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| Backpack | 15.00 Miles |
4,735 AEG |
| | Backpack | 15.00 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 4,735 ft AEG | | 30 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Car camped at the trailhead on Thursday evening and awoke to absolutely perfect weather. We started up Barnhardt Canyon and didn't see another person the entire day (weird for a holiday weekend). Made the right turn at the Sandy Saddle junction and it quickly became apparent that this trail had not been used in awhile. There were many times where the Mazatzal Wilderness map, a lucky cairn spotting and some dead reckoning came into play to keep us on the trail (a bad omen of things to come). Setup camp at the junction of a dry wash and Barnhardt Creek just West of Castersen Seep. As a side note, I grew up in the midwest and could spot poison ivy from a mile away...but I have never seen poison oak. Needless to say, I know what it looks like now! 
Day 2 started out just as day 1 ended. We knew we were headed to Sandy Saddle, we could see Sandy Saddle, but finding the trail was the real problem. Cairn spotting became more of a sport than a luxury as we pushed through brush up the spine of the mountain leading us to Sandy Saddle. As we finally reached the saddle, we thought the worst was behind us and we were incorrect. The downhill section is even worse as the creek you follow has suffered severe flooding and the trail is gone. The choice between boulder hopping with a 30lbs pack or pushing through brush was constant. When we finally reached the Arizona trail, it looked like a 4-lane highway. Nice and wide and free of brush!
We setup camp at Chilson Camp and began the search for a water source. The map led us to the Chilson Spring which is inconveniently located 100 yards up a very steep mountain side. A pipe crossing the trail is your first clue, a green 5-gallon bucket on top of said pipe is your second clue and a green patch of vegetation just uphill from said bucket will be your final destination! The water was trickling through and it really tested the limits of my buddy's MSR filter.
On Day 3, we awoke to a deer in camp that awoke everyone with the exception of my guard dog. We walked up to Chilson Spring to filter more water and packed it out back to the car for a few well deserved cold ones (and then to Walgreens for some Caladryl!). Although I've day hiked the Barnhardt Canyon trail before, the Chilson Camp was definitely the highlight of this trip. A perfect little spot to setup base camp and day hike more of the Mazatzal Divide trail. |
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