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| Rogers Trough to East Rough Canyon, AZ | |
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| | Rogers Trough to East Rough Canyon, AZ | | | |
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Rogers Trough to East Rough Canyon, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.78 Miles |
2,605 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.78 Miles | 9 Hrs 44 Mns | | 1.80 mph |
| 2,605 ft AEG | 59 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Last month we hiked from Rogers Trough to the west side of Rough Canyon, and the plan today was another hike from Rogers Trough, this time to the east side of Rough to explore and look for some points of interest. With lots of rain in the forecast tomorrow and Saturday, getting the drive in to Rogers Trough today seemed like a good choice.
There were three other vehicles at the trailhead when we arrived, and I went over to check out a metal cross on the hillside nearby that I didn't remember seeing in past trips to Rogers Trough. It was a memorial for someone named Roger Williams, who died in July 2021, so it's relatively new, but not sure what the story is behind that...maybe it's his namesake trough  . It was in the 50s and comfortably cool when we started, with Four Peaks in the clouds off in the distance.
I'd never hiked on Reavis Ranch Trail past the Rogers Canyon intersection, so that was new territory for me, and there was some nice fall color in some of the trees along the creek bed. Two backpackers were coming down as we worked our up the switchbacks, and it's a beautiful area with the spires and formations on the south side of White Mountain.
Someone had done a lot of maintenance along the trail, but as soon as we started the off-trail part of the hike, we were dealing with thick catclaw on and off for the rest of the afternoon. I have a feeling that area would have been a lot more pleasant before the Woodbury fire gave the catclaw the opportunity to take over. That portion of the route from the trail toward Rough Canyon got a little tedious, and TBoneKathy eventually stopped to wait while I continued into the canyon.
I passed one small ruin rock pile that wasn't anything noteworthy, and finding a bypass around a steep pour-off in the canyon slowed things down and required pushing through/crawling under a lot of sharp brush to get up and out and then back down into the creek bed. I was running short on time and just about reached my intended turnaround spot but didn't quite find the point of interest I was interested in, so there will be a return trip...one of the downsides of hiking on the shortest day of the year.
On the hike out, we took a snack break at Reavis Saddle, and I briefly considered going up to White Mountain while TBoneKathy hiked down, but it was just late enough that was going to have to wait for another day, too. We stopped at the Reavis grave site on the way down saw a pair of deer back near the trailhead, and we only saw the two backpackers all day. It was a little disappointing to not reach the spot I'd hoped to, but fun exploring a new area despite countless scratches. |
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