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| Bush-Beeline to Lime Kiln, AZ | | -
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| | Bush-Beeline to Lime Kiln, AZ | | | |
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Bush-Beeline to Lime Kiln, AZ
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| Mtn Biking | 16.85 Miles |
1,070 AEG |
| | Mtn Biking | 16.85 Miles | 5 Hrs 16 Mns | | 3.49 mph |
| 1,070 ft AEG | 26 Mns Break | 5 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | On my regular semi-off-trail rides (2-4/week) I get close to the Salt River in a number of places between Granite Reef and Water Users Recreation Sites, which means over time I see the Salt River under a wide variety of conditions. With the high flows providing out-of-the-ordinary levels compared to what I've experienced in the past, I've been documenting the changes on a reasonably regular basis.
But since I've only been seeing it from the South/East side of the Salt River I figured it was time to check it out from the other side, which requires a long ride. Oh yeah, and lest I forget, it's a long ride through all types of terrain, the least fun being the sandy washes, rocks along the meandering horse trails ranging in size from walnuts to baby-heads as well as areas of thick vegetation, all the while climbing/descending.
Thanks to my numerous previous trips to the same general area I mapped out what I felt was the shortest/easiest route, avoiding the worst of the unsavory features.
Although still prime flower blooming season and sure to bring out the usual suspects, I got started early enough from the gate just south of Milepost 36 on Bush Highway that I was the only vehicle in the lot.
(Since I was almost completely boxed-in after my ride from here a few weeks ago, this time I made sure to park for a quick-and-easy exit)
The first mile or so the easiest I'd ever seen... on wide hard-packed trails, not from the usual horse traffic but rather the hordes of photographers over the last month.
Once 'over-the-ridge' I had to pay more attention to the route so as to avoid as much of the wide sandy washes as possible. I was quite surprised I did not encounter ANY horses until close to the last ridge adjacent to the Beeline (AZ 87) which is where the large water-and-feed station is for the horses. Over the next few miles I would encounter fewer than a half-dozen lone horses.
Time to ascend the ridge so I would ride above-the-fray, avoiding 90% of the sandy washes. Of course, there was a trade-off for rough-and-rocky terrain with plenty of thorny vegetation to avoid... as well as a barbed wire fence which would become my nemesis. Although the fence has served no real purpose in decades, it has plenty of breaks where the horses have meandered back-and-forth, and with the current over-growth of vegetation covering much of the trail, if I missed where it had crossed, I ended up on the wrong side of the fence.
Even without dealing with the fence I lost the trail and had to backtrack a number of times due to no sign of a trail.
Eventually I reached the end of the ridge and headed out into the wide flat area just north of the Salt River. Here's where the real challenge came to the fore-front... with a HUGE amount of new vegetation growth, what is the best route to get close to the river? It was obvious my mapped route was a bust so I just picked out the top of a tree on the bluff across the river by the bus garages and just kept heading that direction. For much of this part of the ride the green vegetation was so thick I had no idea what the actual ground surface was... as long as I could keep forward momentum and stay away from trees and thick brush I just blindly rode along. If I ran over a snake, so be it.
(In reality, I had no worries... it just plain wasn't snake-country not having seen ANY critters for them to feed on in over a mile.)
Once through most of the thick vegetation I now had to deal with sand, and sand, and more sand, along with aa bunch of river rock thrown in for good measure. I'm sure I hiked-a-bike at least a half-mile of the 'ride'. The photos provide plenty of evidence in support of that fact.
As I continued east along the north bank of the river I stopped for photos at any point I was able to reach the river, and in some cases, where I 'thought' I could but was unable. I tried to follow the equestrian trail along the river that I had traveled last year but when it disappeared under water I was left with dragging/carrying my bike up a steep rocky slope to ridge the flat hard surface up top. Once there I had but a short quick ride over to the remnants of the walls used to funnel the sheep to cross the bridge... which of course is no longer there.
Having seen enough of the Salt River from the other side I set off on my return journey. With a reasonably obvious equestrian trail heading in the general direction I wished to go I didn't bother to check my mapped route. And although I had not planned on another visit to the lime kiln, the trail led me right to it so naturally I had to take a few more photos of it... as if I don't already have enough.
Ok, time to retrace my route back... if only it were that easy. 
The terrain for much of the route provided no 'tire tracks' so of course I'd be doing back-tracking for the same reason as earlier. I did miss one major turn which resulted in unexpected wash crossings and I ended up closer to the horse water-and-feed station so I grabbed a few quick photos and kept going.
As I neared the end I encountered a number of groups of people who were wondering where are all the horses?
Sorry... today they are likely staying as far away as they can from all the flower-photographer's, with just a slight bit of joy I mentioned it was at least a 1.5 mile hike to the closest individual horse and closer to 2 miles to the herd, that's a 3-4-mile roundtrip so plan accordingly.
And since they expected horses to be closer, of course nobody I met was carrying any water... par for the course.
Yup, I posted a few more photos than usual, but then this trip wasn't exactly the usual either.
I shot a bunch of video along the river but as usual, haven't put it into a single video to post. |
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