April 22, 2015
Start: Strawberry (N 33° 51.803 W 111° 28.326).
End: Near Thicket Spring, Passage 22, mile 14.9 (N 33° 59.452 W 111° 29.066).
Miles: ~14.9.
End: Near Thicket Spring, Passage 22, mile 14.9 (N 33° 59.452 W 111° 29.066).
Miles: ~14.9.
This morning, my daughter Katie drove me out to Sunflower and dropped me off. Her hair was purple and she was wearing a beanie and a purple shirt. When I look at the picture I took of the two of us before I started, she reminds me of a purple, “Where’s Waldo.” She dropped me off at the Sunflower pull off instead of at the gate at Bushnell Tanks Road. All I had to do was drop down the embankment to the start of the passage instead of walking a mile to get there. It was about quarter past ten when we said good bye and I started.
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| Where's Waldo? |
A few minutes later I was crossing through the tunnel under the Beeline Highway when my butt started getting wet. My pack was leaking. I stopped at the end of the tunnel and unpacked things and checked my water bladder. Everything seemed fine, nothing was leaking. This seems to be a regular occurrence where my pack leaks right when I start a hike, then is fine after I check things out.
The first hour was pretty easy walking. There was a great view of Mount Ord too. There was a smattering of wildflowers blooming. Not a lot, but it was nice seeing them as I walked. I was nearing a geocache and had the GPSr navigating to it. I noticed I was getting farther from the cache instead of nearing it. It turns out I missed a turn so I had to backtrack about three minutes. About five minutes later I stopped and found geocache, Stumped near Sunflower.
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| Mount Ord |
About a half hour later, at quarter past noon, I stopped at a stream for a half hour. I’ve been here two times before while geocaching. There’s a cache up a tree named, Rockabye baby..., that a friend of mine hid and I was first to find four years ago. Since then, a fire burned through the area and that tree. I was out here late December 2013 and helped move the cache to a different tree. Anyway, I really like this area and every time I’ve been here there has always been running water. I enjoyed the break but figured I better not stay too long. As I left, I looked up in the tree and spied the cache.
A little over half an hour later, as I was walking up the wash there was a trail crew moving the trail a few feet over from some bad erosion. They were with the Student Conservation Association (SCA). I was the first hiker on the new trail.
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| SCA Trail Crew |
The hiking was more uphill than before, but it was green and filled with flowers. Eventually the trail leveled off some and became more exposed and I came to a spot where I could tell someone had been resting. The footprints were the familiar Chaco prints from Onna and Neon, two thru-hikers I met on my last AZT outing and that I knew started this section yesterday. The trail continued a steady climb to the trail junction to the Mormon Grove trailhead where I stopped for a half hour break.
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| Chaco Tracks |
It was a little before three when I got back on the trail. The trail followed an old road that I’d been down way back in the fall of 2008. It’s surprising how familiar it seemed. There has been a lot of fire damage all around in the past many years and the area is filled with a lot of brush now but there are pockets of Ponderosa throughout. Mostly in the low areas where the fires didn’t make it to; fire tends to go uphill. There was some water as I passed through some drainages and then I came to the steep descent into McFarland Canyon. I was depending on water being there and as I dropped into the forested canyon, I didn’t see any. I saw the stream bed but no water. I was getting worried but a short distance down the trail where it crossed the wash, the water was flowing.
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| McFarland Canyon |
I set down my pack to rest and to filter water. I filtered a lot of water as my next known water source was tomorrow at Bear Springs. Between resting, eating, and filtering, it was over an hour before I was back on trail at quarter past five. Just past the creek, there was an adit for a long abandoned mine.
I probably left with over seven liters of water so my pack was heavy. For the next ten minutes or so, the trail followed the creek bed and went in and out of water. I was wishing I waited until it left the creek before watering up. When it finally did leave the creek, it went up and over a hill and back to another creek before starting an extended climb. With the heavy pack and nearing the end of the day, I was struggling and stopped for a five minute break to catch my breath.
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| Scenic Rest Stop |
From there I was able to finish the climb where the trail then descended towards Thicket Spring. The trail was quite overgrown in places and I was having fun pushing through all the branches draping across the trail. It crossed another creek a few times. I had some trouble spotting the cairns marking the trail on the other side but managed. Very near Thicket Spring, the trail flattened and widened into a perfect area to spend the night. The timing couldn’t have been better as I was tired and it was nearing sunset.
