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Two Bar Ridge Trail - Tonto National Forest
| Summary: |
A hike along Two Bar Ridge
between Forest Road 83 and the Reavis Gap Trail
#117; this is also a portion of the Arizona
Trail. |
| Directions: |
From Phoenix,
drive east on Highway 60 almost to Globe. Turn
left (north) on Highway 188 (also listed as 88
on maps) and drive ~23 miles to just past
milepost 239 and turn left on Forest Road 83.
After 2.3 miles on good dirt road you'll reach a
sign indicating the Cottonwood Canyon Trail is 2
miles to the left, Two Bar Ridge Trail is 4
miles. Follow this rough 4-Wheel Drive road 2
miles to the signed junction with a short, right
branching spur road for the Cottonwood Canyon
Trail. Continue straight at this junction and
0.6 miles later you'll reach a fork, stay to the
right and begin climbing up a very steep road
covered with sharp, loose rocks (I barely made
it up this hill and wound up damaging my tires
in the process). After another 0.8 miles the
road will split with a brown plastic AZ Trail
sign pointing the correct route to the left.
Another steep hill and 0.2 miles later you'll
reach the grassy parking area next to a concrete
trough. |
| Road Conditions: |
4-Wheel Drive
(only!!) |
| Navigation: |
easy, though the path is a
little brushy in places |
| Length: |
7.6 miles one
way, 15.2 miles out and back |
| Date Hiked: |
April 2005 |
| Weather Conditions: |
Sunny, windy and warm |
|
Required Skills: |
 |
| Hike Description: |
From the parking area (0
miles, 4500 ft), pick
up the Two Bar Ridge Trail #119 (also the AZ
Trail) which begins climbing moderately and soon
enters the Superstition Wilderness. After 10
minutes you'll pass another Wilderness marker
and sign indicating that the Tule Trail is 3
miles ahead. The trail levels out and winds its
way along a hillside through a juniper/grassland
life zone consisting of: one-seed junipers,
beargrass, smoketree, prickly pear, scrub oak,
soap tree yucca, sotol, agave and hedgehog
cactus. The path meanders up and down then
begins a moderate descent into a valley with
views of Apache Lake in the distance to the
right (west). After dropping about 500 feet the
path enters a more forested area with pines
offering occasional shade (the only shade you'll
find on this hike). After a short walk through
the valley, the trail ascends moderately to gain
the ridge line once again until it eventually
reaches the signed junction with the Tule Trail
#122 (3.4 miles, 4850 ft). The path continues
south along the ridge at an easy grade,
occasionally following a fence line towards Two
Bar Mountain (the craggy escarpment you'll see
in front of you and to the left). As it nears
this mountain, the trail bends right and begins
a long descent, using a series of switchbacks,
into a broad basin. At the bottom you'll cross
two washes (the second of which was flowing when
I was here) before beginning the steep climb up
and out the other side. Eventually, you'll top
out at a broad rocky valley, and the trail
descends gradually as you move towards the head
of the drainage. The path is a little faint in
places in this section, but is cairned at
regular intervals and not particularly difficult
to follow. The path begins ascending gradually
once again as it nears the head of the valley
which is marked by a few pyramid shaped hills.
As you approach the left most hill you'll reach
a 'T' junction with the Reavis Gap Trail #117
which heads left and right (7.6 miles, 4800 ft).
You can venture further into the Superstitions
on the Reavis Gap Trail or use this as your turn
around point and return the way you came (15.2
miles). |
| Rating (1-5 stars): |
 
The author completed this hike solo at a
moderate pace (I took many flower photos along
the way) in 7.5 hours, spending 30 minutes or so
exploring an archeological site. |
| Maps: |
Beartooth Maps - Superstition Wilderness Topographic Map |
| Photos: |
Click picture for larger view, click your browser's 'Back' button to return to this page. |
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