East Divide Trail #287 - Galiuro • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

South Galiuro Loop, AZ

Backpack		Mar 21 2025
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Backpack	47.06 Miles	9,362 AEG

Backpack	47.06 Miles	3 Days
	9,362 ft AEG

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[ checklist ] Echols Spring Jackson Canyon Spring Kielberg Tank Knothe Spring Powers Cabin

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This one has been high on my list, and just so happens to "finish" off the Galiuro Wilderness trails... though exactly what counts as a trail out here is up for debate

Ash Creek
Trail conditions were fantastic. Lots of fall colors (still!) holding on. Creek was mostly dry until the last 1/2 mile, where the overflow from the upper spring set up some intermittent pools. Switchbacks passed by quickly in the chill morning air, even with my water-laden pack. This might be the best-maintained trail in the wilderness (at least until the junction w/ East Divide, more on that later).

East Divide (Ash Creek -> Rattlesnake)
After a quick hop on the shoulder of 6996' the trail slides down the other side, and I totally missed where and had to play in snow before getting back on tread. And... that was the only mishap. The trail is in RIDICULOUSLY good shape for how little traffic it gets, largely due to its original construction.

From the GPS it looks like this rollercoaster is a squiggly line that dances all over the place. On the ground it's much more tame, designed mostly as straight segments that are easy to follow even when there's minor overgrowth or faint tread. The intermittent switchbacks are well-constructed, large cairns mark directional changes, and the route dances through some downright cool formations.

There was some snow clinging on north-facing slopes that provided minor obstacles, over a week since the storm that had "1-2 inches of accumulation". The switchbacks that climb up the side of 7193' are deceptively numerous and made my hamstrings sad. Near the High Creek junction, along 7490', the overgrowth does get thick (about the same as the upper sections of High Creek Trail, not spiky, just thick). Otherwise, this trail was a complete delight and I'm eager to find an excuse to revisit.

I was running low on energy & water at Paddy's Saddle and seriously thought about bailing down High Creek. The hassle of getting from one trailhead to the next kept me out there. Pushed on through increasing snow to the Rattlesnake Trail, with a few sections getting up to 4" of slush that chilled my trail runners. Dropping elevation for the night was my main goal at this point.

Rattlesnake (East Divide -> Holdout Spr)
For the shade this trail gets, the snow accumulation wasn't that bad, and I made pretty quick time down. That washed out section now had ice & snow, so yeah, I bypassed above again. Otherwise, some overgrowth, mostly not spiky, and then Rattlesnake had intermittent flow, which is always nice to see. Then I was at Holdout Spring and it was time to set up camp.

Opted to do the cave this time. There was a single bat and some shy flies on the wall -- otherwise, no droppings or nasty critters to deter me. Waterfall was trickling, which made for a lovely ambience, and I had a great night of sleep on that shelf.

Rattlesnake (Holdout Spr -> Powers Cabin Connection)
Was braced for this to be a slog, and it wasn't really that bad. The overgrowth isn't nearly as bad as I remembered. There were one or two sections that I opted to boulder-hop instead of haul up a steep slope, which may have skipped the worst of it. Oh, and a large patch of deadfall directly west of Holdout, that was annoying.

Powers Cabin Connection
I was just on this a few months ago so I zipped up quick. It was an easy climb with minimal overgrowth and a few small patches of snow.

West Divide (Powers Cabin Connection -> Jackson Cabin)
Trail down to Powers Cabin was recently groomed, though the person who clipped the catclaw & manzanita left the pieces on trail, which snagged at my pants and was slightly annoying. I tossed the larger pieces to the side. The old cabin showed up suddenly and I paid some quick respects there. It was cool to see, though the catclaw is growing so close around the walls that it's annoying to get decent photos.

After the cabin the trail is almost easier: gentle downhill, less catclaw, and intermittent shade. At the bottom there is a large, grassy clearing with a fire ring where I suspect @ShatteredArm camped last year. Continuing south, there were a number of pleasant water tanks in the tributary below the large dam, and a less-pleasant (but probably more dependable) tank above the dam. There was good tread and a cairn that headed east on a tributary but the trail was supposed to go south, so I went south and picked up the trail after 5-10 minutes.

Things were starting to heat up and I was not looking forward to the exposed sections south of Kielberg Divide, so I made quick work up the climb and didn't pause at Long Tom. Next time. Trail was pretty well defined all the way to the saddle except for one section just below the mine. Dropping south off the Divide was not too bad -- there were no cairns, just plenty of game trails that made for easy switchbacks. Near the bottom the catclaw showed up, by then it was easy enough to use the drainage instead and deal with the occasional deadfall or boulder obstacle.

The area around Knothe Spring was interesting, though the trail was difficult to track, and beyond the bone-dry trough there was a large washout that erased any sign of tread (and looked a bit sketch). Managed to find a rough track with a few cairns that went up and over the hill to avoid it. Trail quickly dropped into the drainage that winds through Cedar Flat, which was a fascinating area. For the most part the trail stayed in the drainage, and I did track it across a few shortcuts. The surrounding hillsides were dotted with junipers and steep enough to block any big view and it felt... both expansive and claustrophobic at the same time.

I assumed that the best way to drop into Redfield would be to stay in the drainage, and boy was that wrong. First I bumped into a 20-30 foot dry fall that might have been possible to navigate around, so I scouted out the eastern bank and picked up a trail. It was very steep and dropped down quickly, and then I saw a 100+ drop in that drainage that I was planning on following. So... guess the trail is it. The last few minutes of the drop got annoying and overgrown.

Redfield, all the way to Hooker Cabin, is an absolute gem. There's some rough boulder-hopping, and the intermittent flow meant a few large pools that made for difficult bypasses, and it's choked with huge logs in sections, and it's gorgeous. Towering rock walls, weird formations, and gargantuan trees felt like I was in another land altogether. I did pass by what might be an alternate route in this area, the marked topo line that climbs up next to 5626', which I'd consider a "highwater" option. Otherwise, by all means, stay in the canyon, it's fantastic.