I had plenty of water so I didn’t bother to look for Thicket Spring, I just set up camp. It was nice out so I decided to cowboy camp. I had dinner and read for a while before calling it a night. As I turned out the lights I hoped nothing big would come wandering down the trail.
April 23, 2015
Start: Near Thicket Spring, Passage 22, mile 14.9 (N 33° 59.452 W 111° 29.066).
End: Horse Camp Seep, Passage 23, mile 17.8 (N 34° 06.784 W 111° 29.495).
Miles: ~18.9.
End: Horse Camp Seep, Passage 23, mile 17.8 (N 34° 06.784 W 111° 29.495).
Miles: ~18.9.
I was up before six and as far as I knew, nothing walked past me last night. By the time I had breakfast and broke camp, it was a good quarter past seven when I got on the trail. Not even half an hour later, after a gradually steepening climb up Mt. Peeley, I reached the end of passage 22. The passage ends at the trail junction to the Mt. Peeley trailhead about half a mile away. There were new trail signs at the junction along with a hiker’s water cache.
After a few minutes break, I started passage 23, Mazatzal Divide, where the trail switch backed up the mountain. At one switch back, there was a large hitching post. I was happy to stop for a minute, catch my breath, and enjoy the views from the north, to the east, and south. From there the trail continued climbing around Mt. Peeley, then contoured along the ridges in and out of forest.
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| Hitching Post Vista |
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| Red Hedge Hog Cactus |
By half past nine, while climbing, I stopped for a break in the sun. I took my boots and socks off and was having some food when I heard some people talking. They were back down the trail a ways and their voices would come and go as they approached. I could hear them for probably ten minutes before the came into sight. It turns out they were two thru-hikers, Bri and Tom. I found out they camped at McFarland Canyon last night and Tom said he just knew someone camped where I did when they passed by. We talked for several more minutes before they continued. After they left, I laced my boots back up and got on the trail after a nice forty-five minute break.
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| Bri (Spills) and Tom (Jabba, aka The Real Hiking Viking) |
About twenty-five minutes later, I caught up to Bri and Tom who were taking a break themselves. We talked a little more and then I continued. I really enjoyed this section of trail as it contoured around the hills and followed ridges in and out of the forest. I came upon a doe not far of the trail. At quarter to noon, I reached the junction to Bear Springs and stopped for lunch.
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| There She Is |
I sat down near the trail and took my boots and socks off and was eating and drinking. Bri and Tom came by and stopped a bit farther off the trail on the other side of some trees for lunch. I was reading and after a while, Tom yelled over and mentioned I was welcome to join them, so I did. They certainly picked the better place to rest. We talked for some more and then got stuff together to get water at Bear Spring. We all walked down to the spring. There was a small spring box were we retrieved the water. I had to pump the water so they finished up before I did and headed back to the trail. I was a few minutes behind them and they were just getting on the trail when I made it back to my pack. A couple minutes later, at twenty past one, I was back on the trail too.
From there, the trail climbed a little bit then contoured along the hill heading towards Mazatzal Peak. There were views deep into the Mazatzal and the walking was fast as I slowly closed the gap to Bri and Tom. We passed Mazatzal Peak and gradually descended along the slopes of the mountain where I caught back up to them. The trail turned up and they moved ahead as I had trouble keeping their pace with my heavier pack. From there I struggled to keep up with them and when we reached the midway point between Bear Spring and Horse Camp Seep, where I was going to camp for the night, I yelled good bye and stopped for a break.
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| Trail Contouring Along Slope |
I really enjoyed hiking with Tom and Bri but the effort to keep their pace with less trail miles on my legs and my heavier gear really tired me out. They’re really moving. They met last year when Tom was hiking the Continental Divide Trail and Bri was hiking the Colorado Trail. This year they’re hiking the Arizona Trail then immediately heading over to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. What an adventure they are on!
I got back on the trail about ten past four. From there the trail descended for a bit then mostly contoured across and down the slope as it headed toward Horse Camp Seep. The trail crossed a few places with water and had tremendous views to the west down and into the mountains.
Horse Camp Seep is a short distance off the trail with a nice path down to it. I dropped my pack and filtered water for the evening and tomorrow. The water looked clear but there was a very fine silt in it that clogged my filter more quickly than I would have liked. I had to clean it out several times before I had all the water I wanted.
