Seeking Arizona Hiking Advice

[salish]

Hello,

I’m a hiker and backpacker from Seattle. I will be attending a conference in Tucson the last week of June and I am looking for some hiking advice. I’ll be taking a few days before the conference to rent a car and head into the general area of the White Mountains, in hopes of finding some high lakes to hike to and fish for Apache trout. I’m looking for at least one overnighter. I’ve spent a good deal of time in Arizona as a youngster and I’m familiar with most of the state, but I’ve never actually hiked there.

A few questions I have:

-How bad is the heat in late June in this area? I will carry as much water as I can and I do have a filter, but I’m aware the opportunities to find water are much less than in my home range of the Cascade Mountains.

- how about rattlers? We have more rattlers in Washington state than most people are aware of, but they are not found in the Cascades. The Pacific Rattlesnake, which occupies the central & eastern portion of our state, is pretty wimpy compared to your Western Diamondbacks. I normally hike with an 8x10 Siltarp, but I would probably elect to use a tent on this trip. This past summer I did a kayak trip below Hoover Dam and the ants invaded every night, so I’m guessing there are more creepy crawlies than I am used to.

-how is GPS reception in the White Mountains, generally speaking? I have a bare-bones Magellan Explorist 100, which loses signal in the Cascades, but it works well in the more open parts of our state.

-Trailhead requirements? In my state we must possess a “recreation permit” in order to park vehicles at trailheads. Does Arizona or the Apache tribe require similar permits? (I assume the White Mountain Apache tribe requires permits and fees to access their land).

-Emergency notifications. Since I’ll most likely be hiking solo, would there be any clubs or individuals (hikers?) with whom I could leave a trip plan, itinerary and emergency contact info?

-Hike suggestions: this is a tough one because I don’t want to ask anyone to give up their prized hiking locations, especially if it involves pristine and fragile high lakes. But if someone could point me in the right direction perhaps I could ferret out these places in my own research.

Lastly, if anyone has any questions or needs info on hiking in the Washington Cascades, I’d be happy to help out all I can. My passion is to fish and hike to high mountain lakes, and I’m a member of the Washington Trailblazers; a 75 year old club which stocks our alpine lakes with fish by backpack. My hangout is at http://nwhikers.net, and my two high lakes fishing clubs are the Trailblazers: http://watrailblazers.org/ and the Washington State Hi Lakers: http://hilakers.org/

Thank you,

Cliff
Seattle, WA

[azbackpackr]

Salish, if you're going onto the White Mountain Apache Reservation, the permits are not from the Forest Rangers, but you can buy them in many stores in most of the little towns, Show Low, Pinetop, Springerville, etc. In Springerville I know you can buy them at the famous Western Drug and Sporting Goods store. Pinetop Sporting Goods also sells them. And you can pick them up at Hondah Sporting Goods right next to the casino. One interesting thing is you can buy a hiking & fishing permit days or even months in advance, outlining your planned itinerary, number of hikers, etc. You just fill out the info on the form. But then you are expected to stick to your plan!

I personally think there is enough territory to explore in the Apache-Sitgreaves to last a lifetime, so I haven't even started to explore the Reservation.

[salish]

Hello, this is Salish, the one who began this thread back in January. It's a go - I'm coming down next week and I and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm heading directly to the Whites from the Tucson airport, in a rental car. I'm going to try for some hiking around the Christmas Tree Lake area, Show Low, Pinetop, etc. I'm looking for some advice on driving directions and places to camp (or possibly motel it). I need to find campground or motel for my first night or two in that area. From my research it appears that Christmas Tree is about 30-35 miles SE of Show Low. My idea is to find some place to camp around Show Low, Pinetop or Greer. I don't know if there are any motels in these small towns, but I will be bringing a tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, etc., so if I can find a KOA camp ground or some other type of camp ground I can just do that, but a motel may be an option.

Also, I need to ask for advice on driving directions. The straight shot from Tucson up through Globe and to Show Low seems like the best route. But I was looking at the map and I was thinking of driving east from Tucson to Benson, Wilcox, then north on 666 to Springerville, and then heading west to the lake area or Pinetop. It's probably a very long drive, but it's country I have never seen before and I thought it might be interesting. I could always do it on the return drive back to Tucson, however.

So, if anyone has any suggestions I could use as to camping, motels and my tentative driving routes, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks very much,

Cliff
Seattle

[azbackpackr]

Hi, Glad you're coming this way. Pinetop is a major, busy, very plastic tourist trap with lots of motels, 4 lanes of very busy traffic. So is Show Low. Not sure why you'd pick these towns if you are wanting to have a nice, quiet vacation. Although there are many trails around Show Low and Pinetop, none of them has the wilderness feel of the eastern White Mtn. trails near Greer, Alpine or Hannagan Meadow. As I said before, I don't go on the White Mtn. Apache Reservation, so can't advise you there.

