Half Moon, Rock Creek and ...? In the rain?

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

The weather forecast for Rye next week is for a 30-40% chance of rain and thunderstorms. Whoo-hoo!

Maybe this is a pilot thing. But I'm thinking about backpacking from the Barnhardt TH to Half Moon to Rock Creek and camp at Hopi Springs for an overnight in the (possible) rain.

I've done snow flurries in February. So I've seen how the ground can become muddy quickly. Aside from that, and lightning, anything else I should be warned about?

(I already pack my sleeping back in a 2 gallon zip-lock to keep it dry. I can use a trash bag to line my entire pack if necessary. I have a rain cover for my pack. But the Influencers say that they don't work.)

Surprisingly, the temps are still forecast to be in the high 80's.

[ShatteredArm]

This weather system more closely resembles monsoon moisture rather than the low pressure system that is more typical outside of the monsoon, which is why we're not seeing cooler temperatures. That said, I think your primary risk being up there is lightning.

On a side node, have you been to Hopi Spring? I didn't see any good campsites when I was up there, it's kind of on a slope covered in manzanita. I'd recommend proceeding to Horse Camp Seep, where there is fantastic camping.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@ShatteredArm
Thanks for the input. (Hmm... your handle is a little ominous.) The forecast suddenly changed and I'm thinking about packing up tonight and heading out for an overnighter.

No, I haven't seen Hopi Spring. From what I heard (from Ranger Ron) a couple weeks ago, some volunteers from AZT were working it when I was doing the south part of the MDT.

BUT, I will try to make it to Horse Camp seep for the night if Hopi is not campable. Everyone's face lit up talking about Horse Camp when I did my last trip.

Re: lightning: My neighbor's house (his TV antenna - this was 40 years ago) was hit by lightning. I was standing in my driveway at the time.

No rain. Not even heavy lightning/thunder. And his TV antenna was not the highest conductor in the area. (A lot of lightning advice is statistical.)

I felt the hairs on my arms stand up and I started thinking (engineer that I am), "Hmm... the only way that the hairs on my arm ...." Then, CRACK!!!!

It happened so fast, I couldn't complete the thought.

I don't know if I could drop fast enough now after experiencing it once.

Anyway, I'm curious to find what it's like to hike in the rain in AZ. (But not so much the mud.)

If my Lord calls me home tomorrow, you'll hear about it in the news.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

Well, I backpacked Half Moon Trail (288) from Barnhardt TH to almost the 288 TH. (Kind of odd that a trail can have two starting points.)

But, apparently, I lost the trail after passing though a large gate about 2/3's of the way up. And almost died - twice - from "bushwhacking" for far too long. (Sprained my knee. Lost my backpack. Had to spend a night without food, warm clothes, shelter.)

I've been studying the satellite photos to see where I went wrong. Haven't figured it out yet.

Trip Report planned soon.

In the meantime, does anyone know the name of the gengleman who runs the Ranch there? He said that his family owns the Doll Baby Ranch too. So I'm guessing a Mr. Armstrong.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

I found part of the problem.

It turns out that there are two versions of TR 288. I have overlayed the FS Topo over the Open Topo in a graphic. (Will post a photo here if I can figure out how. (Do I have to host somewhere? Or can I upload to HAZ?) Otherwsie, will be in my photoset.)

The Forest Service version (which I would assume is the official one) shows the trail south of the one shown on Open Topo, and as outlined on the HAZ version.

Yikes.

The gentleman who helped me find my backpack, Mr. Armstrong?, is an avid backpacker himself. He showed me his hiking app - Ox something? - which shows georeferenced satellite photos.

Yeah, that would help.

[CannondaleKid]

It turns out that there are two versions of TR 288. I have overlayed the FS Topo over the Open Topo in a graphic.

I would VERY careful relying on various different maps.
Case in point... while you might think the Forest Service Topo would be at least somewhat reliable don't bank on it, partly because a huge chunk of trails on the most current map were NOT updated but simply redrawn over the same tracks as the old maps.
So when an area has been burned/flooded/eroded/whatever and the 'new' (replacement?) trail has been blazed, it may vary widely from where it was historically.
Personally, when I'm creating a route for a hike which I'm unfamiliar with, the last thing I do is use the Satellite overlay and zoom in to check for obvious discrepancies. And especially when planning a hike OFF trail I seek out open areas or other obvious features which can then be used during the hike to help keep my bearings.