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| Horse Camp Seep |
I had dinner and read for a while. I was planning on cowboy camping but sometime after I turned the lights off, I felt some sprinkles so I got up and quickly pitched my tent.
I had a really great day. I really liked the trail here. There have been some devastating fires in the past and a lot of the pine trees are gone but that really opened up the views. There is a lot of brush now, oak and manzanita and other foliage that encroach on the trail but to be able to see the ruggedness of the mountains spreading out for miles is both intimidating and awe inspiring.
April 24, 2015
Start: Horse Camp Seep, Passage 23, mile 17.8 (N 34° 06.784 W 111° 29.495).
End: Polk Spring, Passage 25, mile 0.6 (N 34° 14.142 W 111° 30.594).
Miles: ~19.1.
End: Polk Spring, Passage 25, mile 0.6 (N 34° 14.142 W 111° 30.594).
Miles: ~19.1.
It ended up sprinkling just a little bit last night but not much. The tent was dry when I got up and broke camp this morning but the sky was overcast. When I was climbing back up to the trail, my pack was leaking again like when I started the first day. I stopped and pulled everything out of the pack and the water bladders seemed fine so I packed everything back up. It was half past seven when I finally got on the trail. The pack was still leaking a little bit and I could feel my butt getting wet. That was discouraging but I continued on as I had just checked things out and figured if it was leaking it was leaking slowly. Forty-five minutes later with an even wetter butt, I figured I better stop and figure out what was going on. The Camelbak bladder I have has a quick release mechanism for the hose. I found that it wasn’t sealed properly after removing it last night when I filled the bladder with water. I figured that’s what’s been happening all the other times my pack has leaked when I started my hikes. I was happy to figure that out.
So the leaky water bladder mystery was finally solved but not two minutes later it started to rain. I quickly stopped and put my rain jacket and pack cover on. It rained for about twenty minutes where I crossed over a ridge and traversed across and down the side of a mountain. I stopped to take off my rain jacket and continued. The trail was brushy and I had to make my way through manzanita and oak. The bushes were wet and soaked my pants. The water ran down my pants and into my boots. My boots are Gore-Tex lined and filled with water. Slosh, slosh, slosh.
It was about half past nine when I reached the park, the end of the passage. The brush cleared some and it was grassy with the trees spread out, like a park. After a couple minutes, I started passage 24, Red Hills. I walked for about forty minutes after the sun had come out when I decided it was a good time to take a break. I sat down, took my boots off and wrung out my socks and set them out to dry. I ate a little bit and was hoping to read some when I heard thunder and could see the storm approaching. It started to rain so I quickly put on my boots and packed things up, put my raingear on and got back on the trail. I was hoping for a longer break but only got twenty minutes.
Shortly after I started hiking again, the trail climbed over Knob Mountain and the rain started coming down hard. I learned my hat soaks through and drips down my face. After going over Knob Mountain, the trail descended a ridge as the rain diminished. By the time I turned on the Red Hills trail, it was pretty nice out. The trail was nice too. It followed a forested wash with pools of water. As I went past a large rock a rattlesnake buzzed me. I stepped back to see it and it was a nice Arizona Black tucked into the rock. Shortly after that, the trail went up a bit and there was an open area where I stopped to empty the water from my boots and eat and rest. This time the weather cooperated and I was able to take an hour break. My socks didn’t completely dry, but they were a lot dryer than when I first laid them out.
After my break, the trail climbed out of the wash and over a ridge before descending towards Brush Spring. I had no trouble following the trail but it was a little over from and paralleling the GPS tracks I had for the Arizona Trail. Perhaps the trail was re-routed over a bit. Whatever it was, the trail I followed went right to Bush Spring where I stopped to get water for the rest of the day’s hike.
I spent about forty-five minutes at Brush Spring. I didn’t actually find the spring but there was a few nice pools of water that I filtered from. There was a pretty nice campsite there too. Anyway, I mixed up some Gatorade and ate some food before getting back on the trail at half past two.
There was a climb out of brush spring followed by a descent then another climb over a saddle where the trail started a long descent down to the East Verde River. Shortly after starting the descent, the skies opened up again and I stopped to put on my raingear once again. It was raining hard and the trail was an old overgrown road. My pants got soaked again and my boots filled with water. Slosh, slosh, slosh. At one point I wasn’t sure where to go so I checked my GPSr. As I was looking at it, it died. I tried turning it back on and it just turned back off. I had seen where to go and I was hoping I just had to replace the batteries, so I just continued down the hill to where the trail crossed Bullfrog Canyon and climbed along the other side for a while before continuing to descend far below.
