I hit the trail with marker tape, branch cutters, and a hand saw strapped to my backpack, planning on doing a bit of trail maintenance that I figured would need to be done. It sure did. The brush had gone from knee high on my 2006 trip to over my head in only four years. The trail, which had been fairly easy to follow back then was a disaster now. As I trimmed, chopped, cairned, and taped my way up the brushy eastern slope of the Mazatzals, I realized I wasn't going to get to the Mazatzal Divide Trail today. On the way up, I saw a young couple with backpacks coming down. No way! People hiking ol' Rock Creek?! Higher up, I ran into HAZ member Stallion and a friend, who were on their way down as well. Snowmelt had charged the creeks, and icy water gushed from every drainage and seasonal waterfall in this part of the Mazatzals, which was a wonderful sight. Even though I wasn't able to finish hiking the trail like I'd hoped, I was satisfied knowing some necessary trail work had been done. Now I'm anxious to do Rock Creek as an overnighter. If anyone is interested let me know...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uN7eYXbK6Y