After Hooker Cabin the sheen wore thin. There were still cool rock formations and towering walls, though they were muted and withdrawn in comparison of the upper stretch of Redfield. Also, the intermittent flow completely dried up, leaving me with a dry, empty canyon in the fading afternoon heat. To break up the miles of boulder-hopping I tried to follow the tread along the banks a few times, pushing through catclaw and deadfall at times. I was pretty exhausted by the time I reached Jackson Canyon. The trail does clear up in this final section (likely because Jackson Canyon has much larger boulder obstacles) and it was fairly easy work to reach the cabin.

Slept on the floor in the back room. With the windows closed it stayed pretty warm in there, I didn't even put my beanie on until the next morning. Having no water sources along Redfield yesterday afternoon and a bone-dry Jackson Canyon I borrowed a few water bottles from the cabin to get me through the night.

Bassett Peak (Jackson Cabin -> Peak -> East Divide)
Couldn't find where the trail leaves the cabin area so I went cross-country until the tread materialized, and after that things were pretty easy. The trail stays out of the creek, dancing from one bank to the next, and is relatively easy to follow, with a combination of flagging and cairns to help guide through the rough sections. Took a quick stop at the spring area before pushing on to the "steeps".

There was one annoying washout where the drainage ate up the slope which caused some route-finding, think it was around 5330'. After that I was happy to see the tread mostly leave the canyon and start really steeping. The first climb reminded me of YLE, a steady, somewhat defined march up a grassy, rocky slope where it's useful to just aim for a landmark instead of fretting over tread. When the switchbacks finally kick in more than half of the total elevation gain is already behind you, and they are well-defined and make for a solid paced haul up the hill.

I broke up the next few miles into groups of switchbacks, and there was only one that gave me some issue at 6680', when it's easier to go straight up a rocky washout than fight the brush. I'm sure that a little more attention here would have found a tread on one side or the other, just didn't have the patience at this point. Was pleasantly surprised when the trail crested up and over the ridge and turned northwards, with Bassett Peak, the last milestone, looming above, though that last mile absolutely dragged. The trail is in good shape and the views are good, I was just tired.

Quick stop at Bassett Peak and then it was time to descend, where I finally saw my first set of human prints in the snowy northern slopes. Someone else had been out here! I was glad, because the tread was infinitesimally narrow on the steep, loose, and soggy northern slopes, covered with a few inches of slushy snow and ice, and those tracks gave me a bit of purchase. Also, the trail was quite overgrown here, which gave me extra handholds on a few sections. After those nasty switchbacks it was back to the fantastic East Divide vibe with solid tread and creative routing.

Ash Creek
This again. With the exception of a few stops to nurse blisters, guzzle extra water, and chat w/ a lone bear hunter by Lower Ash Spring (the only other human I saw out there), it was a downhill race towards an eventual greasy burger.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dam - Rock

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Cedar Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Missed the actual spring, but drainage had intermittent flow for most of the trail.

	Echols Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Spring had water and there was intermittent flow down to Gold Gulch.

	Holdout Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Waterfall was flowing, cave was dripping, catchment was overflowing. Plenty of water here.

	Jackson Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at confluence w/ Redfield, dry along trail up Bassett Peak.

	Jackson Canyon Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Steady drip coming out of the pipe, full (and very green) plastic trough. Source is more appealing than the trough.

	Kielberg Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Several tanks were flow and trickling due to recent rain & snow, tho they dried up quickly downstream.

	Knothe Spring	Dry	Dry
	Knope water to be found. Dry drainage below the dry trough.

	Mitchell Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Bone dry at confluence w/ Redfield.

	Negro Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Steady flow coming out.

	Upper Ash Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Dripping out of pipe, intermittent flow from here downstream for 1/2 mile or so.

_____________________

Dec 30 2024

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

Holdout Spring Overnight, AZ

Backpack		Dec 30 2024
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Backpack	15.25 Miles	3,940 AEG

Backpack	15.25 Miles	2 Days
	3,940 ft AEG

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

High Creek #290
Parked near Hooker Tank. Road is in good shape, probably could have driven another 1/2 mile with some pinstriping risk, tho there are some logs purposefully laying on the road to prevent such things. Trail conditions felt very similar to the last time I was out here (mild overgrowth, nothing thorny) about a year ago, and some of the autumn colors were stubbornly holding on. We need a good winter storm out here to freshen up things.

East Divide #287
Great views, easy walking, maybe 4 or so dead tree obstacles. Bumped into a very cool guy (Robert) up here from Wyoming and dumped a ton of trail advice on him. Hope it wasn't too much. He was retired, in the area, and just "kinda exploring" with a bunch of loaded topos and marked springs. I was jealous of his flexibility and lack of schedule.

Rattlesnake #285
First section that drops down to the washout was fine, some minor overgrowth. The washout is about as bad as last time (Class 4), so I did a bypass up and around, sticking right above the precipice, and it was relatively painless. After the washout there was a lot of overgrowth, some of it thorny, and some tread damage that kept me (literally) on edge. Once the trail sinks into the forest below it is very overgrown and hard to track... a LaCroix of trails. With the number of backpacking loops this trail offers, let alone the quick overnight to Holdout, it's a bummer to see it deteriorate year after year. Reached the spring about 4 hours after parking.

Spent the afternoon putzing, filtering water, reading, and generally relaxing. Temps dropped quickly - sun was hiding behind the hills by 4pm - and my thermometer claimed 40F by sunset. Had a peaceful night in the hammock and slept in a bit, enjoying my new book and the cozy quilts.

The hike out was about the same, just in reverse. Bumped into Robert again at the East Divide junction. He had tried to follow me down Rattlesnake and didn't want to chance that washout, so he just spent the night along the trail and was now contemplating a trip up to Corral Canyon. Wished him luck and continued out, cruising along and enjoying the quiet.

	Holdout Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Even with the ongoing dryness, the cave seep had a solid trickle and the trough outside was overflowing.

