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I'm planning a long backpack trip this summer and am more or less set on White Mountains (Greer area -- Mt Baldy, LCR, Black River west fork). I'm aiming to do something on the order of +/-50 miles with 4 or 5 nights of camping. It's been at least 30 years since I've been to the area so I'm looking for some feedback from those who have at least been there in this century. Even better would be in the last few years

In general the idea is to start near Greer and make my way to the West Fork of the Black River, explore the area south of Big Lake, then make my way back to the Mt Baldy wilderness, 'summit' Baldy, and then make my way back to my starting point.

I'm planning to hammock camp and knowing that a large portion of the area is lacking in suitable trees after Wallow and ongoing beetle damage I've planned the route based on tree availability. This is part of the reason that three of the campsites are in/near the Mt Baldy wilderness as that area appears to have been spared from the fire.

I've planned a basic route that is a combination of on and off-trail and that's plotted on this map:

https://hikearizona.com/map.php?MY=54590&M=1

I'm looking for specific feedback on the following:

• I'm planning the first day (black track) as a combination of on and off trail (Government Spring) up the west fork LCR. I've only found a couple of trip reports from this area so I'm a bit concerned that it's not passable. Do you know of any reasons why I shouldn't attempt this path? It appears passable on satellite photos, but they're over 5 years old.

• A good portion of Day 2 (red track) is off trail over the Burro Mountain area. The idea here is to more or less follow the drainage of the west fork BR and hook up with the Thompson trail. I know that part of this intersects the reservation so I'll need to be flexible in my route. Are there any other issues with this plan? I know that I can always fall back to forest roads if needed.

• Any issues with finding hammock-suitable trees in the Deadman's Crossing area of the black river? The photos I've seen don't indicate that there will be an issue.

• I'm debating on doing the loop around the Indian Spring trail. I know that it was a popular hike prior to the fire, but the terrain has changed quite a bit since then. I've plotted two options: The orange track skips Indian Springs and just returns to the Baldy Wilderness. This cuts a day off the trip. The other option (green and yellow tracks) adds Indian Springs along with another night of camping near Big Lake. Not 100% sure of overnight options in this area. Is the Indian Springs loop worth doing or should I skip it? Any other (better) options in the Big Lake area?

• On the last day I'm planning to take the west Fork LCR trail back to Greer as this appears to be a more scenic option. Is that true or should I do the east fork trail instead?

Any other feedback you have on my plans or suggestions for changes are welcome. I have no issue with adding mileage, but would like to keep the total number of nights to 5 or less. I haven't decided on dates yet, but it's looking like the earliest that I could disconnect for a full week is mid-July.

Thanks!

Nice map!

Your black route on day 1 is part of an old trail that hasn't gotten official maintenance in perhaps 30 years or more and is no longer recognized as a trail by the forest service, but I would agree it would be doable as there are fisherman's trails and it is riparian hiking. You will likely get your feet and legs/pants a bit wet as there are some swampy areas to go through. I've only done a small portion of it though. Itchy grass is fun to hike through :p. Beware the thorny plants that like to cut ankles.

For day 2, where you show to camp at the end is down in the meadow where I don't recall hammockable trees. There are probably enough on the hill to the northwest of the meadow or back a quarter mile before the meadow that wandering around the general area you can find something. If you cross to the other side of the river there are more trees on that side, but the fire burned through them, but I don't think it killed off all those pines, and as of my last hike there a few years ago, it seems that some (maybe half?) of the pines nearest to the river were going to survive. However the further you got from the river the worse the outlook (5%?). Suggest to be flexible in the exact area you camp that night within a half mile. There are lots of elk trails so I'm sure you can avoid trespassing through the rez if you search a bit.

Day 3 is pretty much entirely in the burn area. I've done it post fire, but it was less enjoyable that the Baldy Loop/East Fork/West Fork trails. Still there are some interesting feature like the log trough for the spring. It will also be hotter due to the lack of shade. Your camp spot at the end of the day seems to be in the transition area so there will be some trees there. If you are going to cut something out of your trip, or if it gets really hot, that would be the part to cut out, I think.

Day 4 is a roadwalk and railroad grade. That railroad gravel is harder to hike on. I would think it will be your least enjoyable day by far, even compared to hiking through the burn on your entire day 3. But it seems a necessary evil to close the loop.

With regards to day 6, I found both the east fork and west fork trails to be enjoyable between Greer and the highway, and I think you'd like either of them, the west fork trail has a bit more forest feel the east fork trail a bit more meadow feel and more opportunities to spot deer. The west fork has more vista spots. You can't go wrong with either one.

@nonot

Thanks for all of the info!!

I'm a little concerned about the river walk on day 1 as I can imagine a few obstacles eating up a lot of time. I was planning to drive up early and start hiking so that day is already going to be short. I might just do the West Fork trail on day 1 and the East fork on the last day.

For day 2 camping I'm planning to be flexible. I dropped the campsite there because I had to put it somewhere on the map. Sounds like I'll be able to find something suitable along that route.

Still debating on whether or not to include the Indian Spring loop, but from your description the railroad grade trail will likely be the real slog.

Also, out of curiosity given that I can make this happen pretty much any time in July or August is there a preferred time? I know that the monsoon will likely be in full swing by mid July so that will likely be a potential dark cloud no matter what.

Doing both east fork and west fork trails seems a good alternative if you are worried about the off trail section. I wouldn't think there would be anything to slow you down too significantly, but for any off trail you generally want to plan for a slower speed.

Weather wise, it seems unwise to be on Mt Baldy during a storm. Although with so many trees gone, hiking in an empty field during any lightning is not a good idea either, which applies to major chunks of your route. So I'd suggest to keep an eye on the monsoon forecast and avoid the worst of it. The river crossing at the end of Thompson trail seems like it could be dangerous to cross if it is swollen from rain.