Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club
Eagletail Mountains Wilderness Day Hike

when	Trip Report : February 27, 2022
	Trip Report : March 23, 2013
	Trip Report : February 18, 2012
	Trip Report : April 4, 2009
where	Eagletail Mountains
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. I doubt whether anyone else will be here, even thogh it is only 70 miles from Phoenix. 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 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)
type	round trip (trail) or loop (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) or "B" (arch)    Rate yourself as a hiker.
dogs allowed	no
cost	Sharing gas expenses with the driver. The club also allows voluntary contributions of $5 per non-member.
weather	Tonopah
meet	7:30 AM in west Phoenix @ Walmart @ 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. Everyone will be on the wait list until I get 4 wheel drive vehicles. I have a 4-wheel drive, so at least 4 persons can do the B hike. Because we need 4 wheel, everyone is carpooling from this point on.
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 Road. • 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. There is sand also. • 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 ½ mile. • The wilderness road is blocked at the trailhead, 1.6 miles southwest of where you turned off the pipeline road.

Schedule of Events	Arizona Trailblazers Home Page
updated March 3, 2022	© Copyright 2022, Arizona Trailblazers.  All rights reserved.