_____________________

Apr 27 2024

azdesertfather

Guides 16
Routes 81
Photos 1,269
Triplogs 1,144

51 male

Joined Apr 30 2008
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Apr 27 2024
		azdesertfather • Triplogs 1,144

Backpack	29.23 Miles	6,257 AEG

Backpack	29.23 Miles	16 Hrs 41 Mns		1.98 mph
	6,257 ft AEG		28 LBS Pack

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Great, memorable weekend in the Gailuros! Started out with animal sightings, including antelope again on the paved roads after Wilcox.

East Divide #287
From the trailhead at Deer Creek Road, we hiked 287 to the junction with Tortilla Trail. This section is pretty easy and scenic.

Tortilla #254
Lots of bare rock, but in those areas lots of good-sized cairns. Water reports attached but I found in most of the seasonal stream beds that there was flowing water. At places it would go underground but then come back up a little farther down a bit with a light flow.

At the Upper Sycamore Tank area there was some oak overgrowth, but generally speaking this trail was in good shape. Heard wild turkey a couple of times in this area. The stream in Horse Canyon before turning onto Powers Garden was a good place to get water.

Powers Garden #96
Turned south into Powers Garden Trail and made our way to the garden house. House was in good shape for being so remote. 3 spring bunk beds set up, 4 more single spring beds on their side inside, roof well sealed and secure. A little evidence of mice in the cabinetry, leaving any food or trash isn’t a good idea. Lots of air mattresses, metal folding chairs, sleeping bags… a guitar, a cast iron stove heater for colder nights, pots and pans, even disposable utensils, and paper plates and cups in stock. No evidence at that time however of people in the area and dropping gear. Fresh bear scat near cabin, that we think was left while we were there for lunch, though we never spotted him. After lunch we checked out the property and some of us laid down and rested on the beds for a few minutes, before heading down the trail. Heading down this trail we saw lots of bear scat, every few yards, some old and some fresh. Deadfall in spots along the trail.

Came to another abandoned cabin on the east side of this trail. Some of the sides of the cabin are no longer there, but still a fairly sound structure with an empty storage locker inside. There was a mine up the hill on the opposite side of this trail that we explored as well, with a bunch of old equipment. Mine shaft covered with heavy sheet metal. Nearby there also was a stamp mill with parts dating back to 1880 in San Francisco; it had everything but a boiler, and the Power family were waiting for it when the shootout occurred in February 1918. From the accounts I'm reading online, this was the Gold Mountain area, where gold first started getting prospected in 1902-03, but was abandoned when the Powers moved in, and they worked this mine until 1911.

Good flow in the stream flowing by the south end of the trail, we topped off here before climbing to the intersection with West Divide.

West Divide #289
As we started descending onto the West Divide, almost immediately we ran into lots of catclaw, that was growing over the trail from both sides to the point it was connecting to each other in the middle. In this section I had a short-sleeved shirt on and I just had to put my hands over my heads and push through with my torso, until we made it to the cabin.

We explored almost all the mine by the Powers Cabin. The flies weren't as bad on this day as have been reported by others in the past. The only area we didn't explore was the vertical shaft, descending with a wooden ladder; we didn't have any confidence after a century that that latter would hold weight! There was also another vertical mine shaft a few yards away from teh main mine opening. Supposedly Jeff Power (the father) was buried outside the mine, but it wasn't clear where the gravesite was. The next morning we headed out the way we came in.

The cabin was in worse shape than I expected, the walls are starting to shift on all four sides. One of the doors was gone, and the other was sitting inside but unable to open and close. Dirt floor has lots of mouse holes. Most of us decided to sleep in the cabin, but as it became dark they came out all over the place, so some of us set up our tents inside the cabin and some outside the cabin. Found a couple of bullet holes to the left of the front door. Pretty cool to experience, but honestly I will be surprised if the structure is still standing a decade from now.

Powers Garden #96
After making our way the next morning back through the catclaw, we refilled in the stream by Rattlesnake Spring and started heading toward Corral Canyon. On the way we ran into a family (Granddad, Dad and two kids) who had hiked in from the north end of this trail with permission from the landowner, and had arrived at the garden house and spent the night that night. It ended up being the only people we saw the two days we were out in the Gailuros.

Corral Canyon #291
This is where the fun of the weekend begins! Corral Canyon had a little bit of water in a few places along the stream bed, maybe a gallon per minute max. What it left of the trail is mostly gone due to massive amounts of deadfall and overgrowth. Game trails are all over the place, so making your way up the canyon you really couldn't know. It was a long, difficult slog, and not one I'll repeat. About halfway up the canyon we heard a lot of birds start squawking and we looked up, and saw several birds chasing away a owl, quite a sight to see! When we hit the high point after going around the edge of this unnamed peak at about 7150', we finally caught a little break and trailfinding became a little less brutal and hazardous. Up on top views opened up including nearby Kennedy Peak, and we made our way to the junction with East Divide.

East Divide #287
Once we started heading down East Divide, trail finding was a little bit better. Still a good bit of deadfall and overgrowth, but nothing like Corral Canyon. Great, long views to the east all the way out to Mount Turnbull. Lots of orange tape marking branches that should be cut. The final stretch was a delightful stretch through open grassy area, the same one that we hiked in on the day before.

Wildflowers Observation Light

Corral Canyon

Light flow

	Horse Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	3-4 gallons a minute.

Horse Canyon Tank

Dry

	Mud Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Corral full with a slight flow out of it.

	Rattlesnake Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Report for stream just below spring.

	Upper Sycamore Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	half full, pipe feeding it from higher elevation

_____________________

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." — Henry David Thoreau

2 archives

Apr 12 2024

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

East / West Divide south loop, AZ

Backpack		Apr 12 2024
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Backpack	52.20 Miles	11,700 AEG

Backpack	52.20 Miles	3 Days 6 Hrs 4 Mns
	11,700 ft AEG

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I've been eyeballing doing a loop through the southern half of the Galiuros for awhile, and the water situation seemed very promising, so I gave it a go. Plan was three nights, starting at Ash Creek, and making a clockwise loop over Bassett, down to Jackson Cabin, then up West Divide, and back via Rattlesnake and East Divide.

