| |
| Salt River Island via Pebble Beach, AZ | | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| |  |
|
2 |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | Salt River Island via Pebble Beach, AZ | | | |
|
|
Salt River Island via Pebble Beach, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 4.20 Miles |
213 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.20 Miles | 2 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.88 mph |
| 213 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Another day of indecision... whether to bike or hike, and where?
I hemmed and hawed so long that by now it would be a waste of time to install the bike rack and put the bike on, and so with no plans, nor having any clue of where to hike, I just started driving out Bush Highway until something came to mind, or something along the way caught my attention.
As it turned out a driver in front of me had some indecision of his own, whether to turn in to the Blue Point or Pebble Beach Rec Site and just stopped in middle of the road. Already slamming on the brakes, the instant it appeared he was going left into Blue Point, to avoid him I turned into Pebble Beach Rec Site.
Ok, decision made, now what?
It had been such a LONG time since I spent time along this part of the Salt River, I figured I'd just head over to the river and do some aimless wandering... something I tend to be good at.
While Pebble Beach is descriptive of the shoreline adjacent to the Recreation site, first one must cross a few hundred feet of fine sand before reaching the 'pebbles' of Pebble Beach.
Hmmmm, let's see, what is a pebble?
"A small stone made smooth and round by the action of water or sand"... typically 1/8" to 2.5" in diameter.
With such a seemingly benign name it belies the effort to walk any distance... not so much the effort like sinking in the soft sand, but the constant slipping back-and-forth of the loose pebbles, making it hard to keep my balance.
(No big deal for youngsters, but it's becoming a challenge as I round the 3/4 century mark.
Enough about that, let's get to the hike...
Yup, wouldn't you know it, after spending the time and effort to get to the part of the river I wished to start, being late in leaving home I was already getting hungry. And of course, only then did I realize none of my sustenance was in my pack, but still waiting patiently in the car.
So by time I crossed the pebbles and sand a THIRD time (out-and-back-and-out again) I'd hiked 1.2 miles and blown 40 minutes.
However, by taking a different angle of attack on the 'out-again' route to reach the river, I now had a goal of sorts... by looking at the US Topo map I realized, "Hey, there's an island in the river" which I'd totally forgotten about, probably because in over two decades of hiking around here, I had never once even tried to cross to it or hike on it. And the critical thing which made it feasible this time was the low level/flow of the Salt River.
Ok, so the level is low, since I didn't bring my thin plastic overshoes for my usual low-water crossings, let's hope I can find at least one spot to cross without over-topping the lowest-top boots I happened to own. Thankfully, by planting both hiking poles solidly before each-and-every step, locating a rock with no wet moss, placing a boot tentatively on each rock to test the stability, and taking just that extra bit of care, I made it across with no drama or even more than a wet boot sole.
(Spoiler alert: Not quite as successful on the return)
All RIGHT! I'm on the island, now it's time to explore! While I hoped to do a full perimeter loop of the island, due to many areas of very thick and invasive brush, I was unable to cover what amounts to the Southern-most one-fourth of the island. But no matter, there's still plenty to explore.
Here and there I would encounter vague signs trails, sometimes with horseshoe divots, sometimes javelina and/or deer prints and a few spots of boot-prints, but suffice to say there were none that lasted any distance, so most was a continuous meandering.
Whenever I was able to reach or follow a shoreline I took photos with the idea they would be far more descriptive than I could convey with words, so I'll let the photos do the talking.
After the fact, many photos appear almost the same so I whittled it down to the most relevant... oh yeah, I did leave out some of the ugliest invasive vegetation as unworthy for publication.
Once I reached the Eastern-most 'reachable' point, hoping not to have to go all the way back to my first crossing site, I sought a second possible crossing site. No such luck. If I could get close through/around the thick vegetation/tall rushes, there was just open water, and if there was easy access, there was no chance of a dry crossing.
So... back to my first crossing. While I planned to use the same caution as before, whether due to tiring out or being on the 'return trip' I wasn't as worried about sloshing about in wet boots, I doused both boots just a touch, not much more than damp socks.
Once back 'on land' I wandered just a bit before returning along the fence line on the East side of Bush Highway back to Pebble Beach. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
