My friends wanted to go hunt for the elusive Arizona spicy pig. But they'd never seen a map before much less a wild pig, they just heard there were some on the AZ strip and near Camp Verde. Being that CV is much closer...
So apparently, spicy pigs are a big problem. I knew this from before I graduated Louisiana but had no idea they liked the desert. Destroying crops, stealing other games' breakfasts, and even just Snatch-style eating up whole animals like turkeys, they came to be like all those cute less dangerous desert donkeys. At some point in time someone released farm pigs that were deemed less than Terrific and those pigs got busy making more and more so there are pretty much no restrictions on taking them out (if only other smaller spicy domesticates of the feline persuasion could be dispatched in this way
Given the fact that my guys had no idea where to start, they semi picked an area near the Verde River and had me plot out some springs. I had all but drawn in a proposed route when further researching showed me my suggested route was actually listed on the Prescott NF as a "real hike." I thought to myself, "Why not? I know we won't see any piggies but there's nothing wrong with a little guy trip with some camping and guns and I get to throw a hike into the hat and later a river swim," so I packed up and we drove out.
Apparently 4 miles is "such a long hike," and "I totally hate you 11 on a 1-to-10 right now."
After the "how much further is it"-hike we headed out to a Verde River overlook I knew we could walk down to the river from. Two of them fell asleep before I blew up my tube to hike down. My now fit friend Bob and I played in the rapids and jumped into the deep sections. When we finally got back up the hill I was forced by the now awake sleeping beauties to program Dairy Queen into the gps.
After they cooled down in town we picked a camp spot right on the water closer to civilization.