Friday

Got to Ash Creek TH at around 9:30am, with temps already in the 70s. Nothing notable, other than the fact that it was impossible to stay dry at the first few crossings. Ash had surface flow about half the way up. We decided to tag the summit since my friend hadn't been up there. Made it to the top of Bassett in about 3 hours.

I was really worried about the stretch of trail down from Bassett, given the FS doesn't have it on their maps, but it actually turned out to be a breeze most of the way down. Someone put a lot of work into building that thing, and the grade is intact in all but a couple of spots. The going didn't really get rough until we were all the way down into the canyon, where the vegetation got pretty thick. Eventually we decided to stop looking for the trail and just go down the wash, and that made things much easier.

Got to a stretch with light flow about a third of a mile before Jackson Cabin, and decided to camp there since I didn't know whether there would be water near the cabin (there was). Warm enough down there to leave the rain fly off.

Saturday

Got up at 6am, left camp by around 8am IIRC. We decided to poke around the cabin for a minute, and seeing water in the cabin and downstream in Jackson Canyon, decided we should've camped there. Stretches of trail in Jackson Canyon were apparent, but it was usually easier to stay in the creek.

When we got to Redfield, it was apparent water would not be an issue for awhile. There was surface flow for all but 100 feet. The walking was easy up to Hooker Cabin; it somewhat reminded me of hiking in Aravaipa Canyon. Took a short break at the cabin. The rest of the canyon got more difficult to move through, but it also got prettier. The upper part of Redfield was the highlight of the trip for me.

At around 1:30pm or so, after a bit of poking around, we found the trail back up to West Divide. A little brush, but not by any stretch the worst. Cedar Flat was really pleasant; the terrain there was grassland and large Junipers. Occasional water in the drainage. The trail was well defined most of the way down to Gold Gulch, where there was intermittent flow and a couple of nice campsites. By now it was after 3:30, so I proposed we camp there, but that would probably put a day hike to Powers Garden out of reach. My friend seemed to want to continue, and proposed we decided by coin flip.

So with less than 3 hours of daylight left, we continued onto what I expected to be the worst stretch of trail all trip. Probably 2/3 of the way up the divide there was no trail to be seen, and half of where there was trail, it was through very thick vegetation. It took us two hours to reach the divide, and I was really worried we'd be bushwhacking in the dark. Fortunately the trail down the north side was well-defined and somewhat clear, so we made it down to Kielberg Tank in short order. Found a corral, with water below the tank, and decided after 10.5 hours or so of hiking, it would suffice.

Sunday

Woke up in the morning feeling good knowing the Kielberg Divide was out of the way. Started hiking around 9am, took a short break at Powers Cabin, then down to Rattlesnake. We dropped packs here and hiked down to Powers Garden and back, and this was the most pleasant hiking of the trip. Warmer than I expected through Rattlesnake, but there was surface flow most of the way. Took about 3 hours to get there and back.

Rattlesnake trail was a lot rougher than I expected, with a lot of brushy stretches. Took a couple of hours to get up to the Holdout Spring area, where we set up camp (we used the flat area along Rattlesnake just east of the spring spur). Walked up to the spring to check it out, but I actually liked the water in the creek better.

Monday

Got up a little earlier so as to get home at a reasonable hour, and started hiking by 7am. The rest of Rattlesnake Trail was in pretty solid condition, other than one bad washout where I thought for sure I was going down (based on the satellite, it looks like there's a way to avoid the washed out area). The climb up to East Divide felt long, but not too bad overall. Got up there by 8:40am.

The first mile and a half of East Divide was outstanding. Trail was clear, and the upper part of Paddys River was pretty. After High Creek we hit our first stretch of thicket, but it was clear sailing for another mile or so after that. About half way through, we passed through one really bad thicket that had me nearly at my breaking point, so we took a little rest. The rest of the way wasn't as bad, with some clear stretches, some climbs, and some brush, but route finding wasn't really an issue at all. Took 5 hours to get from the Rattlesnake junction to Ash Creek trail.

Having closed the loop, we were feeling pretty good, and made good time down to the creek. The last mile or two really dragged, and I think I was running entirely on fat metabolism at that point, which made Ash Creek seem longer than it ever had before.

Overall

This was a phenomenal trip, and an amazing loop, but one that involves a lot of suffering. Highly recommended, but I'll never do it again.

	Cedar Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Drainage has intermittent light flow the whole way up to the spring.

	Echols Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Not at the spring, but there's light intermittent flow in Gold Gulch along West Divide trail.

	Holdout Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Box is full but just a seep, plenty of water flowing into the pool 20 feet upstream.

	Jackson Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Intermittent flow from the uppermost spring down to Redfield.

Jackson Canyon Spring

Gallon per minute

	Kielberg Tank	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Tank overflowing the dam, intermittent flow in the creek below.

	Knothe Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Nothing in the box. There's a little water in the drainage below the spring.

	Lower Ash Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Lots of water from here all the way down past the FS boundary.

	Negro Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Looks like it had as much water coming from it as Redfield.

	Powers Garden Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Tons of water, surface flow in most of Rattlesnake.

	Rattlesnake Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Tons of water in the area.

	Upper Ash Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Nothing in the box, light flow in the creekbed above and below the trail.

_____________________

Mar 25 2024

Layne32

Photos 18
Triplogs 3

male

Joined Jan 08 2023

Galiuro Loop, AZ

Backpack		Mar 25 2024
		Layne32 • Triplogs 3

Backpack	35.00 Miles

Backpack	35.00 Miles	4 Days

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I am an experienced backpacker with over 300 backcountry nights in the past half-decade all across the country from the Southern Appalachians to the Northern Rockies to the Desert Southwest. The Galiuro Mountains may be the toughest place I've ever hiked. They weren't made any easier by 2 days of snow before my trip began and 2 more days of snow while I was out there.

On a related note, 3 of the most recent trip reports in the Galiuros are from the same guy. Does anyone know this dude, jacobemerick? Is he ok? Must be an absolute madman. The Galiuros left me feeling like an abused spouse - beaten up, knocked down, battered & bruised - but head-over-heels in love - but feeling like I shouldn't go back for my own good.