When it comes to the Half Moon Trail, we hiked it in April 2022 and even with a few side trips to check out something that caught my interest it didn't seem like too big a deal to follow it. In fairness, knowing ahead of time that much of where the trail USED to be is NOT where it is now, we stayed very cognizant of:
#1 Where is/was the trail?
#2 Where are we in relation to it?

Funny enough, one of the easiest parts to follow it was through the dried patch of briars... it seems the cows knew where the trail was.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@CannondaleKid
Tnx. Yeah, the Ranch owner mentioned "cow trails."

And after posting, it occurred to me that government Topo maps, while perhaps "official," are probably the last to be updated. (I'm spoiled by aviation, where the FAA (or NOAA) updated charts at least twice a year and makes them available digitally at no cost.)

There were some small cairns along the old part of the trail the closer I was to the new trail. Which got me thinking that cairns aren't really "Official." Anyone can make a cairn. When I asked the Rancher about the cairns on the old trail, he said that he didn't know. I'm going to try to find who he was and snail mail him my findings about what the trail was.

I don't think that anyone is maintaining that trail ... at least not after the northern half, after you cross Rock Creek. (The first half is very well cairn'd.)

Current satellite imagery - off line and georeferenced - would be fantastic. I've done a search for the best apps for backpackers. But the one he told me about (begins with an "O." I should have written it down or made an audio note) was not in the list.

[CannondaleKid]

@TooOld2HikeQ
The app is "onXmaps"

[ShatteredArm]

I think it has been decades since any of the FS topo maps have been updated. I'd recommend downloading an app that has a variety of maps to choose from, rather than relying on a single topo map.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@CannondaleKid

The app is "onXmaps"

That's it! I never would have guessed it is spelled that way.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@ShatteredArm
Agreed. I did take a few printouts (old school) with me including AllTrails and HikeAZ. Reading reviews from others, I'm not the only one complaining about swerving off the latter part of this trail.

[big_load]

I'm sorry you had a stressful trip.

As others have noted, trails get rerouted, usually more often than maps get updated. My approach is to understand and follow the landscape as much as the trails. I've been places where a trail went the complete opposite direction around a mountain than the map showed, so following the trail was sort of a leap of faith. Of course the landscape showed me how it could work, and also where it might deviate if it weren't eventually going to work back around to where I wanted it.

I've followed game trails before into some rough spots, sometimes closely paralleling where I ought to be. Understanding the map was always helpful in resolving the situation.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@big_load
Part of the problem caused by being here on the ground is not having that bird's eye view. (The Big Picture.) When I used to fly, and when I flew north of Williams (AZ), I always used to think of the early pioneers and how disappointed they must have felt after taking what seemed like an obvious path to somewhere only to find a small (but deep) canyon blocking their way.

The main reason that the Rancher guy who helped me recommended OnXmaps was for the high res satellite imagery. One could think that going around a mountain in a certain way was a good idea, until one sees the massive rock slide (or whatever) blocking the way.

But I understand what you're saying. Looking back on it now, if I had studied the landscape more, I might have realized that the way I was headed was not going to get me up and over the ridge I was on.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

Downloaded RS Scout. I didn't know if was free. Am kicking myself even moreso now. I wouldn't have become lost if I had had it.

[xsproutx]

Make sure you know how to use it (IE, download routes/maps before heading out). I generally like to have two maps on my phone so look into others as well. OnX is fine but there are things like CalTopo/Gaia/etc as well that I prefer as one of my two.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@xsproutx
Tnx. Yep, been playing with both RS and OnXMaps. (With due respect to Mr. Bartels, OnXMaps is having a 40% Off Memorial Day Sale now.)

It's interesting that the marked trails in OnXMaps aren't quite as accurate/fool proof as in RS. (I suppose that someone has to manually enter dots to input trails?) So this fool could still go off trail using OnXMaps.

I'm curious to know if Water Reports in RS are cached while off-line so that I can make a report and have it upload later?

[xsproutx]

I'm curious to know if Water Reports in RS are cached while off-line so that I can make a report and have it upload later?

Yes; you can do it in the field and it'll upload when you have signal

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@xsproutx
Cool!

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@TooOld2HikeQ
I tried making some Water Reports off line while On-Trail yesterday. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I couldn't find how to do it. (Perhaps because the app was in Tracking mode? Or just User Error.)

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my!

Just returned from trying Rock Creek Trail. (Took advantage of a break in temperatures.) I stopped before "the wall" to the waterfall.

Well, not lions and tigers. (At least, not a lion that I saw.) But a bear. And I think a rattlesnake.

Still some water to be found.

Trip report and photos to follow.