Arizona Trail, Gila River to Picket Post

December 27, 2014

Start: Gila River – Kelvin Bridge (N33° 06.098 W110° 58.479).
End: Passage 16, close to Gila River at mile 15.5 (N 33° 06.674 W 111° 08.324).
Miles: ~15.5.

I met Craig at the Park and Ride at Bell and I-17 about quarter past seven. From there we drove to the Picket Post trailhead with a quick stop at a Quik Trip where I bought a couple of cinnamon rolls. I parked my truck at Picket Post and then Craig drove us to the start of passage 16 at the Gila River– Kelvin Bridge. After a few minutes getting everything ready, we started the hike at 9:23, a bit earlier than I had hoped for.

After about ten minutes, we reached what I assume is a new trailhead with parking above the Gila River. We walked into the parking area and checked out the view before passing through the Arizona Trail gate and continuing along the trail.

Trail Gate

The day’s hiking was easy and very enjoyable. The tread was good and was mostly level with some undulations as it wound in and out of drainages along the Gila River. After about an hour we reached the survey mark signifying the completion of the Arizona Trail on December 16, 2011. We stopped and took some pictures. There was a nice view of a train trestle crossing the Gila from there too. Twenty minutes later, the trail had brought us fairly close to the trestle. Craig has a keen interest in trains so I took a picture of him with the trestle.

Official Trail Marker

About an hour later, at twenty to eleven and a bit more than six miles of hiking, we stopped for our first real break of the day. I took my boots and socks off and we had some food and drink and just relaxed and enjoyed the day. After close to an hour we were back on the trail.

From there, the trail continued along the Gila River canyon, winding in and out of the drainages with some mild ups and downs. About an hour later, the canyon widened and the views opened up and we were able to see farther.

When we reached Walnut Canyon, we stopped for another break. Again, we had some food and drink and, as usual, I took my boots and socks off. There was a carsonite trail marker lying on the ground, so I went and set it back upright. I didn’t do such a great job though, as it fell back down a bit later from a gust of wind.

After sitting around for an hour we were back on the trail. The trail moved closer to the river and we walked through the shade of mesquite groves. The trail joined a road and after about fourteen miles, we passed some old, large, and rusted metal objects. They were probably for some sort of mining operation and had been left in a wash. We spent a few minutes contemplating that and then continued on. A few minutes later, I noticed a few javelina off towards the river. I’m not sure how many there were, maybe four or so.

Mesquite Grove

Old Mining Equipment

At ten of five we started to look for a place to camp with river access. We tried a few places and weren’t finding anything so we continued on a bit farther and found a spot at mile 15.5. We dropped our gear right at the trail and grabbed our pumps and went to the river to filter water for dinner and breakfast. River access was easy down a wash. Once we had water, we went to set up camp and decided to move to the other side of the wash at a bend in a road. It was getting dark by then, and it cooled off dramatically after sunset.

When I got my stuff out for dinner, I found out that I didn’t pack my spork. I didn’t have any eating utensils with me. Craig only had his fork but he did have a small plastic spatula that I was able to use. One edge was serrated and that made it difficult to use without cutting the inside of my cheek but I made do; it was better than nothing.

After dinner, with the cold, we decided to head in the tent and crawl into our sleeping bags.

December 28, 2014

Start: Passage 16, close to Gila River at mile 15.5 (N 33° 06.674 W 111° 08.324).
End: Passage 17, mile 1 (N 33° 00.398 W 111° 00.128).
Miles: ~10.7.

The night was cold! I had to get up in the middle of the night (one of the hazards of going to bed early) and went to get a drink of water, but the top of the bottle was solid ice. I wasn’t cold in my bag but I wasn’t cozy and snug either and didn’t sleep the best.

We woke up late and were slow getting moving. When we got up, the tent was covered with thick frost. It was a good morning to keep hands in warm pockets. Since the water was cold, it took a long time to heat it up for breakfast. The canister stoves don’t work the best cold either so that didn’t help. Eventually the water did boil and we were able to get something warm inside of us.

Before heading out, we had to filter enough water to last through the rest of the hike as there wasn’t a reliable water source on the trail today. The Gila River was really muddy and we were lucky to be able to pump a quart of water before the filter clogged and it had to be opened up and cleaned. Eventually we got the water we needed, but it took a long time. Thankfully we both brought a filter. We probably should have gone to nearby Red Mountain Seep instead.