The maps I used had inaccurate trails, no topography, and not many place names. I will do my best to describe things but I don't know the name of many of the canyons, features, etc. along the way.

Tortilla
From Deer Creek TH the route nominally starts along the East Divide Tr before connecting with the Tortilla Tr. Snow started falling in the open beginning stretches of Tortilla. I had trouble following Tortilla after it dropped down by Sycamore Cr, there was a lot of overgrowth and snow covering the ground. I began to wonder what I was getting myself into. Tortilla eventually, mercifully, finally left Sycamore Cr and began climbing around the mouth of a couple cyns before dropping into Rattlesnake Cyn & Powers Garden Tr. I made camp just south of the ranch area, not a great place really but the sun was setting & temp dropping into the 30s.

Powers Garden
I had trouble following the trail directly out of Powers Garden for the first mile or so, finding it easier to just walk down the streambed once it dried up. After that the rest of Powers Garden was very nice (for a trail in the Galiuros, it would be considered mildly rough elsewhere). A bit of overgrowth but much better compared to other cyn trails in the Wilderness. So much interesting history along here - from the Powers Garden meadow to the cabins, structure on a hill, & tons of old equipment further down.

West Divide
I hiked a short out-and-back stretch of this trail from Powers Garden Tr to Shootout Cabin & Powers Mine. Worst catclaw portion of the trip. But what incredible history around the cabin - of the 8 men involved in the shootout in 1918, 4 died there that day and 3 later received life sentences after Arizona's biggest ever manhunt.

Rattlesnake before Holdout
Things got rough(er) for me. As I was finishing up West Divide back to the Powers Garden-West Divide-Rattlesnake intersection a thick wet snow started falling. The beginning of Rattlesnake was among the worst trail stretches of the trip, I had trouble. Horrifically overgrown and snow covering everything made navigation difficult. Often I could identify the "trail" only by finding the thickest patches of vegetation in the woods. The wet snow covered the vegetation and soaked me from navel to feet.

Holdout Spur
As the temp dropped into the 30s I made it to Holdout Spring. Holdout Cave was an absolute miracle that I didn't expect. I slept on the shelf in the cave - not sure if that is recommended because I did see rodent droppings so hantavirus may be a concern. I was so cold and wet that I was desperate for shelter.

Rattlesnake after Holdout
Back on Rattlesnake the next day, the section directly east of Holdout Spur was in much better shape than the section directly west. After ascending out of Rattlesnake Cyn the trail gets a bit sketchy climbing to the ridge, and the entire thing was covered in 6+ inches of snow, but I was able to maintain course pretty well to the East Divide Tr intersection.

East Divide before Paddy's River
The first few miles of East Divide were the best trail of the trip. For the most part it was a nice wide highway along the ridge. A bit of overgrowth and tricky navigation in the snow from time to time but very nice for the Galiuros. I found a bald hill off the trail to cowboy camp on for the night - I named this hill Yeehaw Point.

East Divide after Paddy's River
Absolutely brutal. I wouldn't see much more than a hint of trail from the Paddy's River intersection until the Corral Cyn intersection. A mile or 2 after the Paddy's River Tr intersection the East Divide Tr dropped down into a canyon. I had trouble, lots of overgrowth and snow. After climbing out I think it dropped into and climbed out of another cyn. After that it contoured around Kennedy Peak through a lot of burn. Snow was everywhere and combined with the downfall to make navigation extremely difficult.

East Divide after Corral Cyn
Still absolutely brutal. There was some very helpful flagging tape showing the first stretch of trail from the Corral intersection switchbacking down through overgrowth. With the brush and the thick snow cover I may still be out in the Wilderness to this day if not for that flagging. After a certain point the snow stopped but the brush got worse. There started being a lot of downfall mixed with thick brush before and after Oak Creek. The final flat and open stretch of East Divide back to Deer Creek TH was no problem.

I couldn't in good faith recommend anyone backpack the Galiuros. But if you do, there is breathtaking canyon scenery (I actually think Galiuro Canyons is a more accurate representation of the area than Galiuro Mountains), unique history, and plenty of chances to build your character. Hopefully you can find better maps than the ones I used which were often inaccurate. It took every bit of route-finding experience and skill that I possess to make it through this Wilderness in the snow, brush & downfall. I, or more accurately the trail, was often lost. Do not underestimate the Galiuros.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Galiuro Wilderness

3 archives

Nov 19 2023

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 19 2023
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	12.86 Miles	2,892 AEG

Hiking	12.86 Miles	9 Hrs 19 Mns	1.64 mph
	2,892 ft AEG	1 Hour 28 Mns Break

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Second trip to Bassett Peak. Last year, we spent so much time enjoying the fall colors that we didn't make it to the summit. This time we were determined to do both.

Started at 0930. The weather was perfect, 50-65° over the course of the day, clear and sunny after 1.5 days of rain. Fall colors were intermittent but brilliant and near their peak from 0.5 miles in to about the 1.5 mile point. Beyond that,they were past their peak, brown in some areas, but still very impressive, and we spent a lot of time enjoying them.

After we climbed out of the canyon, we steadily made our way toward the peak. The trail was eroded and pretty sketchy in some areas, especially on the slippery muddy ledges after all the rain. The wind was pretty fierce on the west side of the ridgeline, and became even stronger at the summit. We finally reached the summit, and attempted to sign the soggy paper in the summit ledger. We enjoyed the views and tolerated the wind for a while, then headed back down. JD's Grill in Safford was a perfect spot for dinner.

Great day. Absolutely beautiful. Weather was excellent. Surprisingly, we saw no other people the entire day. Definitely will do this again.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bassett Peak

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial

1 archive

Nov 04 2023

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

High Creek - E Divide - Corral - Rattlesnake, AZ

Backpack		Nov 04 2023
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Backpack	25.91 Miles	6,202 AEG

Backpack	25.91 Miles	17 Hrs	1.91 mph
	6,202 ft AEG

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After an inexcusably long break from adventuring, headed out to the Galiuro Wilderness with three objectives: check out the fall colors, explore some more of the trail system, and test out some gear changes.

