March 6, 2015
Start: Vineyard TH.End: Passage 20, mile 11.75 (N 33° 40.056 W 111° 17.297).
Miles: ~11.75.
We left home this morning and made the drive to the Bushnell Tanks Road, just off the Beeline Highway near Sunflower. I drove the truck and Barbara and Katie followed me in the car. I parked and locked up the truck then hopped in the car and we drove to the Vineyard trailhead near the Roosevelt Lake dam. Once at the trailhead, I put on my boots and got everything ready to go. There were good bye hugs and I was on the trail around half past ten.
The trail started out steep, climbing over a thousand feet in the first mile and a half. I stopped frequently to check out the views of Four Peaks, the lake, and also of the dam when it was visible. After that initial climb, the trail leveled out some and even descended a short time where there was a man sitting on a rock waiting for some other hikers out ahead of me. There was a nice view of Apache Lake from where he sat.
Not far after that, I found geocache, Vinyamar in Nevrast. While enjoying the view from the geocache, I noticed three backpackers not too far ahead on the trail. Not twenty minutes later I had caught up to them. They all had large heavy looking packs on and weren’t moving very fast. They stopped for a break and I continued on. Maybe ten minutes later, while crossing a scree field I met two other hikers sitting down taking a break. They were out for the day and had completed section hiking the Arizona Trail last year. A half hour later at around half past noon, the trail followed a road for a short distance before turning up a ridge where I was ready for my own forty minute break and stopped for lunch.
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| Three Backpackers |
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| Apache Lake |
Close to half an hour of hiking along the ridge, I stopped to find geocache, Mogget. There were some poppies in bloom in the area too, along with great views all around. A bit past two, I reached the Mills Ridge trailhead where there was a couple on quads enjoying the view and hoping to spot some deer. We chatted for a minute, then I dropped my pack and found geocache, Mills Ridge Trailhead.
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| Poppies |
Past the trailhead, the trail starts climbing again for over a mile before descending to Buckhorn Creek where I stopped to rest and filter some water. I spent about an hour at the creek before I got back on the trail around four. My pack was heavy with a full complement of water as the trail turned sharply up hill. As I climbed I heard whoops and hollers from across the canyon, where the three backpackers I had seen earlier were just starting to descend to Buckhorn Creek.
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| Buckhorn Creek |
Eventually the trail entered the Four Peaks Wilderness and levelled out some near dry Hackberry Creek. I passed by Granite Spring where the spring box was damp but there was no water in it. From there the trail gently gained elevation as it contoured around some ridges. I could see that the trail crossed over a small saddle up ahead so I was hoping there would be a flat place to camp there as I was running short on day light. The saddle was fairly thick with brush around the trail, but there was a flat area just large enough to set up camp with a nice view of Roosevelt Lake and the sunset.
Today was a tough day. I was a bit shy of twelve miles but I camped about 3500’ above where I started. I was tired but content. After setting up camp, I watched the sun set then had dinner. I read for a while then turned out the lights.
March 7, 2015
Start: Passage 20, mile 11.75 (N 33° 40.056 W 111° 17.297).End: Passage 21, mile 9.3, Pine Flats (N 33° 47.496 W 111° 23.288).
Miles: ~17.05.
I was up a bit after six but it was close to eight before I was on the trail. I took my time breaking camp by watching the sunrise over Roosevelt Lake and watching the sun light the Four Peaks as it got higher in the sky.
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| Sunrise over Roosevelt Lake |
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| Moon and Early Morning on Four Peaks |
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| Breaking Camp |
Shortly after I started, the trail crossed the Chillicut trail which was very overgrown. I was glad I wasn’t turning down it. When I reached the Alder Saddle trail junction there was a lot of water flowing down the wash. There was water flowing down most every drainage I passed today and I hiked for miles with the sound of running water.
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| Four Peaks |
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| At Alder Saddle Junction |
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| Alder Creek |
Shortly after I passed the Oak Flat trail junction, stopped for a 55 minute break. I was just entering a burn area. Apparently there is vehicle access to Oak Flat below because I could hear vehicles driving. Also, shortly after I stopped, I heard some talking and a couple hiked up the trail and turned onto the trail I had just come from.
Shortly after my break, I reached a camping area near Shake Spring. I wished I took my break here instead as it was next to the creek and was very nice. From there the trail went in and out of the burn area. I’m not sure when the fire was, perhaps the year before.
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| Burn |
It was noon when I reached Pigeon Spring trailhead, the end of passage 20. From there, passage 21, Pine Mountain, follows roads for over eleven miles. So road walking it was for the rest of the day. The first road was busy as there were a lot of ATVs going by. It was already warm out in the sun and the dust didn’t help either. In the future, I think I’d schedule this section for any other day of the week than Saturday.
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| Pigeon Spring Trailhead |
After two miles of road walking, I came to a junction. The trail went to the left and there was a geocache down the road a ways to the right. I was debating whether to drop my pack or not when I lady pulled up and asked if I was hiking the Arizona Trail. She was planning on day hiking this passage tomorrow. Neither of us knew what the water situation was ahead, so she graciously gave me all the water I wanted. I think I took about a half-gallon. It turns out I didn’t need it but I felt good to get it. We talked for a few minutes and then she went on her way. I hid my pack then went and found geocache, Crozwell UFO crash site #2. Once I got back to my pack, I took my boots and socks off and ate some food and relaxed for a time.
