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| Hiking | 13.85 Miles |
375 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.85 Miles | 4 Hrs 46 Mns | | 2.91 mph |
| 375 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I first hiked from Carefree Highway to New River Rd. back in 2011 [ photoset ] . But I did not start making YouTube videos, in earnest, until 2014. So, I had not made a video of the Biscuit Flat segment. I wanted to do something closer to Lake Pleasant, but ran out of time, deciding to do this instead.
To tell you the truth, I was not really looking forward to it. If you read that link in the previous paragraph you will know why: In 2011, the entire area between Bob Bentley Trailhead and the New River was riddled with garbage, particularly shotgun shells and various shot up home appliances. 
I hiking from the Emery Henderson Trailhead just after 9:00 a.m. Even though it was 41°, it was sunny, so it felt good with only a shirt on, no jacket. After playing “Frogger” across New River Rd., I headed south towards New River. I’ll skip telling you about my outbound hike, since I wandered down various jeep trails, so suffice to say that I could not cross New River dry (a rare event) and I crossed paths with a small herd of burros. Also, it was obvious that someone had done a huge cleanup all across Biscuit Flat, as I only spotted occasional shotgun shells.
There is no parking lot at Bob Bentley ( https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituar ... ey-5550459 ) Trailhead, so either park on the side of Carefree Highway or just inside the gate. (If it is unlocked, which it probably is.) An obvious jeep trail heads northeast, but turn east along the less obvious jeep trail paralleling AZ-74. In 250 yds., at Deadman Wash, the jeep trail splits. Turn left along the more obvious of the two. (Or pick your way up the middle of the riparian area, looking for birds or flowers.)
There’s quite a few cholla, in a variety of species, saguaro are rare, and I only spotted one barrel cactus. There was plenty of green grass, and even some dense clusters of a leafy plant, due to the heavy winter monsoon. The small heard of burros were quite vocal about me interrupting their grassy meal. 
I knew Jeffrey MacDonald, the "Fatal Vision" family killer, had once been at FCI Phoenix, but had no idea that one the Meat Puppets had also done time there. Besides the Ben Avery Range, you may also hear shooting at the prison, but it is another range, not a jail break.
Today, mid-monsoon, New River had flow 100 ft. wide and 4″ deep. (The river bed is about 400 ft. wide.) In the morning, heading south, I tried to rock hop, but gave up after getting my feet wet. In the afternoon, on the way back north, I didn’t bother, and just splashed right across.
To summarize the southern most segment of the Black Canyon Trail: It’s not all that scenic, but it is a fair number of miles. And, at least, it has been mostly cleaned up!
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/476677508 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Some white fluffy things in the New River bed, some tiny purple things along Deadman Wash, and a fair number of brittlebush. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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