High Creek #290
Got my 2WD, meh-clearance vehicle a mile from the "official" trailhead a few minutes after sunrise. Watered up and shivered along the climb up High Creek, gawking a few times at the color show. Trail is easy to follow, deceptively steep, and has little overgrowth. Vibing.

E Divide #287
Turned north. Climb keeps on climbing until you reach the saddle a quarter mile in. Paused here to check out the entry log and look for the marked spring. Found a few promising spots and even some damp dirt, NO water on surface, and a decent tread that continued downhill... Back on official trail to enjoy the non-stop visual treat of Big Views, also found a nice (exposed) campsite on the north side of the 7100 BM saddle. The section of trail from 7100 BM -> Rattlesnake is phenomenal, stellar views of the southern half. After reaching the junction I cruised, since I had already been here two years ago.

Paused at the Paddy River junction to down some calories and try to mentally prepare myself for a potential slog. It was worse than I expected. The western slopes were a mess of deadfall, loose rocks, and confusing treads; Douglas Canyon was filled with more deadfall, thick brush, and washout; and the general area around Kennedy Peak was devastated. With a light pack I was making about a mile an hour along this section, tho some of that was spent hunting tread to get a more accurate GPS route. Outside of the frustrating aspects, the geology of this area was pretty cool, and there was water! Hesitant on calling this a true one-and-done.

Corral Canyon #291
After the beating for the last few hours I was running low on patience and water, so decided to barrel in a generally correct direction instead of hunting tread. Few puddles above the waterfall and clear, tasty water at the spring itself. Rest of the trail was in fine shape, splattering of fall colors.

Powers Garden #96
Highway cruising. There is 5-10 large downs to circle around, otherwise easy walking. It was getting dark and the cold was settling in quickly, so while my original plan was to camp at Holdout, I stopped shortly after Rattlesnake Spring.

Had a small fire for warmth during dinner, and then doused it shortly after, chased by the cold temps into my hammock. Had one of my best sleeps outside in recent memory, nestled in a pair of 40F under/top quilts. Got chilly around 1AM, pulled on some extra layers, and survived. Morning was a shiver-fest, so I pushed back breakfast plans until a few miles could warm me up.

Rattlesnake #285
This trail is so good, with solid tread and wonderful fall colors and all, yet some parts of it is so overgrown, especially the mile west of Holdout Spring. Pulled water and had breakfast at Holdout, then pushed on, anxious to get the climb done. Ran into a chill bear shortly after leaving the creek. Briefly about exploring the unnamed "#285A" spur at the saddle - there is even an ineligible sign sitting there - and instead pushed on. More overgrowth along the climb, and that scree section was several notches above my comfort level, so I bypassed through some angry manzanita. I've done the scree before, in the winter, and this time seemed way sketchier. By the time I reached the top I was quite sweat, bloodied, and ready to be done.

E Divide #287 / High Creek #290
Nothing new. The sun was higher so the fall colors on High Creek popped more. Passed the miles by plotting out the next few adventures.

Gear Notes - this is my second underquilt and I'm getting more used to hammock camping, though I struggle a lot on finding good spots to hang, even in something as tree-rich as this wilderness. Need more practice. First time backpacking in trail runners and had zero issues. Also used a hydration pack with a hose for easy sipping... on the fence. I like having individual bladders so I can keep track of my intake, as well as have forced breaks.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Black Bear

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Corral Spring Holdout Spring

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
Some areas seemed pretty close to peak. Other areas seemed stressed and had shed everything already. Speculate that the peak will be in 2 weeks.

	Corral Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Cement trough had a little bit of water. Underneath the trough it was several large tanks of clear water with a good trickle in/out.

	Corral Tank	1-25% full	1-25% full
	This one is confusing. I did not see any dam along North Fork, though there were a few puddles in North Fork with reasonable clarity. There IS a signed "Corral Dam" along the tributary, where the trail climbs up to the north, which was had a dribble that would be very difficult to collect.

	Holdout Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Solid, as usual.

_____________________

Jan 13 2023

GrangerGuy

Guides 34
Routes 138
Photos 931
Triplogs 111

68 male

Joined Dec 26 2018
Phoenix, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 13 2023
		GrangerGuy • Triplogs 111

Hiking	19.73 Miles	4,718 AEG

Hiking	19.73 Miles	1 Day 11 Hrs 1 Min
	4,718 ft AEG	17 Hrs 25 Mns Break	27 LBS Pack

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I’ve been busy teaching and got 3 weeks behind on my trail writeups. I did a loop in the Galiuros, starting from Deer Creek Trailhead. This trip turned out to be Type II fun, although I got a lot of good pictures (I think).

The road to the trailhead, Forest Road 253, is easily navigated. It is high clearance when dry all the way to the trail head. You could even take a normal car on it if you were adventurous. The crossing of Aravaipa Creek had a very small amount of water in it.

My plan was to take the East Divide Trail south to Tortilla Trail, following it over to Powers Garden Trail and stay at Powers Garden for the night. Then south on Powers Garden Trail to Corral Canyon Trail, up to the East Divide Trail, and back to my car.

East Divide Trail #287
I started out about 8 am. It was 39° and sunny. Although the trail is in tall grass, it is easy to follow here. It can be confusing at times, however. I took a detour off the trail to set up my tripod on some rocks, and found a cairn in the tall grass at least 20 yards off the trail. After about 1.5 hours, I reached the Tortilla Trail. The intersection is marked by a cairn and the remains of a signpost.

Tortilla Trail #254
Continuing up, arriving at the first saddle, I could see my car far away at the trailhead. The path comes upon a recently-maintained barbed wire fence. It follows along north for a couple hundred yards before coming to a gate, and an intersection with the trail back down to Deer Creek Road. Through the gate, the trail descends to Oak Creek, which was flowing cheerfully.

