Trails 548/547/FR 338 Loop

Saturday, 31 August 2013 was on a long holiday weekend and Mingus Mountain was obscured by fog when we set out to do a loop hike, using the lower section of Trail 548 (Bug Hollow), Trail 547 (Lower Mescal) and a short section of FR 338 (Trail 105). As expected, we had a sparse turnout. The author was joined by only two others: Donna Goodman and a hiker who chose to remain unidentified.

From the Safeway parking lot in Cottonwood, we drove south on Hwy 89A for 13.7 miles, passing through Jerome, and turned onto Forest Road 338 (also Trail 105 but unmarked as such) at Mescal Gulch. We then drove for 0.3 miles on FR 338, passing lower Trail 547 Trailhead on the way, to arrive at the lower Trail 548 Trailhead. The upper trailhead for this trail is on Hwy 89A about 0.9 miles below the summit, 2.9 trail miles from the lower trailhead. We would not follow the trail that far but would, instead, turn back down the mountain on Trail 547 which was just 1.7 miles ahead. This would bring us out on FR 338 just 0.2 miles from where we were parked.

None of us had hiked the lower portion of Trail 548 before and we were watching carefully to make sure we didn't miss the trailhead. Our anxiety turned out to be unfounded as, contrary to previous reports, the trailhead is now clearly marked (right). The photograph shows the trail leading off to the right along an old road which is closed to vehicular traffic. There was no designated parking area, but plenty of room for it alongside FR 338.

As we started up the trail, we noted that clouds had moved in and a few raindrops were falling. This quickly increased to a steady drizzle and we found ourselves stopping to don our ponchos no more that 200 yards from the trailhead.

Fortunately, the light rain soon slacked off and then ceased altogether and we were able to remove our ponchos. The rain didn't start again until we were well off the mountain and on our way back home.

Work has recently been done on the trail and it is clear and easy to hike on, following the old roadbed most of the way. When it did finally leave the roadbed, we found that it had recently been trimmed and graded to provide for drainage. Our primary goal was to make sure we followed the new (to us anyway) section of trail to its junction with Trail 549 (Powerline Trail); we had all three previously hiked the rest of it.

It has rained almost every day on the slopes of Mingus for the past few weeks and we found that this had brought out a number bright, colorful flowers along the trail. The two examples shown below were found before we reached the junction with Trail 549.

Snakeweed

Prairie spiderwort

I had first hiked on what is now Trail 548 before it was officially designated as a trail by the Forest Service. We just parked off Hwy 89A near the summit, at what is now the upper trailhead, and followed an old roadbed along the side of the mountain to where it seemed to end at a large fallen tree in a wash. Until recently, I had assumed that Trail 548 followed the same route and ended at the same place. Only recently had I learned that the official trail left the old road and led down the mountain to connect with FR 338, making the loop we were now hiking possible. I was anxious to learn where the trail left the old road and also to learn where Trail 549 (Powerline Trail), another trail that was new to me, intersected with Trail 548. I had read a recent report that said there was an open meadow with a single large juniper growing in it that marked the spot. I was not disappointed. Just short of a mile after leaving the trailhead, we came upon the following scene.

Open meadow just under a mile from the lower end of Trail 548

Just as described, growing prominently in the open space was a large juniper (left). Usually, what I picture in my mind from reading a report written by someone else, has little in common what I find when I actually view the same scene myself. This was an exception.

Just a few yards beyond the juniper, we came to the junction with Trail 549 and that also turned out to be the same spot where Trail 548 left the old roadbed I had hiked on several years ago. The leaning sign (right) shows Trail 549, actually a continuation of the old road I had hiked on previously, continuing on up the mountain.

Looking back the way we had come, a sign was posted (left) to show where Trail 548, actually following another old roadbed at this point, starts down the mountain to join with FR 338.

Our loop hike would be very short if we continued on as planned, so we decided to hike a short distance up Trail 549 before continuing on our planned route. As we continued on I turned to see the following cloud-shrouded view of Mescal Gulch and Verde Valley below.

Looking down Mescal Gulch to Verde Valley

We only hiked about 0.3 miles on Trail 549, far enough for me to make sure that it was indeed the trail I had hiked on before. Now, judging from recent hike reports, it must extend beyond the point where the old road ended. But, saving further exploration for another day, we returned to Trail 548 and continued our loop hike, pausing to view flowers and mushrooms along the way.

Thistle

Unusual mushroom

After following Trail 548 for another 0.7 miles from the junction with Trail 549, we came to the upper Trail 547 Trailhead. From here it was only another 1.5 miles to the car.

Donna Goodman and the author at upper trailhead – photo by Name Withheld

The loop hike as shown by the red track on the included map (below) was only 3.2 miles but, since we hiked 0.6 miles round trip on Trail 549, we actually hiked 3.8 miles. The elevation gain on the loop part of the hike was around 585 feet. We climbed another 85 feet on Trail 549, so our total elevation gain was about 670 feet. The highest elevation was 6765.

Our next hiking trip in this area will probably be a hike starting at the lower Trail 548 Trailhead, and ending at the upper end of Trail 549. That will be about 5.3 miles one way and we will return the same way, making it a 10.6-mile hike. The elevation gain will be about 950 feet with a maximum elevation of around 7050 feet.