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| | | Black Canyon Trail to Home - Parts 0 & 1, AZ | | | |
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Black Canyon Trail to Home - Parts 0 & 1, AZ
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| Backpack | 26.08 Miles |
2,016 AEG |
| | Backpack | 26.08 Miles | 1 Day 33 Mns | | |
| 2,016 ft AEG | | 28 LBS Pack | | |
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| Partners |
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| no partners | | Dec. 30, my dear wife drove me and my hiking partner, Craig, to the start of our backpacking trip to thru-hike the Black Canyon Trail (BCT) and then continue south to my house, just south of Deem Hills Park. On the way, we stashed a couple gallons of water at the Emery Henderson trailhead, a gallon each at the Glorianna and Table Mesa trailheads and stopped and got a Subway in Cordes Lakes for the night's camp. She dropped us off at Orme Rd and some other road with signs to the BCT about 2.7 miles away.
It was mid-forties when we started so we put on an extra layer and started our walk. Along the way, we found a geocache near the road. It was almost dark when we arrived at the Prescott NF boundary, the northern terminus of the BCT a bit NW of Tri-Metals Mine. Craig went up a nearby hill to find a geocache that I'd previously found while I got myself situated for the night. We decided there was no need to set up a shelter so we laid out our bedding and ate the sandwiches and drank the beer each of us brought. It got cold quickly so we called it a night before seven.
It was a very cold night and it was difficult to get up in the morning. Actually, I was cold in my bedding so it really didn't matter too much. Around seven we were on our way hiking the BCT. Shortly after we started, we stopped at Russian Well were I got a liter of water. The trough was covered with ice at least a half inch thick and I needed to use a rock to break it. Over a mile later, I realized I left a 20 oz. bottle back at the well. Dang, just dang.
After a couple hours, it was finally warming up a bit so we stopped for a break and had some food and swapped out our beanies for normal hats and took a layer off.
There was water flowing in the Agua Fria above X Lazy B ranch. We also saw four deer and a coyote.
We stopped at the Big Bug trailhead for lunch. It's not the most scenic place to rest as Hwy 69 is right there, but it has a certain amenity that was nice.
From Big Bug south, the trail is noticeably easier to follow than it was to the north. The hiking was pleasant as it wound through the hills where we stopped for another break. From there, the trail became rocky and would be very muddy if wet, then joined a road for a couple miles at a corral not far from Dripping Spring.
From there the trail crossed Antelope Creek Rd then dropped down a canyon and contoured all around everything. It was near the end of the day when we hiked through here and it was shady and it started to get cold. It was around half past five when we arrived at the corral along Government Wash and Crown King Rd where we camped for the night.
A friend, who was supposed to be hiking with us, and his family stopped by and brought fire, beer, and good cheer for New Year's Eve. It was a great way to end both the day and the year. They left around eight and we moved our camp a short distance into some brush to get out of the wind and called it a night.
triplog for Black Canyon Trail to Home - Part 2 |
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