I’d been going maybe an hour and a half since Brush Spring, the rain had stopped, it looked like I had passed most of the wet brush, and the sun had come out and it was warming up, so I decided to stop for some food and to dry my boots and socks out a bit. I also tried changing the batteries in my GPSr. Thankfully, it started up fine with a fresh set. I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough battery for the rest of the trip so I decided to turn it off until I neared the end of the passage.
The trail descended for another mile before turning and traversing across a ridge towards LF Ranch. I crossed the road to the ranch and continued following the trail towards the East Verde River. The trail was nice as it neared the river. There were sandy camping areas with lots of shade and the river nearby. It was tempting to stop to camp there but there was also cows around and I could hear people. I arrived at the river, the end of the passage at five of six. I decided to continue a little past the river to Polk Spring. I was able to rock hop across the river without getting my feet wet. It really wouldn’t have mattered if I did get them wet since they already were but nonetheless, I was glad I did.
The trail gradually climbed the short distance to Polk Spring where I found a nice place to camp near the spring at ten past six. The water was flowing strongly and there was a two inch steel pipe set over a drop that made getting water easy. The water was warm too which was nice. I was able to rinse off without getting cold.
After getting water, I set up camp and had dinner. It was a nice comfortable night at the lower elevation. The temperature was nice and there seemed to be no worry of rain. After dinner, I read for a while then turned out the lights.
So the leaky water bladder mystery was finally solved but not two minutes later it started to rain. I quickly stopped and put my rain jacket and pack cover on. It rained for about twenty minutes where I crossed over a ridge and traversed across and down the side of a mountain. I stopped to take off my rain jacket and continued. The trail was brushy and I had to make my way through manzanita and oak. The bushes were wet and soaked my pants. The water ran down my pants and into my boots. My boots are Gore-Tex lined and filled with water. Slosh, slosh, slosh.
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| Agave Shooting Skyward and Red Blossomed Hedgehog |
It was about half past nine when I reached the park, the end of the passage. The brush cleared some and it was grassy with the trees spread out, like a park. After a couple minutes, I started passage 24, Red Hills. I walked for about forty minutes after the sun had come out when I decided it was a good time to take a break. I sat down, took my boots off and wrung out my socks and set them out to dry. I ate a little bit and was hoping to read some when I heard thunder and could see the storm approaching. It started to rain so I quickly put on my boots and packed things up, put my raingear on and got back on the trail. I was hoping for a longer break but only got twenty minutes.
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| Dripping Manzanita |
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| The Park |
Shortly after I started hiking again, the trail climbed over Knob Mountain and the rain started coming down hard. I learned my hat soaks through and drips down my face. After going over Knob Mountain, the trail descended a ridge as the rain diminished. By the time I turned on the Red Hills trail, it was pretty nice out. The trail was nice too. It followed a forested wash with pools of water. As I went past a large rock a rattlesnake buzzed me. I stepped back to see it and it was a nice Arizona Black tucked into the rock. Shortly after that, the trail went up a bit and there was an open area where I stopped to empty the water from my boots and eat and rest. This time the weather cooperated and I was able to take an hour break. My socks didn’t completely dry, but they were a lot dryer than when I first laid them out.
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| Red Hills Trail |
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| Arizona Black Rattlesnake Tucked in the Rock |
After my break, the trail climbed out of the wash and over a ridge before descending towards Brush Spring. I had no trouble following the trail but it was a little over from and paralleling the GPS tracks I had for the Arizona Trail. Perhaps the trail was re-routed over a bit. Whatever it was, the trail I followed went right to Bush Spring where I stopped to get water for the rest of the day’s hike.
I spent about forty-five minutes at Brush Spring. I didn’t actually find the spring but there was a few nice pools of water that I filtered from. There was a pretty nice campsite there too. Anyway, I mixed up some Gatorade and ate some food before getting back on the trail at half past two.