It was almost two when I was finally walking again. More road. There ended up being little streams of water crossing the road quite frequently. I certainly didn’t need to be carrying all the water I had but I didn’t feel like dumping any out either. I knew it was getting cooler too, especially when I went around a shaded bend in the road with ice.
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| Looking Back To Four Peaks |
I’d been walking almost two hours when I dropped my pack to find geocache, Jolene Mine. I had to descend a steep rutted road to get to it. Once I was back at my pack, I stopped for about ten minutes have a bite to eat before continuing at quarter past four.
Not far after that, I stopped to find another geocache, Arizona Trail: In the Mazatzal's. There wasn’t good access to it the way I tried, so I went farther along and there was an old road that went right to it.
At ten of five, I came to Little Pine Flat where there was a good stream flowing across the road. I decided to fill up on water there for the night’s camp, then look for a place to camp. Not much farther after getting the water, I found a nice campsite where I set my tent up maybe five feet from a running stream. Oh well.
Before setting up camp, I decided to find geocache, on the arizona trail as it was only a few hundred feet from camp. I had to climb over some trees and cross the stream to get to it. That was fun. Once back, I finished setting up camp and had dinner. Then I relaxed for the evening and read some. It was a good day.
March 8, 2015
Start: Passage 21, mile 9.3, Pine Flats (N 33° 47.496 W 111° 23.288).End: Bushnell Tanks Parking.
Miles: ~10.5.
Someday I’ll figure out how to break camp more quickly. I was on the trail at eight and maybe five minutes later I thought I had left my camera back at the campsite. I dropped my pack and was starting to head back when I found it in my pants’ pocket. At least I hadn’t gone far before I found it.
At quarter of nine, I reached where the trail finally turned off the road and back to single track. Of course, I wasn’t done with the road yet, so I dropped my pack and continued down the road to find geocache, The Kings Playground. It was over half an hour later before I was back on trail enjoying the single track. The trail descended into a canyon and followed a flowing Boulder Creek. At ten, the trail crossed the creek and I stopped for a break. I took my boots and socks off and washed off in the creek, rinsing my shirt. After fifty minutes I started hiking again but almost immediately had to stop to change the batteries in my GPSr.
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| Break on Boulder Creek |
The trail continued to follow Boulder Creek and I continued to enjoy listening to the running water. The trail would move above the creek bed and some points were overgrown with grass and it was hard to follow the trail. Eventually the creek turned away from the trail and the trail passed a road where several old cars had been dumped. Not a mile after that, at twenty of one, I reached Sycamore Creek.
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| Nice Pool |
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| There's the Trail |
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| Junk Yard |
I crossed the creek and stopped under a large Sycamore tree to eat and filter some water. My plan was to find geocache, Bushnell Tanks. I’d been meaning to find it for years and this seemed like a good time. It was a few miles away so I hung my pack, grabbed a bottle of water, and took off. I had to follow the creek upstream for a while before I reached a road that I followed to the tanks. Bushnell Tanks is a large water tank with many troughs. It was used by the sheep herders and is no longer operable. It was interesting to check out. After finding the geocache, I checked out an old corral I passed on the way there. Near Sycamore Creek, there was a very lush area that is or was popular for camping. I stumbled upon an old latrine, a memorial, and some mechanical targets.
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| Bushnell Tank |
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| Corral |
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| Where's the TP? |
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| Memorial |
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| Spinning Target Art |
When I got back to my pack, I filtered some more water to last me the rest of the hike and got back on trail. As I was leaving the Sycamore Creek area, I passed a family enjoying the water. From there the trail climbs some and contours around a hill. I could see the road I followed to Bushnell tanks off to my right. It was warm along here, away from the water, so I was glad it was only about a mile and a half to the trail junction to get to my truck. When I reached the junction I didn’t turn towards my truck, instead I turned towards the end of the passage, maybe a third of a mile farther.
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| Beeline |
It was a bit past four when I reached the end of the passage, a tunnel under the Beeline Highway. I had a mini celebration when I got there, then turned around and headed back to my truck. This time, when I reached the trail junction, I went towards the truck, down and across Sycamore Creek. The trail was a bit confusing across the creek and I took a few missteps but I figured it out. Finally I was back on the Bushnell Tanks Road. I passed an Arizona Trail equipment trailer in a parking area. When I was nearly to my truck, I dropped my pack to find one more geocache, Opjim's Request: Along the Beeline. I had looked for it a couple years earlier but didn’t find it. Today I lucked out and found it fairly quickly.
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| Another Passage in the Books! |
There was a gal in a car at the gate. When I reached my truck she got out of the car and took her dog on the other side of the gate. After I left, I thought she was probably Sandy’s daughter waiting for Sandy to finish her day hike. I wished I’d said hi and asked.
