[tibber]

How difficult would it be to hike from Boulder Canyon Trail on the south side of Battleship, over to Lower LaBarge Box and back the same way hooking up with Cavalry Trail to finish up our Marsh Valley Loop that we started at First/Second Water and using Bull Pass to Dutchman to First Water ?

http://hikearizona.com/map.php?GPS=11468
Mileage and terrain evaluation would be appreciated. I put up a suggested route so you can see what I was looking at....

Thx for advice.

Tibber

[WilliamnWendi]

Sounds like you mean to hike south up the box headed? When Wendi and I did it the catclaw was no fun. It suggested by Toddak to go north down the box to make it easier. This was last month and just after some rains so perhaps things have changed.

[wallyfrack]

Mileage and terrain evaluation would be appreciated. I put up a suggested route so you can see what I was looking at....

The 15.9 miles and 2,200 AEG would be about right according to my recent trips there. There is a spur trail on the south end of Battleship.
I have a GPS track of the spur trail from our December journey. I didn't post the track because of all the off trail shenanigans we did.
Of course that's most every trip anymore.

[Tough_Boots]

Cutting over Battleship Saddle is a pretty well cairned spur trail-- especially on the labarge side. You can do it, Tibber. You shouldn't have to worry about getting cut up much. If you do Bull Pass to connect on your way back, you might as well hit the top of Black Top Mesa-- also a well marked spur trail. Its steep but not long.

[tibber]

Is that spur trail over the Battleship saddle easy to see as we are coming south on Boulder Canyon Trail headed toward Cavalry? It's easy to see on My Topo . I know we need to head over the saddle a ways before Cavalry. I don't know if I can talk the other folks into going to the Box but we'll see.

I presume seeing the trail to the top of Black Mesa will be somewhat obvious as well but could you give me a hint if you remember...

That's great, two choices to satisfy my "well as long as we're so close"....

[WilliamnWendi]

It's actually not the easiest to spot at ground. The trail is kind of a scramble as it ascends from Boulder and blends into the terrain a bit, it was cairned last month it is on the opposite side of the creek bed from the Boulder Canyon Trail. My first time it took some time to commit to it, but now that I know it is there I can see it.

[johnlp]

The spur trail is not easy to see the first time. The initial 20-30 ft are very steep so you won't think the trail is here. There is a cairn up there to reassure you though. I suggest loading the route in your gps. Makes it easy. It is about a mile to the box from boulder with 300-400 ft gain. Once you are on the spur trail, it is not hard to follow. Well worth the effort.

[mazatzal]

The trail to Black Top Mesa leaves directly from the top of Bull Pass. It's pretty easy to see if you looking for it. I agree two choices always better than one
I'd say the Box is a bit better but BTM is cool too. A few interesting inscriptions. The Box is better when there is water there (not too much though).

[te-wa]

the tail end of LaBarge is really cool, i mean the box to about 1/2 mile before the canyon opens up. you'll find a few hundred yards of area that look like it could hold all of the coatimundis of the world. going SE, or upstream, does not seem any harder than down, as there is not much for a flash to bend and not much foliage in the creek, until you get to the end where there are spotty areas of cattails and such. near the end of the canyon there are some large boulders reminiscent of Peter's, near the mouth.

[tibber]

Well we didn't do either spur. BUT, we have plans to do both. We thot it might be fun to backpack and camp near that spur in Boulder Cany, then go up the Battleship and then down to the Box and back to camp. That way we can take our time to enjoy both destinations.

The other question I have is, I've heard you can continue out of the box south and hook up with Cavalry. I heard there is some bushwhacking and bouldering involved . Do you know about what that mileage would be... I was thinking 2-3 miles.
Is that what you're talking about te-wa? If so, how doable is it cuz I was thinking a person could hike to that Boulder Canyon/Battleship Spur, hike over to the Box and out south to hook up with Cavalry and thru Marsh Valley to the Dutchman back to First Water? Or is that just too much in a day at Tibber speed?

Ambika says saving Black Top Mesa for when you can spend more time there would be better as there is lots to do and see from there. So it's on the list.

PS. to everyone for chiming in here. I did download both the routes thx to Mr. Frack. Ambika and I discussed several different possibilities.

Happy Trails,
Tibber

[trekkin gecko]

tough_boots has a track similar to what you're proposing

[hikeaz]

I have hiked up LaBarge Canyon to Calvary a few times. South of the box it gets a bit more 'interesting' and there is some brush, but it is do-able - it's just a little slow-going is all.
To do this hike I have generally started @ canyon lake T/H hiked up Boulder (technically Labarge at this point) Canyon and turned to STAY into LaBarge Canyon,then up through the lower box to Calvary back down to Boulder Canyon and then north on the Boulder Canyon Trail - but instead of hopping over Red Hills to Larbarge like the Boulder trail does, I prefer to hike in the creek-bottom to where it intersects Labarge Canyon and then STAY in the creekbed to the lake marina T/H (or most all the way).
Hiking downstream, you should see an easement up and out of Boulder Canyon about where I have the 'x' on the attached map. http://hikearizona.com/dex2/igallery/image.php?pic_id=4657
There is s good chance the you may be able to spot the decent on the way in or you could use the Boulder Trail on the way in to LaBarge (remember to turn left, s/e up Labarge Cyn where Boulder trail crosses it) and this canyon-bottom route on the return leg - as it is more easily seen from the bottom looking up.
Once on top this route will meet up with the last 3/4 mile or so of the Boulder trail down to the marina parking lot T/H.

The east side of the Battleship ''neck' is easy and the route well-traveled- the west side is looser but nothing to freak about.

[Tough_Boots]

I've done LaBarge out to Cavalry a couple times and enjoy most of it. The box is awesome and hiking through LaBarge is great for a while but there are some pretty thick sections that are a total pain in the pumpkin to get through depending on how much water there is. If you do it, though, go before the spring rains. The dryer it is, the easier it will be. If its too wet, it will be hard to get through the box. Also, if you do Battleship and LaBarge in the same day-- you might wish you hadn't. I remember being pretty sick of it by the end. On separate days they are both awesome. Here's a link to my track that was Battleship and LaBarge all the way to Cavalry: http://hikearizona.com/map.php?GPS=10164. Note: the track is floats off in the box pretty far.

[te-wa]

i would haul a couple gallons of water from the BOX up to the saddle at the S. end of the Battleship (where the spur trail takes you) and camp there.
you could easily do the lower box loop as recorded here on HAZ, returning back to camp with time to spare. It would take about 4 hrs.
for off trail in the Supes, it is fairly easy and nothing like the Rough Canyon or Peter's loops.

[Outdoor Lover]

I've done LaBarge out to Cavalry a couple times and enjoy most of it. The box is awesome and hiking through LaBarge is great for a while but there are some pretty thick sections that are a total pain in the pumpkin to get through depending on how much water there is. If you do it, though, go before the spring rains. The dryer it is, the easier it will be. If its too wet, it will be hard to get through the box.

Sounds like you should do it on a good swimming day.....