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| Hiking | 17.97 Miles |
1,809 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.97 Miles | 8 Hrs 17 Mns | | 2.47 mph |
| 1,809 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | 25 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Met my fellow hikers Shelly, Angela and Karl near Peralta rd.at 430am Saturday and made it to the trail head at around 6am. Shelly drove us in her Jeep and the bumpy ride in the dark got me a little car sick. She made the hairpin turn in one smooth motion, something my truck has never done. The forecasted high was for 110 that day so we knew we had to move! We went fast down Rogers canyon to trail 109. We stopped for a bit to talk to and about ol' Mister Reavis at his grave. The sun had yet to rise above the ridge until just below Reavis Saddle, then we got those AZ rays for the rest of the day. Great walk through the chest high grasslands, always a spot I try to avoid rolling an ankle. Bear tracks were in trail in the form of scat and prints. Shortly after Fireline junction we met our first hiker on trail. He asked in a concerned tone about the presence of water. We told him that a few tenths of a mile to the south there was a small length of running water. We asked him about apples and water near the valley and he said he didn't see either.We doubted his search for both. He came in on Reavis Gap doing a section of the AZT on AZT trail day. He told us his folks dropped him off at the Marina at Lake Roosevelt the night before and his car was parked in Superior.
He didn't seem to be carrying much water or food. When we made it to our favorite trees we found out he was not lying. I did find one half dehydrated half fresh apple from last year's harvest high in the one of the south apple trees. Still delicious a year later, everyone else was grossed out by my adventurous palette. The pear tree to the East of the trail had several but Shelly says they aren't very good. Some of us picked some anyway. We made it to the foundations of the cabin and down into the field where we normally camp. There was no sign of water anywhere in the valley after the Fireline trail. We ventured into the orchard and we were excited to find a few trees with some low hanging apples. What we couldn't reach by hand we knocked out of the limbs with our hiking poles. The apples made a hollow percussive sound the ground that amused us as they fell. There was enough ground cover to protect most of our flying fruit. If a person brings a long fruit picker they would reach the highest and ripest bunch of the group. Karl and I searched around the area for more fruit but 4 or 5 trees was all we found. Probably no low apples after we grabbed em. These trees are not worth climbing unless you also desire a final resting place in the Supes so, bring a picker if you want the giant red ones up top. We took about an hour to search and eat lunch. People are so stupid out here and the campground we chose to eat at had broken alcohol bottles in and around the fire pit. Also, a can of spray paint and assorted dumb feces trash in the pit.
We head out and when we made it back to Reavis Saddle we could see the smoke from a fire to the south near Queen Valley. We had signal momentarily and discovered the Whitlock fire was at 100 acres. We had about an hour and a half more hiking to do. We were tired and low on water coming up the trough to the trailhead. When we got there the guy hiking the AZT was in the shade moaning. We thought he would ask for a ride and we offered but he didn't want to leave with us. He was out of water so, we filled him up with gallons left in the Jeep. I recommended he wait until dusk to head out. He didn't appear injured and he told us he does this route every year.
We could see the smoke but it had gone from black to white so, we imagined the fire service had begun to quench the fire. We were the only ones hiking South to North that day and the only vehicle at the trailhead. When we got lower we could see that our drive would take us right passed the fire. We encountered the Forest fire service,they asked us to stop at a roadblock and asked us if we saw anyone else out there today. We did see a party of hunters below the trailhead and reported their size and vehicle descriptions. Fun day, hot as hell, and got to drive near a fire (started by bullets)! I will not return to the Supes for a backpack until after it rains again. The animals out there could use all the water there is still there. |
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