Gila River

It was almost half past ten by the time we got on the trail. It’s a good thing we didn’t have an aggressive schedule for this hike. In less than a half mile the trail turned north, away from the Gila and started climbing. Not much farther there was a trail information sign where it met Rincon Road. We stopped for a couple minutes here to look at the signs and take some pictures, but mostly to catch our breath.

The trail continued climbing and a couple miles later we had nice views of Dale’s Butte (AZT nickname for a large unnamed rock spire) as the trail skirted around a valley to the other side where it started climbing some more.

Dale's Butte

The morning had been cool but the climbing warmed us up and after two hours walking we stopped for an hour lunch break where the sun was heating the slopes. That was the most comfortable part of the day as a thin layer of clouds moved in later in the afternoon and cooled things down.

After lunch, we continued climbing and eventually the trail crossed over a ridge and followed it down on the other side. I went off trail a bit to look over the ridge and see where we had spent a large portion of the day hiking. Another twenty minutes later, just past three, we stopped for a half hour break near an interesting rock sticking up below the trail. It was getting cold so we put on some more clothes to keep ourselves from getting too chilled.

On the Ridge, Looking Back Where we Hiked

On the Ridge Looking into Martinez Canyon

Interesting Rock

Craig Enjoying the View

After the break, the trail descended steeply a couple hundred feet then traversed down the side of a hill before crossing over to the other side and climbing up to a gate marking the end of passage 16. Passage 17 starts off along a road for a short distance before turning into single track, then descends down to a wash. It was only half past four but it seemed like a good place to camp.

Passage 16 Behind, Passage 17 in Front

There were a lot of cow pies and such in the flat areas above the wash and with no chance of rain, we decided it would be much more comfortable to pitch the tent on the sand in the wash. After setting up camp, we gathered wood for a campfire. It was calm out and cold, so an evening with the campfire was a perfect way to end the day.

December 29, 2014

Start: Passage 17, mile 1 (N 33° 00.398 W 111° 00.128).
End: Picket Post TH.
Miles: ~10.5.

We expected an easy day to Picket Post so we weren’t in a rush to get out of our beds. When we finally arose, the tent was covered with a thick layer of frost which we shook off as best we could when breaking camp. We were finally on the trail about twenty of ten.

The day started out with a climb for the first half a mile. Soon after we crested the top and started heading downhill, Picket Post came into view. Our target would reveal itself off and on throughout the day.

Not quite a mile after we started, we passed through a fancy Arizona Trail gate and then traversed into a canyon we would follow to Telegraph Canyon road. The tread was great and I really enjoyed this part of the trail as it followed a wash.

After close to five miles, we stopped for an hour break at the bottom of a dip in the trail where it crossed a wash. I took off my boots and was eating some food when Craig pointed out a coyote that was running off across the hill just up the trail from us. A minute or so later a couple of mountain bikers came down the trail. We figured the coyote was running from them. We were hanging out in the middle of the trail, so we had to move a little bit for them to get by. They stopped and chatted for a minute before continuing on.

After not seeing another soul on the trail the first two days, we started seeing more people as we neared picket post. Maybe a mile after our break, we met a couple from Utah out riding bikes. The trail was rockier than they would prefer. Then, a little later, we met a man coming up the trail. He asked us where the trail went and I replied, “Mexico.” That got a good laugh from all of us. We passed another group of people and then a group of equestrians came up behind us. We let them pass but the trail got a bit rougher and we had to slow our pace a bit to keep enough behind them not to walk in the dust the horses stirred up.

Horses Ahead

A little over a mile from the trailhead, we stopped for Craig to find geocache, LumpyTrail. I had found it four years earlier so I stayed by the trail and relaxed. There were great views of the Superstitions and of Picket Post. After that, it was an easy walk to finish the hike. A couple people turned to hike up Picket Post as we went by and shortly after that, we were at the trailhead. Some people were right there, so we had them take a picture of us by the trail sign, then we went to my truck and celebrated finishing the hike with a beer. The couple from Utah came back and were parked right next to us so we talked to them for several minutes as we rested and got ready to go get Craig’s truck.

Picket Post

Superstitions in the Distance

All Done

When we were leaving Picket Post, we stopped to find geocache, Leave no Trace. It was a short multi-cache. Once we found it, we went and got Craig’s truck, then stopped at the Ray Mine viewpoint to find geocache, Mine, all mine. It’s incredible how immense the mine is. The huge dump trucks looked like little Tonka Toys.