There was a climb out of brush spring followed by a descent then another climb over a saddle where the trail started a long descent down to the East Verde River. Shortly after starting the descent, the skies opened up again and I stopped to put on my raingear once again. It was raining hard and the trail was an old overgrown road. My pants got soaked again and my boots filled with water. Slosh, slosh, slosh. At one point I wasn’t sure where to go so I checked my GPSr. As I was looking at it, it died. I tried turning it back on and it just turned back off. I had seen where to go and I was hoping I just had to replace the batteries, so I just continued down the hill to where the trail crossed Bullfrog Canyon and climbed along the other side for a while before continuing to descend far below.
I’d been going maybe an hour and a half since Brush Spring, the rain had stopped, it looked like I had passed most of the wet brush, and the sun had come out and it was warming up, so I decided to stop for some food and to dry my boots and socks out a bit. I also tried changing the batteries in my GPSr. Thankfully, it started up fine with a fresh set. I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough battery for the rest of the trip so I decided to turn it off until I neared the end of the passage.
The trail descended for another mile before turning and traversing across a ridge towards LF Ranch. I crossed the road to the ranch and continued following the trail towards the East Verde River. The trail was nice as it neared the river. There were sandy camping areas with lots of shade and the river nearby. It was tempting to stop to camp there but there was also cows around and I could hear people. I arrived at the river, the end of the passage at five of six. I decided to continue a little past the river to Polk Spring. I was able to rock hop across the river without getting my feet wet. It really wouldn’t have mattered if I did get them wet since they already were but nonetheless, I was glad I did.
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| East Verde River |
The trail gradually climbed the short distance to Polk Spring where I found a nice place to camp near the spring at ten past six. The water was flowing strongly and there was a two inch steel pipe set over a drop that made getting water easy. The water was warm too which was nice. I was able to rinse off without getting cold.
After getting water, I set up camp and had dinner. It was a nice comfortable night at the lower elevation. The temperature was nice and there seemed to be no worry of rain. After dinner, I read for a while then turned out the lights.
April 25, 2015
Start: Polk Spring, Passage 25, mile 0.6 (N 34° 14.142 W 111° 30.594).
End: Passage 26, mile 7 (N 34° 20.742 W 111° 30.105).
Miles: ~15.3.
End: Passage 26, mile 7 (N 34° 20.742 W 111° 30.105).
Miles: ~15.3.
I slept well last night listening the lullaby of the gurgling creek. I took my time getting breakfast and breaking camp.
It was almost eight when I left the camp with a heavy pack laden with enough water for the rest of my trip. I didn’t know what the water situation was ahead so I was ready for none. It was a nice morning and I left in shorts and short sleeves. Not long after I got going, the trail steeply climbed up to Polles Mesa. It was a rough climb and I was out of breath when I reached the top.
The trail was very difficult to follow along Polles Mesa. Basically navigation was cairn to cairn and some of the cairns were difficult to spot being hidden behind brush or cactus. I lost the trail at Red Saddle Tank and used the GPSr tracks to get back on it. There were a few times where I got off trail and circled around a bit before reconnecting with it.
Eventually the trail became easier to follow and passed through a gate and skirted around the cliffs to Whiterock Mesa. It followed a fence where some pack horses, packs, and a camp was set up. I imagine there may have been some cowboys off doing some work too but I didn’t see them. Shortly afterwards, the trail turned down to where I could see Whiterock Spring or up to the mesa. Since I had plenty of water, I went up.
The climb up to Whiterock Mesa was a lot easier than the climb up to Polles Mesa and didn’t take very long. When I reached the top, I was greeted with a cairn of white rocks. These rocks where strangely shaped and appeared almost like bones. The trail ascended very gradually through junipers and the ground was red but there were all these rounded rocks with holes and swirls along the mesa.
After two hours, I stopped for a break. I took my boots and socks off and had some food. It was cooling off, so I zipped my pant legs back on and put on my puffy jacket while I rested. It was about twenty to eleven when I got going again.
The trail went across Whiterock Mesa then climbed up Saddle Ridge. The trail was rocky and the weather was windy and cooling off. I passed a few ladies walking the other direction. We said hello in passing but didn’t stop and chat. At about twenty past noon, I was getting cold and hungry, so I stopped behind some rocks for another break. I put on long sleeves, my puffy, and my rain jacket to help stay warm. Being sheltered from the wind helped, but I was always a bit cold during the break. It was about quarter past one when I started hiking again. This time I left the long sleeves on.