Switchbacking up from Oak Creek, the path enters the wilderness. With the sun now on Mt. Graham across the valley, I could see the snow on the peak. The spring box at Mud Spring was full, but green and not very appealing, and indeed there is mud everywhere. Sycamore Trail #278 bears right, and Tortilla Trail bears left. The signs indicate 6.2 miles to Powers Garden.

A short distance past Mud Spring, there is a confusing intersection marking the East Divide Trail and Tortilla Trail. Since I’d already left the East Divide Trail, this did not make sense. It seems to be an old routing of the East Divide Trail, or a connector trail to it. At the intersection, bear right.

About noon, I reached the high point of 6250’, and could still pick out my car at the trailhead. It’s a little tricky finding the trail coming off the high point and down into the ravine leading to Sycamore Creek. Cairns are helpful. Once in the canyon, the trail closely follows the creek, right of it, left of it, or in it. The path is overgrown.

Eventually arrived at the dam, and the actual intersection with Sycamore Creek. The dam is filled with silt. The trail passes below the dam, and then by a large tank and a small tank. The large tank was overflowing.

Leaving the dam, the trail also leaves the creek, staying essentially level. The grass is tall and the trail is obscure, but if the going gets scary or difficult, you are probably off the path. The trail traverses in and out of 3 more canyons before eventually crossing a pass at the head of Horse Canyon. From here, it is 2.5 more miles to camp.

The trail down into Horse Canyon is not great. It alternates between scree and solid granite and catclaw. The walk along Horse Canyon at the bottom is idyllic. Eventually the trail comes to the crossing at Rattlesnake Creek, which was flowing enough to make me hunt for a good crossing. Once across, it is best to stay to the right of the fence to pick up the southbound Powers Garden Trail.

Powers Garden Trail #96
This old road is doing a good job returning to singletrack. It follows along the fence until arriving at Powers Garden, where there are several photogenic buildings. There was a large, noisy organized group of young adults camping at Powers Garden. I camped as far away as I thought prudent, but they still kept me awake at night. Lots of good campsites there.

In the morning, my watch indicated it was 34°, but a small amount of ice in my water bottle suggested it was colder. This campsite is notorious for being cold, and my hands were numb by the time I got breakfast going.

Continuing south on day two, I made a rookie mistake and headed upstream on the wrong path until it petered out. By the time I realized my error and got back to the right path, it was 8 am, an hour later than I should have started, as it turns out.

The Powers Garden Trail does disappear from time to time due to deadfall mostly. It crosses the creek several times, but even with a fairly high flow, it’s a good rock hop to get across. Past Brush Spring, there was no longer any water in the creek. The last bit before Corral Canyon seemed to best be traveled in the creek bed. The intersection with the Corral Canyon trail was not obvious.

Corral Canyon Trail #291
At the bottom, the trail is good. It is marked by occasional cairns and features good tread and not a lot of brush. Someone has clipped a few of the more offensive bits of brush, but it could do with a lot more maintenance.

At around 1.5 miles from Rattlesnake Creek, the trail becomes pretty vague. For the next half mile or so, just follow the creek, until you encounter a couple of large cairns directing you up the hill on the north side of the creek. If you get as far as Corral Spring, you must backtrack to find the switchbacks up the grassy north side of the canyon, which take you around a redoubtable waterfall.

The switchbacks are hard to find in the grass, but there are regular cairns that appear, letting you know you are on the right track. If you load the GPS tracks from previous HAZers, you can follow those. Eventually the trail returns to the stream just above the waterfall. The best path onward seems to be in the creek, following the south fork where it splits. There is quite a bit of deadfall to work around.

After a short section a ways up on the south canyon wall, the trail crosses it and begins another aggressive set of switchbacks up the grassy north side of the canyon. The trail is hard to spot, but again, cairns will appear suggesting you are on the right path. Just before the top, the trail makes a U turn around the end of a ridge. Near here is a nice outcrop with good views to Mts. Lemmon and Wrightson. From there, it is an easy ½ mile to the intersection at a pass with the East Divide Trail, which is tangled in deadfall.

East Divide Trail #287
From the pass, I followed the East Divide Trail down the switchbacks into the canyon of a tributary to Oak Creek. This north-facing slope had quite a bit of snow on it, and at one point I lost the trail and just headed straight down until I picked up the trail again. There are lots of large trees fallen and blocking the trail in the upper section as well. It was a bit of an adventure.

Farther down, as the trail begins to follow the riparian canyon, the brush becomes awful. My way was much slowed by pushing aside brush as I worked my way down. Eventually the trail bursts out of the brush onto grassland and leaves the nasty canyon.

Note that in the vicinity of the crossing of Oak Creek, the current (as of Jan 2023) official route of the East Divide Trail is very far off. Just follow the obvious and good trail as it curves south, then north around Oak Creek Canyon, staying pretty level, or follow the GPS tracks of the numerous unofficial routes, and you should be fine.

By the time I reached the intersection of the Tortilla Trail again, it was dark, but with my headlamp and light from my phone, it was not a problem to make it back to the trailhead.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Oak Creek

	Corral Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Good flow of the creek up as far as the major waterfall above the spring.

	Horse Canyon	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Plenty of water in the lower part of the canyon.

	Mud Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Tank is overflowing, albeit green.

	South Field Canyon	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Rattlesnake Creek was flowing strong here.

	Upper Sycamore Tank	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Large tank was overflowing.

Nov 13 2022

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Sunset Peak, AZ

Hiking		Nov 13 2022
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	10.10 Miles	2,939 AEG

Hiking	10.10 Miles	5 Hrs 28 Mns	1.95 mph
	2,939 ft AEG	17 Mns Break

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chumley

Been a few years since doing this summit and nice to be back again. The road walk in the beginning was pleasant before the quite steep but short ascent. Some poison ivy to avoid but the colors were better than in the past and I dare say possibly better than Bassett. It was more quality over quantity compared to Bassett with some short sections that were very scenic.

