Pioneer Rock Loop - 9/5/20

Pioneer Rock

Yep! It was Saturday morning on Labor Day Weekend and the temperatures in the valley were hitting 111 degrees. That means that the temperatures in the mountains would be around 75 to 85 degrees in the higher elevations.

Pioneer Rock from Loop Trail

No worries. Rita and I had a new hike exploration planned that promised relief from both the heat and the crowds. It also didn't hurt that we met at the trailhead at 6:30am! The trailhead was the Pay Phone/Traffic Circle Trailhead on Lee Canyon Road. Our target for the morning was to find out what we could about Pioneer Rock, an outcropping likely named by the Girl Scouts of Camp Foxtail, that we "discovered" when we did Foxtail Ridge last week.

Pioneer Rock on Approach

We have used the Pay Phone Trailhead a lot lately as we explore new areas while not competing for crowded parking spaces on the more popular trailheads. We started out by hiking down to the Foxtail Picnic Area gate and turning right to climb the beginning of Foxtail Ridge. Today, we noticed that there is a trail that can be used on the right edge of the ridge.

Log-Lined Trail to Saddle behind Pioneer Rock

There is a one mile long flatish level of the ridge with an old abandoned dirt road running the length of it. The road ends at the water tank servicing Lee Canyon. Along the road, there is evidence of some camping and log shelters having been built. Just past the water tank and at one of the girl scouts' amphitheaters, we turned left to follow the trail down to Camp Foxtail.

Scramble to Large Outcrop

We joined the access road to the camp and hiked around the main hall to follow the dirt road that continues up through Foxtail Canyon passing the girls' sleeping quarters. The slope begins to increase and after about a third of a mile, there is a dirt road that turns to the left. Continuing in our direction would take us up to the winter snowplay area. An out and back hike to the play area would add a mile to the entire hike. We chose not to explore this trail today. So, we turned left onto the spur road and began climbing a little steeper slope. An old fallen down sign at the junction says "Pioneer Camp," this way.

Kay and Rita at Overlook

We were still among the girl scout camp buildings until the road ended. Then, the road turned into a trail and continued climbing. Up to our left, we saw Pioneer Rock and were surprised at the rock's prominence! The clear trail led us up to a saddle area behind the rock, between the canyon and Mummy Mountain. Being curious, Rita and I turned to the left and found our way on a precarious trail out to the largest outcrop of the rock. We took the photos above but the photoshopping leaves a little to be desired this time!

Returning to Top of Outcrop

We also found a survey marker that was placed there in 2009. After our exploration of the humongous rock outcrop, we returned to the saddle and spied a trail that headed up and along Mummy Mountain from the saddle. Fun! Let's see where it goes! This small exploration suddenly got very interesting! We followed the trail and found it to be a very good trail with the exception of a couple of recently fallen trees across the path. The first tree still had a lot of green on it. We had no choice but to get very low and climb under it. The second tree can be straddled for an up and over maneuver. The trail was still good so we continued. It has to go somewhere, doesn't it?

Survey Marker at Top of Outcrop

The traverse continued passing a large rock area then came out at the point of a ridge trailing off of Mummy Mountain. We dubbed this place, Pinnacle Point ... for obvious reasons. We counted around 5 pinnacles that we could see from that place. Also, we could see what we believed to be Mummy's Forehead. I took a photo but the contrasting light of the early morning sometimes made photos a bit unreadable.

Top of Outcrop, Benchmark and Mummy Mountain Behind

From Pinnacle Point, the trail begins its descent but it circles around giving fantastic side views of Pioneer Rock on the way. The route followed the beautiful rocky ridge while the sun was making its way over a saddle on Mummy Mountain above. We were taking our time and enjoying every moment. We knew, by this time, that this was a trail made specifically for the Girl Scouts. We were heading back around to end the loop at Camp Foxtail.

Loop Trail

We came back into the Camp at the main hall. We were extremely pleased with our discovery. I dare say that if the camp is in session, this trail would be off limits. However, with the COVID-19 scare, the camp has likely not been in session all summer. Check with the Camp Foxtail website before you hike for the OPEN/CLOSED status. If we make a nuisance of ourselves, the trail will likely be closed to public. Just sayin'.

New Obstacle - Under was the Only Feasible Way

Next, we had a choice of returning on the abandoned road on the ridge above or returning on the access road below. For the quieter and more wildernessy experience, we chose to take the water tank road back up to the ridge and follow the same route on which we came.

Rita on the Trail

The sun had risen over Mummy Mountain and we could feel the temperatures rising as we ventured back down the road. We didn't see any other hikers all day until we returned to the road gate at Lee Canyon Road. There was only one other car parked at our trailhead and the time was 9am. Absolutely lovely morning!

Pinnacle Point - McFarland & Sisters in Background

Stats: 3.7 miles; 800' gain; 2.5 hours   -   An Easy Moderate to Moderate Hike

Pioneer Rock, Foxtail Ridge and the North Loop Ridge

P.S. Blogspot has changed its format and there may be a few hitches. I tried to format the blog in the same way as usual with "side" photos and writing to their side. But, it wouldn't let me. Hopefully, this will get fixed and until then, I will keep trying to figure it out!!!

View back to Mummy Mountain

Trail descending Ridge

Return on Abandoned Road on Foxtail Ridge