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| Hiking | 10.00 Miles |
4,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.00 Miles | 10 Hrs | | 1.25 mph |
| 4,000 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The mission was to spend a day chasing elk up and down North Peak.
The Mazatzal Mountains have a thriving population of elk, albeit small, that range from Four Peaks on up to the Mogollon Rim. Many of the Mazatzal herds are isolated and self sustaining, surviving at the extreme fringe of their habitable range.
The winters are mild and the snow is light in the Maz country, but its summers are brutally hot, making life difficult for both elk and humans alike. The elk do not take the heat very well. During the summer months you can find them lying in and around the mountain springs, usually panting with their tongues hanging out, fur coats mangy looking and ragged; in a most pitiful state . They have decent racks (horns) but on average are smaller than the elk in higher elevations of Arizona, which in comparison look like rodeo bulls on steroids.
I rolled in the Barnhardt Trailhead rather late in the morning, knowing that the herd usually is halfway up the mountain before the sun comes up, and on the move. I would try to catch up to them midday at the bedding grounds just below the cliffs, at about the 6400' mark. There are several good spots from the Barnhardt north to Rock Creek, which has a fantastic spring at the 6000' level.
The walking up there takes some time, much of it steep and conducive to ankle sprains/destruction. Such country also makes for noisy movement, with each step sending a cascade of rocks down the mountain, announcing one's presence to the entire world. Around noon, I walked into three cow elk bedded down under some oak trees, which spooked off making a good deal of ruckus of their own. They slowed down after about 100 yards, looking back in my direction, knowing good well that I could not even remotely catch them. In contrast, the bulls will run like heck all the way down the mountain, not letting up until several miles distant.
It was to be a slow day, and those were the last of the elk sightings, the resident bull nowhere in sight. He was likely further north over at Alder Creek, which also has a good spring near the 6000' level and a nice patch of Ponderosa forest.
The Maz Country made me work for every inch of the piddly 10 mile effort. Somewhere along the return leg of the hike, I began to reconsider the ambitious 60 mile trip plan I had conjured up for next weekend, and came to the realization that it was just a vain attempt to defy another milestone birthday.
I went to the Mazatzals and saw the elephant. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
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Eisenhauer Spring |
Quart per minute |
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| | | This spring has a water trough set up, has frequent use by livestock during the winter and spring months. | | _____________________
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