Finally the trail reached Hardscrabble Mesa and mostly levelled out. As I was walking past a mostly full Saddle Ridge Pasture Tank, it started to rain so I stopped to put on my rain jacket. The rain didn’t last long, but it was windy and cool and looked like the rain could start again at any time so I left the jacket on.
Not quite a half mile later, I dropped my pack at a large juniper tree to go find geocache, Hardscrabble Mesa 4. A long ten minutes later I was back at my pack and on trail for a short distance before heading cross country to find geocache, Sad Excuse. Sad Excuse was just off a road that took me to the end of the passage.
There were some cars parked nearby and I saw some people but they were off a ways so I never talked to anyone. I took a couple pictures of the trail sign and at half past two started Passage 26, Hardscrabble Mesa. Only twelve miles to Pine.
The first mile and a bit of the passage follows FR194 but there were three caches along it to keep me busy. First I went off trail to find geocache, Jack’s Watering Hole, then headed back to the road where geocache, Hardscrabble Mesa 3 was hidden. After that I headed off to find geocache, Black Jack, which was hidden near Black Jack Tank. After all that, I was back on the trail where it turns onto the powerline road.
I walked down the powerline road for about fifteen minutes before finding a more sheltered area to stop and take a break. It was about half past three and I was getting tired and hungry. I put on my puffy and rain jacket and took my boots and socks off. I ate and read some and had some Gatorade too. I was planning on resting a bit over an hour, but it was windy and I was having trouble staying warm so I got going about ten minutes earlier than I wanted.
I planned on finishing another four and a half miles or so to get half way through the passage, but the weather got really stormy. First it started raining lightly, so I put my rain jacket on and continued. I could see a big storm moving in from the south. After a while, the storm came in ahead of me. There was thunder and lightning up the trail, but I just had the rain come through. I hid under a juniper for a few minutes until the rain returned to a sprinkle. About twenty minutes later the rain became very heavy so I hid under another juniper for a while trying to decide what to do and hoping the storm would soon pass by. I decided to continue on until I came upon a reasonable place to camp; I’d be less than two miles shy of plan. The area was very rocky so there really wasn’t a good place. A few minutes farther up the road, I noticed a juniper tree that might just have enough room under the branches to pitch my tent. After a quick look, I was sure there would be room, plus there was a lot of tree duff so the ground was nice and soft and no water would pool.
There wasn’t a lot of room to work in, so it took longer than normal to set up the tent. I also covered my gear to keep it dry in the meantime. The road was really muddy and it was after six anyways, plus I had really soft ground for my bed, so I was happy about stopping the day’s hike early.
Since it was raining, I decided to boil the water for my dinner from inside my tent. I opened the rain fly and had the stove outside where I could reach it. It was nice not to have to worry about the rain while I prepared and ate dinner. Afterwards, I read for a while before going to sleep.
It had been a long time since I’d been backpacking in stormy weather and I had made it the past couple days without much trouble and I didn’t have far to go tomorrow. I was looking forward to the morning and finishing the hike and meeting Barbara at THAT Brewery in Pine.
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| Polk Spring, Spot the Pipe |
It was almost eight when I left the camp with a heavy pack laden with enough water for the rest of my trip. I didn’t know what the water situation was ahead so I was ready for none. It was a nice morning and I left in shorts and short sleeves. Not long after I got going, the trail steeply climbed up to Polles Mesa. It was a rough climb and I was out of breath when I reached the top.
The trail was very difficult to follow along Polles Mesa. Basically navigation was cairn to cairn and some of the cairns were difficult to spot being hidden behind brush or cactus. I lost the trail at Red Saddle Tank and used the GPSr tracks to get back on it. There were a few times where I got off trail and circled around a bit before reconnecting with it.
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| Polles Mesa |
Eventually the trail became easier to follow and passed through a gate and skirted around the cliffs to Whiterock Mesa. It followed a fence where some pack horses, packs, and a camp was set up. I imagine there may have been some cowboys off doing some work too but I didn’t see them. Shortly afterwards, the trail turned down to where I could see Whiterock Spring or up to the mesa. Since I had plenty of water, I went up.
The climb up to Whiterock Mesa was a lot easier than the climb up to Polles Mesa and didn’t take very long. When I reached the top, I was greeted with a cairn of white rocks. These rocks where strangely shaped and appeared almost like bones. The trail ascended very gradually through junipers and the ground was red but there were all these rounded rocks with holes and swirls along the mesa.
