Pine Nut Loop - 5/25/24

View of Mummy Mountain from Sawmill Ridge

Old sign from old system of Trails

Pinyon Pine Loop

Blue Yellow Trail Junction

So, what do you call a new loop trail that shortens the Pinyon Pine Loop trail? We called it the Pine Nut Loop. I have always wanted to utilize the old Pinyon Pine Loop but it was fabled to be a loooong loop to nowhere that dives deep into the desert below Sawmill Trailhead. Probably mostly used by bikers, this trail begins and ends on the Sawmill Ridge using long washes and ridges. We started out our day by taking the Yellow Trail up and over to the Blue/ Red/ Brown/ Yellow Trail junction. I have to begin by, again, saying that the color coded trails still don't make much sense to us. I think the forest folks have tried to re-sign the colors but there are still some enigmas. At any rate, I photographed some of the signs that we passed on this hike. Many times a colored trail has big gaps between signs and the colors are not contiguous. I will try to describe the hike because the signs are probably not going to be enough to repeat this hike without it. We started out from the Sawmill Trailhead and took the first right. At the next trail junction, we turned to the left and, at the next, we turned right. This section curved around a while until reaching an old gravel road. This is the Yellow/Red/Brown/Blue Trail Junction. We crossed the road and started down the Pinyon Pine Loop trail.

Starting down Pinyon Pine Loop

Pinyon Pine Loop and Mummy Nose, Chin & Forehead

Flattening out on Pinyon Pine Loop

Pinyon Pine (Orange)/Rocky Gorge (Brown)
Trail Junction Sign

This part of the Pinyon Pine Loop is shared with the upper reaches of Rocky Gorge Loop. There is a trail junction further down the trail where the Rocky Gorge Loop continues straight and the Pinyon Pine Loop turns to the left. This is where the crossover begins. You have a choice of either bushwhacking up the hill to the left or taking the trail up. If you bushwhack up and hit the ridge just right, you will only have to go up and over one or two ridges to get to the canyon wash part of the Pinyon Pine Loop return. If you continue up the trail, this takes you further down the ridge and there will be 3 or 4 ups and downs to reach the wash. This is what we did. No worries. It gave us a good workout and explained a lot about the area. The shortcut trails that I imagined on the map didn't materialize but the terrain was easy and the brush was thin. Just before we descended to the targeted wash, we crossed a ridge that held an optional Pinyon Pine Loop trail for the return. We chose the wash because of the forestation. By the time we dipped into the correct canyon wash, we were ready for a short break. After the break, we continued up the canyon wash on a good trail. The trail followed a switchback up to the right where it curved around a bare corner. There were very nice distant views here.

McFarland Peak from top of one of the three ridges on the Crossover

Landing on the Pinyon Pine Trail

After a short Break

Arizona Skyrockets

The trail continued around and up alongside this ridge. There were views across to the Mud Springs trails. Chuck had accomplished the whole 15 miles of the Mud Springs loop just the day before. Wow! A little bit further and we passed the junction for the Mud Springs Trail on our side of the loop. The climb up to the Sawmill Ridge (Green) trail came after and it was a doozy. Finally we made the junction with the sign seen a couple of photos below. After a short breather, we turned to the right and continued climbing up the ridge. Phew! The high point of the hike comes just before the Green Trail reaches the Red Trail (Mud Springs Trail on the other side) junction. (Try to keep up.)

A curve with a View

Passing the Mud Springs Trail junction Area

Nearing the Sawmill Ridge (Green Trail) Junction

Ridge junction Sign

From here, we continued down to the Yellow Trail turn to the left and followed it back to the trailhead. This hike can be tweaked here and there to make a 4.5 to 6 mile hike. I was trying for 5 miles but we made a couple of mistakes for our debut hike. At any rate, it is a good trail / bushwhack hike that will probably be repeated during shoulder seasons. Today's weather was perfect for hiking and the group was a lot of fun.

Stats: 5.3 miles; 1075' gain; 3 hours

Wide views from the Ridge

View down Lee Canyon to the Sheep Mountain Range

A passing horse Parade ... Trail Ride