Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club
Ben Avery Trail Day Hike
| when |
March 7, 2020
|
| |
Trip Report :
March 23, 2013
|
| |
Trip Report :
February 18, 2012
|
| |
Trip Report :
April 4, 2009
|
| where |
Eagletail Mountains Wilderness
|
| the hike |
The Eagletail Mountains Wilderness area has 97,880 acres of rugged and
desolate desert beauty. Located 70 miles west of downtown Phoenix, the
Ben Avery Trail is an ideal hike to explore the area.
We may see some early flowers as the rains have been good.
The hike begins at Courthouse Rock, dips down into a wash several
times, and follows an old jeep road. We will be using GPS coordinates as
well as a topo map, as the route can be a bit tricky to follow. The
terrain is desert wilderness with plenty of cactus and other desert
plants. We will hike to Indian Springs, where we will be looking for
some ancient petroglyphs. We will take a break here, then continue on
the same trail out to the south side of the Eagletail Mountains. We
will then return to the petroglyphs for lunch. At this point the group
may split, some of us will go off trail to a nearby double arch and then
back to the cars. The persons who do not want to go to the arch can
take the trail back to the cars. The difference in distance back to the
cars between the arch and non-arch is 2.3 miles off-trail, so the
folks who climb to the arch will get back to the trailhead later.
This hike is described in
Footloose from Phoenix,
by Ted Tenny, pages 26-32.
|
| distance |
8.0 miles (trail only) or 10.3 miles (arch) |
| time |
5-7 hours |
| EC |
+-600' elevation change |
| elevations |
1598' (Trailhead) to 2053' (western Natural Arch) |
| starting at |
| Ben Avery Trailhead |
33° 28.438' N, 113° 21.789' W [NAD27]
|
|
| on trail |
100% — Ben Avery Trail (Arch excursion is off trail) |
| rating |
"C" (trail only) or "B" (arch)
Rate yourself as a hiker. |
| dogs? |
no |
| cost |
Sharing gas expenses with the driver.
The club also allows voluntary contributions of $5 per non-member. |
| weather |
Tonopah |
| meet |
7:00 AM in west Phoenix at Walmart at I-10 & Estrella Pkwy.
On the east side of the Walmart parking lot next to the Well Fargo Bank.
Walmart is just south of the freeway.
|
| drive |
| • |
Take I-10 west to rest area near Tonopah. Last rest room stop before the trailhead
Continue west to Exit 81 (Salome Road exit). |
| • |
Go south on Harquahala Valley Road almost 6 miles to Courthouse Rock/Centennial Rd.
|
| • |
Turn right and go west on Centennial Road, which leads straight toward Courthouse Rock.
|
| • |
At 6.9 miles, veer right along a road that parallels a natural gas pipeline.
|
| • |
The pipeline road goes steeply in and out of washes.
High clearance vehicles are recommended. |
| • |
Four miles along the pipeline road, turn left and go southwest where you see the
Eagletail Mountains Wilderness sign. This road may require 4-wheel drive, so we
may park and hike in the last half mile.
|
| • |
The wilderness road is blocked at the trailhead, 1.6 miles southwest of where you
turned off the pipeline road.
|
|