Rock Creek Trail #42 - Mazatzals Photoset • TooOld2Hike

Rock Creek Trail #42 - Mazatzals, AZ

	2023-06-08
	40 by TooOld2Hike_EP

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Rock Creek Trail #42 - Mazatzals

Payson, AZ

Rock Creek Trail #42 - Mazatzals

Payson, AZ

Hiking	3.00 Miles	2,600 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles	8 Hrs		0.50 mph
	2,600 ft AEG	2 Hrs Break	33 LBS Pack

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Ever since my last failed backpacking trip, I've been obsessing about picking up where I left off to make things right. Maybe it's "getting back on the horse" (that threw you). And I wanted to test my two new toys, HAZ's own Route Scout and OnX Backcountry Map to see if they could keep me out of trouble. (The latter with High Resolution offline satellite maps.)

(BTW, Joe just told me that, even tho I could see "offline" satellite images on RS, those were simply cached images from when I previewed on the counch at home. They are not persistent, as they are in OnX.)

But first, the important points:

1) The Forest Roads to the Rock Creek TH are the best I've driven so far. 20 mph at times. Although there are two creek crossings with large river rock that require a high clearance vehicle. (See my photoset.) My friend did it in her Ford F-150 two wheel, but she needed momentum. The Blazer in 4x4 was uneventful.

2) When you arrive at the TH, you hike a Connector to the end of Half Moon Trail (288) and the beginning of Rock Creek (42.) About a half mile? (There's a sign post. See my previous photoset for photo.)

3) Up until the 3 mile point (plus or minus), the trail is well defined, easy to follow. Someone has been maintaining it up to this point because I saw that succulents and large stemmed bushes had been cut away.

4) The trail is steep in many places. Like, straight up climbs with no switchbacks. Doable going up, but dangerous coming down. (When the ground gives way.) I rank this trail as medium-difficult. This trail is probably my limit with 30 lbs on my back. (It might be impossible for me to make it to the waterfall with a full pack on.)

5) I think I heard a rattlesnake. Under a bush. Inches from the trail. And I saw a bear. And the bear saw me.

====================
The forecast for Rye for Thursday/Friday was for highs in the mid-80's. (Although in retrospect, while it was 82 in the shade, it was 90+ in the sun.) So I took advantage of a break in the temperatures to hike the Rock Creek Trail. My intent was to hike to the water fall and return.

I never made it that far.

Water was crossing the Forest Road on the drive to the TH. And although Center Creek was not flowing, there were still pools further to the west. (See photos.) So I thought that there might be water at the waterfall.

The trail is easy to follow. Sometimes cairns. As I said above, it's clear that someone has been maintaining this part of the trail.

It climbs rapidly and soon you can look over your shoulder and see the Forest Road that you drove to go to the TH. (Photos.)

At 5200 feet, I was moving fast, striding out well. During a stride I planted my left trekking pole on the side of the trail, when suddenly something hissed. LOUDLY. (I assume that it wasn't Route Scout punking me, with its animal noises every hour.)

I don't know what scared me more - the sound itself or the loudness of the sound in an otherwise silent world. As someone in the forum has already said, I was rather amazed that this Old Man could stop in mid-step, push off his left trekking pole and jump back a few feet.

I'm assuming it was a rattlesnake. Although I never saw it, and I didn't hear a rattle. I was expecting to see movement under the bush. But I didn't see anything moving. It didn't make any more noise. (In the videos, it seems that they keep rattling as long as you're in the vicinity.)

There was a convenient detour about 3 feet to my right. So I took it.

Whew! That was a shock. Had I not had a trekking pole probing ahead, I might have been bitten. (The bush was immediately next to the trail.)

(I wonder if horses spook when this happens?)

I continued on, waiting for my heart rate to return to normal. (While I don't believe that I can have acclimated to the higher altitudes, I'm pleased to report that I was rarely out of breath during this trip.)

While hiking, I found a new trick. I had bought a pack of Lil' Landjaeger's (think Slim Jims?) from Costco for backpacking. I sucked on one like a little stogie. Like a pacifier, it had the effect of keeping my mouth closed. So I was doing all my breathing (in and out) through my nose, instead of my mouth, where, apparently, I lose a lot of moisture. This had the surprising effect of keeping me from feeling thirsty. Being a little salty was a plus.

