Spectacular Barnhardt Trail, Mazatzal Wilderness: Amazing Arizona Hiking (Tonto NF)

Barnhardt Trail: Out & Back or AZT Access/Combo Option

Took about a 3 mile detour this morning from the southbound Mazatzal Divide segment of the AZT to see some magnificent chevron folding exposed in Barnhardt Canyon. The Barnhardt Trail runs through the Mazatzal Wilderness in the canyon of the same name, providing a great Arizona hiking connection between Tonto Basin and the Arizona Trail on the Mazatzal Divide and exposing some of the finest geology around. The full trail is 12 miles long, 6 each way, but you can get a pretty good experience on even just the upper 3-4 miles if you are coming from the Arizona Trail headed north or south. The AZT crosses the upper end of Barnhardt Canyon just south of Chilson Spring. Some of the finest exposed geology in the Mazatzals is ready to be seen a short distance to the east in the form of exposed chevron folds on sheer cliffs.

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Mazatzal Mountains Wilderness & Geology

The Barnhardt Trail lies within the Mazatzal Wilderness in the Tonto National Forest. The origin of the name “Mazatzal” is unclear, though one possible meaning is a Nahuatl term meaning “place of the deer.” The Wilderness, which the trail will remain within now until just shy of Sunflower in the central Mazatzals, is about 390 square miles in size and surrounds the Mazatzal Mountains. It was one of the original Wilderness Areas designated upon the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964.

The Mazatzal Mountains themselves are an incredible place. Formed during an orogeny (a term referring to the process that creates mountains) when Arizona was a coastal region on the margin of what became North America, the Mazatzals gained their rugged nature as tectonic collisions compressed rock, lifting it and thrusting it above other rocks (overthrust). We’ll see the resulting folding in the next entry during a short side hike on the Barnhardt Trail. Mazatzal Peak, the highest point of the Northern Mazatzals, towers 1700 ft above the trail with a jagged west face that makes it appear as though half the mountain was simply cut away.

This passage passes through the northern half of the full range. Unfortunately the area was greatly impacted by the Willow & Sunflower Fires, which burned much (though not all, as we will see) of the old ponderosa forest that had made the mountains one of the most popular long-distance stretches of the Arizona Trail. Yet the incredible geology, solitude, sunsets, and views remain for the hardy and prepared souls who venture into this special place. Bagworms spin magnificent webs here, and temperatures are relatively tolerable outside of winter, when snow can make stretches impassable for those without adequate preparation.

Barnhardt Trail Logistics