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| Volunteer | 17.00 Miles |
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| | Volunteer | 17.00 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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| no partners | | Event Report
A common comment (complaint) from AZT hikers is the difficulty navigating portions of Passage 25, north of the East Verde River. This portion of the AZT gets lite use so it is not well worn. The area is an ancient volcanic plain, littered with uniformly colored dark red rocks, which don’t wear down to a distinct tread in some areas. The cairns that mark the way are the same color as the surroundings making them difficult to see. In wet years the vegetation all but hides them. The plan was to enlarge the cairns, adding a few where necessary, and to replace the well-worn sign at White Rock Spring.
Following a one-week weather delay that thinned the ranks of participants, a team of volunteers assembled at the Twin Buttes TH early Saturday, April 16, checked gear and supplies one more time and headed south. Thru hiker number one showed up quickly, a few hundred yards from the vehicles. He was looking forward to a meal and beverages at That Brewery. He also reported no major concerns with the now-notorious Mazatzals. It’s largely a matter of perspective sometimes.
The cairn rehabilitation started right off, with the first one being just south of the rock gabions marking the Wilderness boundary. Early enthusiasm resulted in a rather tall cairn, and the group moved south, continuing with several more. The rocky terrain does indeed hide the trail in many spots, so in spite of concerns of over-doing the cairns, there was plenty to do.
At a rest stop about a mile and a half from the start, Tracy asked, “How are you going to replace that sign post at the spring without a digging bar?” Oops! Clearly the equipment check didn’t go quite as it should have. So the crew continued the effort south while their disorganized leader hustled back to the ATA Toyota for the bar, what’s another couple miles?
Thru-hiker number two passed; he was doing half the trail this year and had done the south half last year. Two horses and riders followed on quickly, with one reporting the rocky trail was a problem for the horses. There isn’t much to be done about rocks in AZ, but we do need more involvement from equestrians in reporting conditions and making the “equestrian perspective” known. Volunteers are welcome!
A couple hours after lunch the group decided to head for the spring for water and camp, there was 3½ miles to go and no shortage of work to do. The plan was to water up, replace the sign, camp, then work our way back in the morning.
White Rock Spring has been refurbished with new pipes and tank, and water was clear and plentiful, as the hikers and riders had reported. It just felt a little too far south at the end of the day. We watered up and started looking for a sign post to harvest. Upon closer inspection the existing post looked to be in very good condition, and the consensus was to just use that instead of cutting and setting a new one. And the digging bar was for what?
As the sign work was getting started three excited and thirsty dogs blew through the work site. They were followed shortly by Mary Ann and crew and at least four pack animals—horses and mules, I didn’t count which. Mary Ann, LF Ranch owner and segment steward, was headed out to do some fencing. She provided local information about goings on in the area, and took the group photo around the new sign for us. Then she took the animals east of the spring and we went back up the rim to one of the most impressive camp sites on the entire AZT.
Just above the rim, east of the trail, a path into the trees leads to a flat, soft, semi-open area with fantastic views south along the east slope of the Mazatzals. The setting sun and scattered low clouds made for quite a show as the group set up camp and cooked dinner.
Next morning the crew obliterated a meandering unofficial reroute and re-opened the official trail through encroaching trees. Then working north a few more cairns were built, several narrowing corridor sections opened and a few hundred yards of catclaw removed. There was little if any evidence of previous maintenance, but the trail is in very good condition considering how remote it is and the lite use. Crew members wondered aloud if the trail predates the AZT designation or if it was built for the AZT. Checking the 1930 topographic map reveals that it indeed does predate the AZT; this is not a new trail.
By noon the trip objectives were complete and everyone was ready to be heading back. The march north was uneventful, except for that new hill that had risen during the night—funny we didn’t hear or feel it. Well, that’s what it seemed like.
Back at the vehicles the group jettisoned packs and tools and made our way to That Brewery in Pine for a post-trip meal. The ice cream sundaes were a great topping for an enjoyable and productive trip!
Thank you Otto, Joe, John, Roger, and Tracy. |
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Whiterock Spring |
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| | | Spring has been refurbished quite recently. New pipes and tank, and plenty of clear water. | | _____________________
Shawn
The bear went over the mountain to see what he could see. |
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