was hoping for. No worries. The only thing I had waiting for me was cleaning out the ditch on our Camp Verde property. At just over 4 miles the single track trail joins a road. The signage at this juncture is good. If you had any questions there is an arrow on the carsonite marker telling you which way to go. At 4.3ish the road split. No marker here. Would have been nice, but not a huge deal. You need to take the road that continues to drop down into the valley. (If you take the flatter road that turns east it ends fairly quickly at what might have been a mining operation). Once the road reaches the bottom of the valley you pass the old Russian settlement. Wow! Pretty awesome little place. The area still looks beautiful. I could see why someone might to chose to settle there. Shortly after the settlement the road returns to a single track trail. Quite a few ups and downs with a several small wash crossings. Some real nice trail building along this stretch. Around 6.5 miles Copper Mountain comes back into view again (it had been lost in the hills until then). At this point you get into a much more open area, where you can see for miles in multiple directions.
Along the way I had modified my objective. I didn’t want to leave any of the BCT untrodden, but the Copper Mountain Loop was looking to be more of a grind than I was wanting to tackle. Years ago, I had hiked from Bug Creek to what I had labeled as “Farm Rd.” This now became my target. This “Farm Rd.” was about a mile closer than CM and would give me the comfort of knowing that I hadn’t missed any of the BCT. For any who care, my “Farm Rd” was the second road after passing through the second gate on this hike. About 8.45 in. (Probably would have closer to 8 miles, but I had done some exploring at the mining operation).
Pretty nice hike. Trails were in good shape, though I could see catclaw being a potential annoyance in some spots without maintenance. Even then, it would be nothing serious. This section looovvveeddd switchbacks. It never tackled a hill directly if there was room for a switchback. The steepest section on this hike was probably the road. Not much wildlife. I saw a hawk and a squirrel. On the way out I encountered 5 bike riders (a party of two and then three). When I got back to the Orme TH my car was the only one there so the riders must have started from highway 169. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
