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| Hiking | 5.90 Miles |
1,438 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.90 Miles | 2 Hrs 48 Mns | | 2.31 mph |
| 1,438 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | This was our last hike in the Primitive Blue Range before going home. We stayed at a great car camping spot the night before, complete with a meadow, some solid views from the rim and 3G. I chose this as the representative hike for what the higher elevations of the Blue Range offer.
After seeing how much everyone enjoyed the first few miles of KP, I did have a little regret that I did not plan our backpack for this area. Someone even commented, "Its like Humphrey's, but with a flowing creek." The trail does have a few burned areas, but they are short and not overly taxing. We made the 1500 feet descent in pretty good time and were at the two cascading forks of the KP after about an hour or so. We enjoyed the modest cascades and unique area for a few minutes and then found a nice spot to have a quick snack. After a couple of minutes, I noticed something coming up the trail. At first I thought is was Chumley lumbering up the trail, as he had left to go shoot some more cascades. However, very quickly I realized it was a bear that was making its way up the North Fork Trail. John held an indifferent Blanco and we shot away with our Iphones. There seemed to be no rush to get a good picture though, as it was coming right for us and the shots were sure to get better. It was at about this moment that the bear had its "ah ha moment." The bear stopped exactly at the use trail we had used to reach the creek. It picked up our scents and definitely discerned that we had just been there moments before and most likely still in the area. The big guy or gal seemed to think about going up trail for a minute, but then as calmly as it walked up the trail, it turned around and walked back.
No great photos as far as I know, but an awesome 3-5 minute viewing experience at a safe distance for us and the bear. It was John's first bear sighting in AZ and it validated my statement that it was not a matter of "if" but "when" which I was basing on past experiences in the area. It took until mile 51 and our last hour or so in the Blue Range, but we finally saw our bear! As soon as the bear left, we realized that the variable all weekend was Chumley. No way we see that bear if Chumley was there, as the silence of the canyon we enjoyed would have undoubtedly been broken up by electronic bird chirping noises and Chumley telling us we were wrong about something.
Quick hike back up, not the worst 1500 feet of gain you will ever do, but a little climb nonetheless. |
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