There are no KOA campgrounds. All the campgrounds are in the National Forest and many of them are free. Dispersed camping away from campgrounds is also allowed in most areas.

If you do come up 191, (which hasn't been called 666 in at least 15 years), it will take awhile, but is very pretty. Perhaps you could do a loop. Quickest way from Tucson airport is through Globe to Show Low. It will take about 4 to 5 hours or so to get to Pinetop that way. Going by way of 191 could take 8 to 9 hours. It is very slow.

There are lots of campgrounds in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. There are reasonably priced motels in Alpine, Eagar and Springerville. Greer is very expensive and may require reservations--it's mostly cabins, but does have a tiny motel. Show Low's motels will mostly be a lot cheaper than Pinetop's. There are campgrounds around Show Low and Pinetop as well, as the National Forest is right next to the towns.

If you want the high mountain atmosphere I recommend hiking around Hannagan Meadow, or along the Black River. There are many trails, and they are signed along 191. Hannagan Meadow Lodge has some maps. The Alpine Ranger District also has some maps and guides, but is only open on weekdays. Hannagan Meadow Lodge would be a lovely place to stay, if they have any vacancies.

Access to Mt. Baldy is limited right now. Please see my post under Road Conditions.

Hope this is helpful. Please don't hesitate to PM me for more info.

Elizabeth

[salish]

Hi Elizabeth,

Wow, a lot of info - thanks very much! I'm really glad you told me about Pinetop & Show Low as I had no idea they were tourist traps. I now know I can probably just cruise on through. My thoughts on Show Low and Pinetop were simply for places to crash on my day of travel so I can get some rest and head to other places. On my first night I've decided to camp somewhere near or at Hawley Lake because I'll be meeting an Apache guy who will take me to Christmas Tree Lake to fish for Apache trout. As a nutcase high lakes fisherman here in Washington, that's something I've always dreamed of. That's the fishing part of this trip, but after that I'll have a couple of days to head east of there and do some exploring. I was thinking exactly of your Hanegan Meadows, after doing some research. But then again, being a fly fisherman the Black River is also on my list, and if I can camp somewhere nearby I would be more than happy seeing it and fishing there. I don't have the time to do any long gutbusters or peak-bagging, so this or Hanegan Meadows will make me very happy. This is a business trip and it's a nice way for me to get down there, but the downside is there's never really enough time to do it justice. It's sort of like eating the cherry off a sundae and not getting to the ice cream.

As for the drive out, I think I've pretty much decided to take the same route in reverse to get back to Tucson by late Sunday night, so I can be at my conference on Monday. I'll be taking a couple of days at the end of the conference the following week to explore and I'll have more time for scenic routes.

Oh, before I forget, do you know where I can find a good place to purchase a stove? I'm a little concerned about putting my pocket rocket burner assembly in my check-in baggage, even without the fuel cell. I think I'll opt to buy a little canister stove down there somewhere. I don't know my way around Tucson at all (I was last there in 1971!) Is there an easy place to exit the freeway and shop for this and other hiking items, and jump back on the freeway?

Thanks again,
Cliff

[te_wa]

here's a MAP to Summit Hut in north Tucson.

[salish]

Hey Mike, thanks a lot!
Cliff

[Hoffmaster]

Pinetop is a major, busy, very plastic tourist trap with lots of motels, 4 lanes of very busy traffic. So is Show Low. Not sure why you'd pick these towns if you are wanting to have a nice, quiet vacation.
Elizabeth

You're kidding right?
The dude is coming from Seattle; I'm pretty sure the Pinetop are will seem very rural in comparison. Also, what part of Pinetop is a "tourist trap." I'm not defending the town or anything; it's just that, I was there over the weekend for the millionth time, but I've yet to see anything there that would make me want to come there as a tourist. Why do I go? To hike the White Mtns and mtn bike Los Burros or other trails and fish, but that's hardly touristy. So, I guess it's not Pinetop that attracts me, it just so happens that I have a place to stay there. I'd rather camp, but it's hard to turn down an invitation from some cool friends.

Salish, if I were you, I'd find a different route than 191 (666). It's a nice road, but very twisty-turny. Your average speed will be about 30 miles per hour. A complete waste of time if you're on vacation. Other routes might be longer mileage-wise, but probably will be shorter time-wise. Have fun! The White mtns are beautiful! Tucson is, uh, nice too.

matt

[salish]

Thanks Matt, I appreciate your help.
Cliff