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| View Climbing Up to Whiterock Mesa |
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| White Rocks on Whiterock Mesa |
After two hours, I stopped for a break. I took my boots and socks off and had some food. It was cooling off, so I zipped my pant legs back on and put on my puffy jacket while I rested. It was about twenty to eleven when I got going again.
The trail went across Whiterock Mesa then climbed up Saddle Ridge. The trail was rocky and the weather was windy and cooling off. I passed a few ladies walking the other direction. We said hello in passing but didn’t stop and chat. At about twenty past noon, I was getting cold and hungry, so I stopped behind some rocks for another break. I put on long sleeves, my puffy, and my rain jacket to help stay warm. Being sheltered from the wind helped, but I was always a bit cold during the break. It was about quarter past one when I started hiking again. This time I left the long sleeves on.
Finally the trail reached Hardscrabble Mesa and mostly levelled out. As I was walking past a mostly full Saddle Ridge Pasture Tank, it started to rain so I stopped to put on my rain jacket. The rain didn’t last long, but it was windy and cool and looked like the rain could start again at any time so I left the jacket on.
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| Saddle Ridge Pasture Tank |
Not quite a half mile later, I dropped my pack at a large juniper tree to go find geocache, Hardscrabble Mesa 4. A long ten minutes later I was back at my pack and on trail for a short distance before heading cross country to find geocache, Sad Excuse. Sad Excuse was just off a road that took me to the end of the passage.
There were some cars parked nearby and I saw some people but they were off a ways so I never talked to anyone. I took a couple pictures of the trail sign and at half past two started Passage 26, Hardscrabble Mesa. Only twelve miles to Pine.
The first mile and a bit of the passage follows FR194 but there were three caches along it to keep me busy. First I went off trail to find geocache, Jack’s Watering Hole, then headed back to the road where geocache, Hardscrabble Mesa 3 was hidden. After that I headed off to find geocache, Black Jack, which was hidden near Black Jack Tank. After all that, I was back on the trail where it turns onto the powerline road.
I walked down the powerline road for about fifteen minutes before finding a more sheltered area to stop and take a break. It was about half past three and I was getting tired and hungry. I put on my puffy and rain jacket and took my boots and socks off. I ate and read some and had some Gatorade too. I was planning on resting a bit over an hour, but it was windy and I was having trouble staying warm so I got going about ten minutes earlier than I wanted.
I planned on finishing another four and a half miles or so to get half way through the passage, but the weather got really stormy. First it started raining lightly, so I put my rain jacket on and continued. I could see a big storm moving in from the south. After a while, the storm came in ahead of me. There was thunder and lightning up the trail, but I just had the rain come through. I hid under a juniper for a few minutes until the rain returned to a sprinkle. About twenty minutes later the rain became very heavy so I hid under another juniper for a while trying to decide what to do and hoping the storm would soon pass by. I decided to continue on until I came upon a reasonable place to camp; I’d be less than two miles shy of plan. The area was very rocky so there really wasn’t a good place. A few minutes farther up the road, I noticed a juniper tree that might just have enough room under the branches to pitch my tent. After a quick look, I was sure there would be room, plus there was a lot of tree duff so the ground was nice and soft and no water would pool.
There wasn’t a lot of room to work in, so it took longer than normal to set up the tent. I also covered my gear to keep it dry in the meantime. The road was really muddy and it was after six anyways, plus I had really soft ground for my bed, so I was happy about stopping the day’s hike early.
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| Camp Juniper |
Since it was raining, I decided to boil the water for my dinner from inside my tent. I opened the rain fly and had the stove outside where I could reach it. It was nice not to have to worry about the rain while I prepared and ate dinner. Afterwards, I read for a while before going to sleep.
It had been a long time since I’d been backpacking in stormy weather and I had made it the past couple days without much trouble and I didn’t have far to go tomorrow. I was looking forward to the morning and finishing the hike and meeting Barbara at THAT Brewery in Pine.
April 26, 2015
Start: Passage 26, mile 7 (N 34° 20.742 W 111° 30.105).
End: THAT Brewery, Pine.
Miles: ~7.5.
End: THAT Brewery, Pine.
Miles: ~7.5.
I wasn’t in a rush to get moving this morning. I had less than eight miles to go and until half past noon to get there. I couldn’t completely slack off, even though it was my birthday, but I didn’t need to rush either.
