Hike #10 – Picketpost Trailhead South – 15 Miles

This hike is a must do. The Picketpost Trailhead is a very popular trailhead for hikers, mountain bikers and horseman. The trail heading south bound was very developed for about the first 5 miles. Nice switch backs and gulleys. The view of Pickpost mountain in the morning are next to none. Getting to the trailhead off the I10 is fairly easy also. I arrived at the trailhead about 7:30am and the sun was just breaking over picketpost. Simply amazing colors. I did this hike solo keeping a nice pace, a quick out 7.5 and back, getting back to the Tahoe by 1:00pm. Surprised myself actually. I tend to keep a quicker pace on solo hikes. The evelvation heading south to the turn is a steady uphill, gaining 1,300 feet in 7.5 miles to the turn. I purposefully stopped at Telegraph Canyon Road leaving me a nice place to drive and pick up the trail again in the future. On a map this looked like an easy road connection until I actually saw the road up close. Holy cow…. a one line narrow road dropping down in a valley shouldering a tight cliff. Heading up or down on this road with someone on coming will most definitely cause a scary and nervous drive. I have no idea how I am going to accomplish this but I guess that’s the challenge of the azt as an out and backer. Planning the sections and getting to the trail in these remote areas is a good portion of the adventure. Hiking is easy. Anyhow… I loved this hike and in my mind one of my best memorable hikes so far. Would actually do it again if I had a chance. Great hike.