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ErikF
Oct 15, 2011, 1:59 PM
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The City of Scottsdale is beginning construction of the permanent Tom’s Thumb Trailhead. The permanent Tom’s Thumb Trail Head will be located southeast of the intersection of 128th Street and the Preserve boundary, and will be accessed via 128th Street. From now on the preferred access from the intersection of Pima and Happy Valley Road will be to take Happy Valley east to where it turns north and becomes 118th street. Turn east on Ranch Gate Road then south on 128th street. This route has been improved to the boundary of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The old access route through Troon will be gated and closed to public traffic prior to completion of the new Trailhead.
You will see increasing construction activity through out the winter climbing season. During the construction process, continue southbound on 128th Street to the T-intersection with El Paraiso and turn left/east and follow signage to the current Temporary parking areas near Sven Slab and underneath Morrell’s Wall. The City is willing to allow temporary access to the trail systems in the area as long as the hiker/biker/climber/horse rider activity does not interfere with Construction. Please respect this effort by the City to attempt to avoid closure during the entire construction process, which will continue through early summer of 2012. Inevitably there could be some short term closures due to construction needs, so please follow any official signage. We will also attempt to get the word out when we know sufficient information.
The Preserve is owned by the City of Scottsdale and its primary purpose is to keep the natural habitat and geology in its native state. All usage is governed by the City of Scottsdale code and will be enforced. Once in the Preserve, please remember to follow all of the City of Scottsdale rules and regulations for the Preserve as indicated on the signage. These rules include no camping or overnight stays, opening at sunrise and closing at sunset, etc. Stay on the designated main trails, and only access crags on the official climber trails, most of which are marked by signage along the Tom’s Thumb Trail. Under no circumstances use the old access to Tom’s Thumb that enters near the house SE of 128th and El Paraiso. (This signage was obtained by a grant the AMC received from the Access Fund and was installed by AMC and local climbers.)
Please remember that the City has been very good to climbers and is allowing us to continue to climb on all of the historic crags (albeit with new access). Your behavior can ensure that climbing can continue. Please respect the partnership we have formed with the City.
If you have any questions, please direct them to Erik Filsinger, Climber Liaison to City Staff, at smorefil@aol.com or Scott Hamilton, Preserve Planner, at shamilton@scottsdaleaz.gov.
Thank you.
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ErikF
Apr 10, 2012, 9:00 PM
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Registered: Oct 29, 2009
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Climbers - Please see message below from the City of Scottsdale
Temporary Closure of the Tom’s Thumb Area in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve
As most of you know, the Tom’s Thumb Trailhead has been under construction since last fall. We are making great progress, and expect the new trailhead to be complete in July.
Due to the construction activities, we must close the Tom’s Thumb area to public access for a few days. The access from Paraiso AND the access from 128th Street will be closed, so there will be no way to access the northern region of the McDowell’s by vehicle during this temporary closure.
The temporary closure will occur on the following days:
Wednesday, April 11th
Thursday, April 12th
Friday, April 13th
The Tom’s Thumb and East End Trails will still be accessible from the Gateway Access Area, just no vehicular access on the north side of the McDowell’s.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, and appreciate your patience.
Thank you again for your support of the Preserve, and please call me or email me if you have any questions.
Scott
Scott Hamilton
Preserve Planner
shamilton@scottsdaleAZ.gov
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ErikF
Jun 18, 2012, 5:16 PM
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Registered: Oct 29, 2009
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Change in Parking – Tom’s Thumb Trail Head
City of Scottsdale staff for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve have asked me to let climbers know that the transition to the new parking lot will occur this Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Starting Wednesday, all members of the public will be required to enter the new Tom’s Thumb Trail Head via 128th Street. All of the former access points will be closed.
This new parking lot will serve the climbing on the eastern slope of the McDowells (e.g., Granite Ballroom and Rosetta Stone), the greater Sven Slab area (Sven Slab, Sven Towers I, II, and III), Hog Heaven via Mesquite Canyon, the greater Morrell’s Wall climbing (Morrell’s Parking Lot, Morrell’s Wall), Gardeners Wall, Glass Dome, Goat Hill, Tom’s Thumb, the Rist, Lost in the Air, Lost Wall, Half and Half, and Fort McDowell. It also will serve as gateway to the McDowell Regional Park and Rock Knob. If anyone wishes to have updated route information please contact me.
The main entrance point to the Tom’s Thumb Trail Head is south of the intersection of Ranch Gate Road and 128th Street. Most climbers coming from the south and west will take advantage of coming east on Happy Valley from Pima. Continue on Happy Valley easterly past 104th Street/Alma School and go through the Troon development. Happy Valley curves north on the east side of Troon Mtn and becomes 118th Street. Follow 118th Street a short distance and look for the brown signage to the Trail Head. You take a right/east off of 118th Street on to Ranch Gate Road, which then arrives shortly at 128th Street. This short cut saves maybe 15 minutes drive time up to Dynamite and across.
If you have any questions or if you would like any updated trail access and climbing route information, please contact me – smorefil (at) aol (dot) com.
Erik Filsinger
(This post was edited by ErikF on Jun 19, 2012, 6:22 PM)
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ErikF
Oct 4, 2012, 1:49 PM
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Registered: Oct 29, 2009
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Greetings from beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona.
In preparation for the Grand Opening of the new Tom's Thumb Trail Head Saturday, October 20, the City has asked me to let folks know that the access road into the trail head will be closed Monday, October 15 through Wednesday, October 17.
They are finalizing the road improvements and there will be no trail head access during that time period.
Please respect the temporary closure and then pack your gear and hit the great Granite of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Over the past decade we've been able to save just about all of the historic rock climbing and cleaned up many of the lesser known crags.
If you want updated climbing maps and route photos please let me know.
Rock on!
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