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| | Potato Baker Snowshoe, AZ | | | |
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Potato Baker Snowshoe, AZ
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| Snowshoeing | 9.22 Miles |
1,267 AEG |
| | Snowshoeing | 9.22 Miles | 4 Hrs 55 Mns | | 2.08 mph |
| 1,267 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I wanted to get up and see the lasting snowpack on the rim. I know it's been melting fast, but research and past experience had me confident on a route that would be snow-covered.
What you see from the highway is surprisingly bare. We began to wonder if this plan wasn't going to pan out. But we strapped snowshoes to our packs and set out from the 613 gate dodging snow drifts on the muddy road bed. At 7300 there was plenty of bare ground, but the drifts were deep and annoying to cross.
Around a mile and a half in we took off on the old 9382 road, now shod for flotation as there were few bare spots and it was easier in snowshoes than not. We crested at 7550 where there was full snowcover. The short drop down to Potato Lake Draw is north facing and was mostly bare, so we switched back to plain boots. The melt runoff is raging!! A river ran through the draw and the lake was flowing over the earthen dam that directs flow into the potato basin. Upon the return wade across the dam I noticed several areas of flow through the earthen mound below. I could easily see this structure failing before the melt ends this spring.
We opted for the sunny side of the draw to avoid the snowpack. This lasted about a mile until the 7400 contour where snow travel became the only alternative. We continued up Potato Lake Draw until reaching what is normally a large summertime group camping area adjacent to the rim road on 9362T. At this point the snow was a minimum of 2 feet deep with deeper drifts.
It was a huge surprise to find that the FS had run a blade down the road! This gave us an unexpected dry road walk for a little over a quarter mile before making the turn to ascend the butte via the untouched summit road.
After a nice break on the peak we headed north via some old two-tracks and a little cross-country adventure before descending via Fourtyfour canyon. These north-facing aspects were fully snow-covered and allowed for snowshoe travel all the way to 613, only about a quarter mile from the truck.
What a treat to get up here with this kind of spring snowpack. Below 7500 feet there's easy travel (well, muddy for sure, and lots of wet "creek" crossings). Above 7500 right now it's pretty much all snow, except on directly south-facing aspects which have melted out. And some of that snow is still in the 3 and 4 feet deep range. I know the FS is hoping to open the paved part of 300 on the east end in the next week or two. Depending on how things melt and dry out, I wouldn't expect to see the 300 open before at least May 5, the 12th would be a better bet in my mind. And I'm not complaining one bit!!! |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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