Ray Mine

Arizona Trail, Tiger Mine to the Gila River

December 19, 2014

Start: Tiger Mine TH.
End: Passage 14, mile 12 (N 32° 45.877 W 110° 45.501).
Miles: ~12.

I left the house a bit past seven and drove to the Freeman Rd trailhead where I dropped off five gallons of water. Freeman road is dirt but it’s well maintained. Normally it would be an easy drive but it was very muddy in places so I needed four wheel drive. Even with the mud, I made much better time than I anticipated, so on the way out I made a short detour to find geocache Tanks for the Memories.

Tiger Mine Trailhead.

After arriving at the Tiger Mine trailhead, I changed into my hiking clothes and got ready to go. I started about noon and just as soon as I walked across the road from parking to the trail, I felt my butt getting wet. I promptly turned around and went back to the truck to see where the water was coming from. I emptied my pack and pulled all my water containers out. They all seemed fine, no water was leaking, so I packed everything back up. I suppose a bit of water must have leaked on the drive. Everything seemed in order so off I went.

The trail started off fairly easy following a ridgeline then it went up and down in and out of a few washes. When I reached Tucson Wash, I turned off the trail and followed the wash for a bit before turning back towards the trail. At about two, I stopped for a break and to find geocache Water in the desert. There is a working windmill near it with water in a large cement trough. It was a nice place to stop, take my boots off and have a snack. By half past two I was on foot and headed up the pipeline road and by quarter to three I passed through a gate and was back on the Arizona Trail.

The trail was good in most places, though it was washed out around mile seven when it crossed a wash that fed a cattle tank. The desert wasn’t to my liking though. It was mostly scrub and grass and prickly pear. There were very few trees and not a large variety of cactus. I didn’t see any wildlife except for some birds and cattle.

At four, I stopped for a short fifteen minute break and had a bite to eat. Afterwards I started the last stretch for the day. The last bit was the best part of the day. After a short descent, the trail ascended to the highpoint of the passage along a ridge. From there it descended the ridgeline with wonderful views to the north where I could see nearby Mountain View tank and much farther off, Antelope Peak.

At quarter past five the light was fading and I had made it farther than I had planned so I stopped for the night just past mile 12 of the passage. I set up camp and enjoyed dinner. Afterwards, I read until about half past nine before turning the lights out.

December 20, 2014

Start: Passage 14, mile 12 (N 32° 45.877 W 110° 45.501).
End: Freeman Rd TH (N 32° 52.279 W 110° 53.020).
Miles: ~15.4.

During the night, I heard what I thought was huffing going by the tent. I didn’t know what it was but decided it might be a light footed javelina running by as all I heard was the huffing but didn’t hear any foot falls. I heard it again early in the morning before I had risen, going the opposite direction. Later in the morning, after I started hiking, a raven flew by making the exact same noise; mystery solved.

I woke up late and didn’t get out of camp until nine. I wasn’t too worried about the late start as my goal for the day was to make it to the Freeman Rd trailhead. The morning was cool and brisk and there was a lot of dew and condensation in the tent from the recent rains.

As I started hiking, I could see Antelope Peak way off in the distance; it really stands out. The day’s target is beyond it, so it was interesting to see it getting closer throughout the day.

Antelope Peak off in the Distance.

Most of the morning was spent losing altitude as I headed towards Camp Grant Wash. As I neared the wash, two men on quads rode past. They never saw me as they went by before I made it into the wash. After I crossed the wash, the trail turned onto a road that I followed for some miles.



Camp Grant Wash.

Climbing out of Camp Grant Wash.

After two hours of hiking, I stopped for lunch break just past a gate near mile 18 of passage 14. I took my boots and socks off, ate and read. I got quite involved in the book and ended up with close to an hour and a half break. After a few, “just one more chapter,” I finally got on the trail about 12:30.

Twenty minutes later, I reached Beehive Well where I stopped and pumped a quart of water for some Gatorade. Past the well, the trail turns up Putnam Wash for a ways before turning into single track and climbing a ridge. This was the most difficult section of the day. Once on top, the trail follows a ridge for a bit before heading down a slope and going around Antelope Peak. I missed where the trail turned off the ridge and continued on following cow trails. I was thinking that the trail really needed some work and better marking when I glanced at my GPSr and noticed that I’d been off the trail for a quarter mile or so. About that time I came to a road that I followed back to the trail. From there, the trail turns onto an old jeep road and heads up a ridge to circle around Antelope Peak. When the trail crossed a gate and turned into single track, I stopped for a few minutes to change the batteries in my GPSr.