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| Birthday Boy |
It wasn’t raining but it was still damp outside and it was cozy in my tent so I decided to do the cook inside thing again this morning. I had the water on the stove and was doing something in the tent when I noticed huge flames. The stove wasn’t stable on the tree duff and had tipped over. The water spilt out and the stove was on its side. I quickly reached over and turned the stove off. What a scare, I shudder to think what may have happened if it fell towards the tent instead of away from it. Even after spilling the water, I still had plenty left for breakfast but I had to get out of the tent to get it. Since I was out, I decided it would be best to move the stove to solid ground away from the tent.
It was about twenty past eight when I was packed up and started hiking. My feet were a little sore from some blisters I’d developed over the past two days hiking with wet boots but it they didn’t bother me too much. After a few minutes I stopped noticing them. There was some fog from the rain and a thin film of dew developed on my arms as I walked along.
After half an hour, I reached where I was hoping to stop yesterday. There was a fence I had to pass by and some barbed wire snagged the front pocket of my pack. Something to sew up later. The ground was muddy and if I wasn’t careful, it would clump up on my boots and my steps would be heavy and tiring. For the most part, I was able to keep to a more gravelly or solid path but it was something I had to pay attention too.
Across Pine Ridge, the trail finally turned back into single track and descended into Oak Spring Canyon. It was very pretty. At the bottom, I dropped my pack to find geocache, No Soup for YOU! It hadn’t been found for well over three years and it took me a long time to find as it was buried under a lot of accumulated debris from the large tree it was under. After I found it, the trail started climbing up the other side of the canyon and it wasn’t much farther before I stopped to find another geocache, Lizard Lounge on Oak Springs Trail #16. This cache also took me a while to find. I was looking all over with no luck. After a bit, I just stood in the trail and noticed a place I had yet to look. Yep it was there. The trail continued climbing and I stopped to find another geocache, Junior’s Precarious Perch. Considering the name, I figured it was hidden in a juniper tree. I grabbed a snack while I looked around and climbed up but didn’t find a cache. I did find a suspicious rock in the tree that I figured was to help keep the cache hidden but that was it. I gave up after fifteen minutes and got back on trail.
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| Oak Spring |
The trail finished its climb out of the canyon where it began descending to Pine. It was here where I dropped my pack to find another geocache, Arizona Diner. I had to figure out how to get through a stand of manzanita but found an easier way around. There was a nice view of Pine from the cache.
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| Arizona Diner With a View |
The trail continued to descend towards Pine and fifteen minutes later I passed a very full Bradshaw Tank and stopped to find geocache, Oh So Popular. It was on the berm above the tank and I had to lean out over the water to reach the cache. This area was familiar as I’d geocached here before finding a cache in the meadow above the tank.
Not far past the tank, the trail drops down maybe a hundred feet and goes very near Pine. It passes a gate that would have taken me right into town but I didn’t want to skip any of the trail. I did stop at the gate to find geocache, Shortcut Gate. I didn’t find it right away and I was worried I’d be late if I looked longer so I left it for another day.
From the gate, the trail goes about a half mile until it crosses the 260, then doubles back to the Pine trailhead. I made it to the trailhead, the end of the passage, at quarter past noon. The hike was essentially done, now I just had to walk to THAT Brewery and Pub, a short distance down the highway from the trailhead.
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| Gate Before Crossing 260 |
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| Pine Trailhead |
I arrived at the brewery right at 12:30. Somehow, I’m able to time my finishes almost exactly to the minute. Anyway, I didn’t think Barbara was there, so I sat at a table. I ordered an Arizona Trail Ale and a T-shirt so I’d have a clean and dry shirt to wear. After a few minutes, the waiter let me know there was a woman by the bar waiting for her husband who was backpacking in. Barbara had been there all along. I didn’t notice the truck when I arrived as it was behind the sign. We had a laugh about that. I went and changed clothes and cleaned up a bit then ordered food. It was really great to see her again and tell her I love her on our 24th anniversary!
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| THAT Brewery & Pub, Home of Arizona Trail Ale |
When I was “waiting” for Barbara, I texted Onna and Neon letting them know where I was at and invited them to come and join us. They came in when we were about done eating so Barbara and I grabbed our stuff and we moved to a bigger table where the four of us enjoyed some more food and beer. It was a really great afternoon, a fitting end to my hike.
