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| Hiking | 26.15 Miles |
4,011 AEG |
| | Hiking | 26.15 Miles | 1 Day 18 Hrs 31 Mns | | |
| 4,011 ft AEG | | 35 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Mom and I wanted to continue our hiking of the AZT through the Mazatzal wilderness since the weather and water sources are amazing this fall. This time we loaded up my mountain bike and I dropped off my mom at the Pine TH. I then drove to Doll Baby Ranch TH and rode my bike on the Crackerjack Mine Road up to Highway 87, then up to the Pine TH. Total biking time was about three hours, and the road was pretty rough, such that I had to HAB (hike a bike) a couple miles of it. The final 300 foot descent on the pavement to the Pine TH made the whole thing worth it, though! 
Due to the bike shuttle, we got started with the hike around 1 PM. This meant we had to hike fast to make some progress. With a stop for water at oak spring, we made it to East Tank to camp for the night. The sunset was beautiful and the stars were amazing! I've never seen such amazing stars with a full 360 degree view. There were even some shooting stars--not sure which meteor shower was going on.
In the morning, we decided we should try to make it all the way to the East Verde River, due to an event we were planning to attend in Phoenix Friday evening. So we awoke at 6, were out of camp by 7, and hiked generally without stopping for 4 miles. After a brief break in Rock Creek (dry up here), we continued another 4 miles to Whiterock Spring. This section of the trail was great, with a gradual downhill grade across the mesa. The miles piled up quick, though, and before we knew it, we were at Whiterock Spring. It was a nice area, with a huge juniper that made for a nice well-deserved break. After some more hours on the trail, we made it to Polk Spring, where we were impressed by the amount of water. Finally, after 15.33 miles, we made it to camp! The East Verde River is gorgeous and definitely worth a stop for the night.
Next morning, we awoke by 5:30, picked up camp in a hurry, and got out to our car by 8:30. After fetching the bike from Pine TH, we decided we had enough time to do another hike on the Mogollon Rim...but that's a different triplog. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
Certain drainages with water had trees with fall color, but it was rare. |
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East Tank |
51-75% full |
51-75% full |
| | | Not the most pleasant water; we camped near here but didn't use the water. |
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Oak Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | The spring box was full, and our filtering 8 liters drained it faster than it could refill. |
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Polk Spring |
Gallon + per minute |
Gallon + per minute |
| | | Hundreds of gallons per minute? I'd call this spring more like a medium flow creek that just comes pouring out of the ground! |
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Rock Creek |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | Rock creek was dry at the crossing along the AZT many miles upstream. Down here where the waypoint is, at the East Verde River, it consists mostly of Polk Spring and is medium flow going into the East Verde River. Nice and cold, and very good taste! |
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Whiterock Spring |
Gallon per minute |
Gallon per minute |
| | | Plenty of water here. The spring box was full and had some green algae, but the water was very clear. | | | |
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