Beehive Well.

While working my way around Antelope Peak and shortly after crossing a cattle tank I stopped for a break at ten of three. Again I took my boots and socks off and hung them up to dry. I had some food and read some more. This time I was able to break away from the book and was back on the trail an hour later at ten of four.

Antelope Peak.

From there, the trail continued to work its way to the other side of Antelope Peak. After looking at one side of it all day, it was nice to see it from changing angles. The desert was changing too, as there were more trees and varieties of cacti with large stands of Chainfruit Cholla. Once on the other side of Antelope Peak, the trail followed a road well over a mile to where it crossed Freeman Road, and then was single track to the Freeman Road trailhead.

Chainfruit Cholla.

The temperatures dropped quickly once the sun was low on the horizon and I was getting chilled as I finished the day. The first thing I did when I dropped my pack was to get into dry clothes, then figure out where to set up camp. Once the tent was pitched, I had dinner then crawled into the tent and finished reading the book. I started to read the next book in the series but I was getting a headache and decided to turn out the light and go to sleep. I was having trouble falling asleep so I turned on my phone to see if I had service. I did and glanced at some emails and messages I had received. My headache was getting worse so I turned the phone off and tried to sleep again. Someone drove up and parked in the trailhead parking and had country music going. I must have fallen asleep shortly after that because I don’t remember hearing them leave.

December 21, 2014

Start: Freeman Rd TH (N 32° 52.279 W 110° 53.020).
End: Road junction, passage 15, mile 16 (N 33° 00.398 W 111° 00.128).
Miles: ~16.

This morning I woke up with a terrible headache. I tried to ignore it as best I could as I broke camp and had breakfast. Instead of opening a fresh bottle of water, I decided to use water from a couple opened gallon containers in the resupply box. For breakfast, I just boiled the water but since I didn’t know how long the bottles had been opened I filtered the water I took with me for the rest of today and tomorrow. With moving slow from the headache, and the filtering, I finally got on the trail at half past nine.

Freeman Road Trailhead.

While still at camp, a truck passed by. The driver saw me so he turned around and stopped near my camp. He asked if I’d seen any deer. I told him I’d been hiking the trail the past two days and hadn’t seen any game. I think he was a bit disappointed, but what was he expecting? Even if I had seen deer, what would I say? If I was hunting deer, would I give away where I’d seen them?

Shortly after starting the day’s hike, I passed over a short wood bridge across a small wash. That seemed really surprising considering the dozens of other small washes I’d already crossed without bridges. I suppose it does make life easier, especially so close to the trailhead. It also gave me something to think about.

After a bit more than a half mile, the trail turned up a pipe line road for about a mile where it then turned off the road onto some single track. The trail is clearly marked no jeeps, quads, and motorcycles but there was some motorcycle tracks along the trail for many miles. This really grated on me. Probably more so than normal because of my headache.

Despite the headache, I was able to make good time since the tread was good and on easy terrain. I really didn’t look around much but just plodded along trying to cover as much ground as I could. A lot of the time I had a strong desire to shut my eyes and every once in a while I would for a couple of seconds. Somewhere along this stretch, I spooked up a deer. I figure it must have been a muley doe but I didn’t get a good look at it and its body seemed too gray. I saw no white tail as it ran off. As I neared two hours of hiking, I approached some neat rock formations and passed through a gate. This gate had some weights on the end of a cable used to keep it closed. That was different and fun to see.

After covering about six miles in two hours, I stopped for a break amidst the rocks. I took my boots and socks off as I’ve gotten in the habit of doing and had lunch. I didn’t bother to try reading. Instead, after eating I tried laying down and closing my eyes. The ground was cold and started to chill my back so I sat up and leaned against my pack instead, keeping my eyes closed. I really wanted to sleep for a bit but wasn’t able to. After an hour break, I was back on the trail.

A couple of miles later, I crossed a wash with a road near it and the dirt bike tracks finally stopped. After the wash, the trail went up a hill and became rocky so wasn’t as nice for riding. My headache was starting to wane too so the hiking was better. From there, the trail headed around Ripsey Ranch towards the hills. It followed a power line road for a while and at half past two and about twelve miles in, I took a forty minute break. I was feeling better, but still had some headache left so I just snacked and closed my eyes for a while.