But my trick might also have acted a beacon, calling other animals.

At noon, I was sleepy. I had been up since 3 am for this trip. So I laid out my Space Blanket and took a one hour nap under a "tree." (I don't know if I would have done this after what happened later.)

Up until this time, the trail had been easy to follow. But now I was looking at a wall of rock to the falls. (See my screenshots from Route Scout to see my position.)

I think I saw where the trail continued for the next ten feet. But after that, it wasn't obvious to me where the trail was in those rocks. And RS said one thing, while OnX map said another. No more cairns. (That I could see.)

And, according to either app, I was looking at a 600 foot climb in a half mile.
Having been burned by going off trail last time, I decided not to chance it this time. I turned around.

(Later I thought of a third good reason for turning around too. Up until this point in the hike, there had been shady spots to rest. But the brush/trees stopped after this and I would be in the (hot) sun for this 600 foot climb.)

So I stuck another stogie in my mouth and headed back "home."

While moving along the trail, I heard something rustling in the bushes to my left.

I stopped to see what it was.

"A cow? What would a cow be doing up here at this elevation?"

"Maybe a horse?" Although I hadn't seen any horse droppings since Center Creek.

The brush wasn't very high - maybe 4 feet max. And so if a horse, surely I would have seen it.

Then it stuck its head up.

A bear!

25 feet away!

I said, somewhat loudly, "YIKES! BEAR!" (I wonder if I should have blown my whistle?) And I prayed. (After all, they're God's creatures.)

I was surprised - and terrified - that the bear didn't turn and flee.

It just looked at me.

I probably did everything wrong after this.

While there was a lot of brush between the bear and me - although I bet that wouldn't stop a highly motivated bear - I though I had better pull my gun out of my pocket in case it charged me.

Well, I should have practiced trying to get to my gun while backpacking.

To pull my gun out, I had to 1) unhook my trekking pole from my right arm, 2) peel off my sun glove, 3) fight to pull my soft zippered gun pouch out of my pocket. (My backpack's hip belt was blocking me.) 4) Unzip my gun pouch and 5) Grab my gun - with only one hand. (Whereas I practice shooting in modified Weaver.)

All this took about an hour. (It seemed.) And so I didn't raise my arms during this time to make me look bigger.

I wasn't looking at the bear much of this time as I was focused on trying to pull my gun.

Once I had my gun in hand, the bear was still there looking at me. It hadn't moved. I was shaking. (I kept wondering if I should keep my finger off the trigger, as taught around humans?)

I thought bears ran away? The cattle from the H Bar Ranch ran from me when I had to hike from here to Rye a couple weeks ago. And they're domesticated.

Well, I know you're not supposed to run away from a bear. But I wanted to move away. As it was downhill, I couldn't walk backward. And since it was downhill, I was going to need at least one trekking pole.

So I turned my side to the bear and continued walking down the trail.

I didn't hear any more rustling. But I kept looking over my shoulder every few seconds. Once the bear was on trail, it could come at me fast.

Well, fortunately, it didn't appear to follow me. After a half hour, I stared to relax.

Now I'm wondering if my Slim Jim trick was such a good idea? I've heard that bears can smell food from 20 miles away. These things have a pleasant smoked sausage smell. (Not to mention the beef jerky hanging from a pouch on my side, that even I can smell from feet away.) Maybe I had been sending out a beacon on my way up the trail while sucking on that stogie for hours? Maybe eat only Granola bars while on trail?

That's pretty much the end of my trip report. I arrived back at the trailhead parking area, set up my tent, lit a campfire (Sorrry. I forgot to take the obligatory photo), had dinner, and went to sleep.

Before leaving the next day, I wanted to revisit the Spring that I had so desperately tried to find a few weeks before.

So I hiked the Connector to the 288/42 sign post. From there I jumped onto the end of 288. There's a fork in the trail there at the end. The fork goes to the Spring.

But since the last time I was here, someone has moved dead trees in the way of the trail to the Spring, as if to say "Don't go this way." (Maybe so that hikers won't be confused about which way 288 goes?)

Anyway, the OnX Hi-Res satellite showed a clear trail to the Spring. And about two minutes later, I found it again.

This time it was a lot clearer and pulling water from it would have been no problem. (Except lots of bees buzzing over the water. So wear your mosquito net.)

_____________________

Be careful. It really is "a jungle out there."