I use a bear canister, or food hanging. The black bears tend to be timid and I've never needed bear spray. There is the off chance you could run into a bear people have been feeding which are the most dangerous black bears, so I wouldn't look down on someone who wanted to bring bear spray in case th...

Lanphier Creek is very nice.

@AZLumberjack
Here's a map: I'd guess less than 10% of the wilderness is subject to closure. Admittedly it is tough to hike some of the trails that are open due tot he associated trailhead being closed, but it is what it is.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 792706.pdf

Peralta Trailhead is listed as "the border" of the Superstition Fire closure order set to expire in Sept 30th, as a separate closure from the general stage 1 closure. So it is on the border, and usually the line that divides the border is off-limits, meaning you could seem to drive to 10 yards of th...

Even worse - they nabbed his Oreos and beer!

Hmmm, it's been years since I've checked that page. On newer Garmins you literally just copy the download file onto the Garmin's base directory.

The complicated instructions on that page only apply to the older Garmin models...pre 2015?

@LindaAnn
see my signature

I skimmed it, but came away with the impression that that is the key act that commissioned the USFS to not just pay attention to maximum extraction of money out of the land, but be able to weight less profitable public usage (recreation, etc) of the land against use of the land for sheer profit.

Thank you for the link, I was not aware of the existence and consequences of the the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 (MUSYA), and my previous reply does not seem accurate in that regard.

The nuns should be happy I spelled it correctly

As I understand it, the US national forest services were created to facilitate extraction of the most value (money) out of the land. In ye olde early days, the most value was believed to be obtained via permitting clear cutting, mining, etc. Until Teddy Roosevelt got involved and realized that to pr...

This is utter nonsense, scouring is a problem for pillars in the waterflow. The silver bridge is cable-stayed with no pillars in the waterway.

On almost every visit, I observe a pair of Tonto NF rangers at the Peralta trailhead basically begging people to not litter, bring enough water, and not get lost on weekends; directing traffic to the overflow lot and preventing people from parking in areas where they would block the road (that are a...

Nearly all the PLBs work with a satellite or two that hover south of Texas (to allow one satellite to pick up signals across the entire continental US. So even if there is clear sky above you in a canyon, if your view southeast is blocked, it won't get through. If you need one that works with only o...

The most likely explanation is insufficient maintenance to combat rust. At least, that's based on the conditions I observed 5 years ago.

Modern camelbacks have tabs that can swivel to "hug" the bladder, to ensure that the opened bladder is fully exposed to air. I find the hanging frame unnecessary. Empty and hang upside down using the loop from the bladder holder (if you do not have a holder, then the frame seems needed). Once a year...

For others curious, I'd recommend reading the Bear Canyon to Bull Pen trip description for anyone planning off-trail travel in WCC but sticking to the creek.

gate is closed, you have to walk around the rez boundary. Park service is recommending to park near the gate and hoof it from there.

3 days/2 nights is enough to make it to Maiden Falls and back from Bull Pen, swimming required but no tech gear needed unless you venture into side canyons away from the creek itself. Off-trail begins after you get about 7 miles in. Here are the 3 descriptions that cover the area you plan to hike (a...

It's quite a shame. The books I'd read as a kid suggested by this time we'd have flying cars and robots to take care of everything for us, and what is our society today actually doing? Struggling with fundamental issues like picking up your trash and not drawing graffiti everywhere... Where did we g...