The trail turned off the road a short distance after I resumed hiking. I missed the turn but noticed my mistake about a tenth of a mile later where I turned up another road that the trail crossed. From there, the trail wound around quite a bit and would have been hard to follow if it weren’t for a lot of cairns that kept me on track. After a bit of that, the trail turned up some two track that I followed for the rest of the day.

At about mile 15.4, I dropped my pack to go find geocache Thirty-three One Eleven that is placed at the nearby degree confluence. I swapped the batteries in the GPSr out, grabbed my headlamp and a long sleeved shirt and took off. I felt so light on my feet without the pack that I was almost running in places. I was hurrying because I wanted to find the cache and get back to my pack before dark, along with reaching mile 16. After searching for a few minutes, I spotted the cache and signed in and made it back to my pack with enough daylight left to reach mile 16 and to find the Big-Yuk-a geocache. That was a bit tricky to find but I finally spotted it around dusk.

I set up camp near the cache, right at the intersection. There was a nice flat and smooth spot on the side of the road that was perfect for pitching the tent. By this time, my headache was completely gone and I enjoyed dinner and the evening. Since I felt better, I read for a few hours before turning out the light around nine thirty or so.

December 22, 2014

Start: Road junction, passage 15, mile 16 (N 33° 00.398 W 111° 00.128).
End: Gila River – Kelvin Bridge (N33° 06.137 W110° 58.496).
Miles: ~12.4.

Throughout the night I was hearing what sounded like cars driving by. At first I thought maybe vehicles driving along the Florence-Kelvin highway but it lasted too long. Then I thought perhaps a train but it was never ending. Now I believe it was the trucks and equipment at some mine, perhaps Ray Mine, which operates 24 hours a day.

I only had about 12 miles to cover today so I didn’t worry about getting up and getting on the trail. When I finally did get up, everything was very damp. After last week’s rains, the ground is wet and there has been heavy dew along with a lot of condensation inside the tent’s rainfly.

I finally was packed up and started hiking about twenty past nine. Very soon after that I stopped to find geocache So Where’s the Head? Around half past, I was on the trail for real and today’s views were the best of this trip as I worked my way into the heart of the Tortilla Mountains. The trail started out descending towards Ripsey Wash. It was easy hiking and I thought the whole day was going to be downhill but I misread the notes and didn’t notice the 800’ climb. Once I crossed Ripsey Wash the trail started to climb up into the Tortilla Mountains. The grade was never steep so the climb went well enough and didn’t slow me down much at all, even through the switchbacks. Once on top, I followed the ridge for a while and even climbed up some rocks to a high point the trail passed to see if there was a survey marker. There wasn’t but I thought I’d check. It wasn’t far and I didn’t even bother taking my pack off, though I probably should have.

Near quarter to noon I stopped for lunch after over six miles of hiking. I had great views of the mountains and the Ray Mine operations about six miles to the north. At the mine there are huge terraces along with a large lake with turquoise blue water. I took my boots and socks off. I hung my socks and shirt to dry and slipped on a long sleeved shirt to stay comfortable. I turned on my phone and had service so I glanced through some emails and posted a picture on Facebook. After a few minutes of that I had lunch and read.

After a restful lunch, I was back on the trail at just past one with the next planned stop at the end of the passage and my truck. From here the trail really was mostly all downhill. After a bit over a mile more of following the ridge the trail started a fairly steep descent with switchbacks. It leveled out and wound its way to the Florence-Kelvin Road trailhead. There was some uncompleted trail work along the way where parts had been washed out from rains. When I reached the Florence-Kelvin Road trailhead, I snapped a couple pictures and continued on across the road and on the trail. I had about two miles left and wanted to get it done. The trail climbed up above the road and I was wishing it stayed on the road so I wouldn’t have had to climb. It really wasn’t hard climbing or even very much, it was more of a mental thing since it was adding to the time it would take to finish over just staying on the road.

As I neared the end of the passage, the trail climbs up and around the southwest side of a small hill. As it reaches the west there is a view of the Gila River and the Kelvin Bridge across the Gila. There was my truck parked just where I hoped it would be; thank you Barbara and Katie! From there it was just a few more minutes until I reached the end of the passage and my truck at ten past three.

Last Gate.

Kelvin and Ray Mine.