Once on the divide the hike really begins with brushy overgrown trail and a rather large descent before the final peak summit. The actual summit is off trail from the divide but it's a fun scramble through a few sporty climbs to the peak. Great views on top and would have been nice to spend more time but a cold brisk wind cut short the visit.

Back down the same way and more foliage pics with slightly different light!

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial

_____________________

1 archive

Nov 13 2022

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Sunset Peak, AZ

Hiking		Nov 13 2022
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	10.10 Miles	2,939 AEG

Hiking	10.10 Miles	5 Hrs 28 Mns	1.95 mph
	2,939 ft AEG	17 Mns Break

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After tagging Bassett yesterday, we opted to head for Sunset today. This side trip along the divide must not be on an internet list because it doesn't seem to get much visitation despite being just a short spur off the trail, a fun scramble, and stunning sky island views. Bonus: fall colors along High Creek make the lower half a delight.

I parked too early, forgetting that I could easily drive more than a half mile farther along the road, so we got a few extra steps to add to the weekend totals. There's more poison ivy here than in Ash, but it's easily avoided, and in brilliant fall splendor, I don't think it's quite as potent as when glossy green in summer.

The half mile or so below the switchbacks is steeper than it needs to be and just as I remembered. The nice trail conditions ended at the junction with the 287, which has not seen clippers in many years. We pushed through the brush and managed to keep an eye on the tread hidden below our feet.

The peak is not even the high point on the hike, which features a delightful 400 foot drop between reaching the divide and climbing to the summit. Extra AEG just for fun, donchaknow?

There's a double-summit, but the eastern point is the highest and you have to traverse the western side to get there. It's a scramble to get to the top, but there's a protected gully that makes the ascent easy.

Yesterday's perfect conditions were not repeated today, with a strong and very chilly wind. I tried to warm up in a wind-sheltered spot in the sun, but it wasn't happening, so we didn't stay too long before making the return trip and warming up along the climb on the overgrown divide trail.

We were well ahead of yesterday's pace so the return trip brought us through the maple zone with brilliant backlighting from the autumn sun. We took the short side trip toward High Creek Spring but didn't go all the way up. There must be good water though because a pipe installed by local ranchers was leaking nicely!

With a quick 3 hour drive, we were home in time for dinner.

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
Only a few patches of good red maples, but the yellows were pure fire.

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

1 archive

Nov 06 2022

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 06 2022
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	11.76 Miles	2,289 AEG

Hiking	11.76 Miles	7 Hrs 25 Mns	2.11 mph
	2,289 ft AEG	1 Hour 51 Mns Break

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First time in the Galiuros. Left Phoenix later than planned, and Google Maps took us to the wrong spot, so we arrived at the trailhead around noon.

1st mile: Flat terrain. Creek had light-moderate flow. Fall colors were sporadic, but very bright and intense. All the colors were represented.

2nd mile: Flat. Creek had light flow, then became dry. Fall colors rare, almost absent during this stretch. It was beautiful and green, but only green.

3rd mile: Minimal ascent. Creek dry. Fall colors everywhere, just off the trail. We took numerous detours off trail to explore and take pics of the delightful fall colors.

4th mile: Mild, steady ascent. Fall colors EVERYWHERE, completely enveloping the trail. This stretch was an absolute wonderland of fall colors, and we were super impressed.

5th mile: No fall colors. Moderate ascent with many switchbacks and nice views of the canyon.

6th mile: Ridgeline. No fall colors. Mostly flat and easy, with occasional manzanita clusters crowding the trail, with sick views of the canyons on both sides. We jogged most of this because we were running out of time.

We stopped just short of the switchbacks to the peak because we had run out of time. We had spent hours enjoying the fall colors, and had to get back to real life, so we didn't reach the peak. Next time.

What an excellent day. Temperature was perfect (60s-70s). Sky was perfect. The fall colors were sporadic in the first mile, and almost absent in the second mile, while the 3rd and 4th miles more than made up for it, with ubiquitous color. The entire area was beautiful regardless of whether the leaves were green, yellow, orange, pink, or red. The views of the canyon from the ridgeline were magnificent. This is one of my favorite hikes now, and will definitely be back.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bassett Peak

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

2 archives

Oct 30 2022

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 30 2022
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	12.00 Miles	2,880 AEG

Hiking	12.00 Miles	6 Hrs 57 Mns	1.91 mph
	2,880 ft AEG	41 Mns Break

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LindaAnn

linda's fall plans included a bassett peak hike
i had not been to the galiuros before, so of course i was in
we got to the trailhead around 0830 and set off up ash creek
first few miles followed ash creek through the woods
pockets of maple color mixed in with arizona white oak and random ponderosa
a few aspen where the trail turned to head up to the ridgeline
great views of surrounding mountain ranges, interesting rock formations and bits of color in the creek
overall good trail with a few narrow scree sections and some brushy areas
we took a break at the summit and enjoyed perfect temps, no wind and beautiful scenery
the return went quickly with good conversation
while not prime color, enough to entertain
would like to explore more of this range
bassett was a great peak
love the sky island terrain, even the grasslands
thanks for planning and driving linda
good to hike with joe again too
splitting the difference between joe's and linda's stats

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

_____________________

hazhole

1 archive

Sep 19 2022

00blackout

Routes 31
Photos 4,724
Triplogs 187

50 male

Joined Mar 14 2016
Gold Canyon, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 19 2022
		00blackout • Triplogs 187

Hiking	5.90 Miles	1,100 AEG

Hiking	5.90 Miles
	1,100 ft AEG

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Took Monday off so I drove out Sunday night to the Deer Creek TH in the Galiuro Wilderness to car camp and hike. I've hiked in the Galiuro's before (Ash Creek) but wanted to try the northern portion of the wilderness this time. Got to the TH at about 8:30, it was pitch black and I parked under a huge tree next to the only firepit I saw. There was a truck there with a horse trailer but no one in it. The knats and mosquitoes were horrible but were not around in the am with the cooler temps. Did not sleep that much, got woken up in the middle of the night as a rain shower came through which was surprising as there was not a cloud in the sky when I left, then a couple hours got woken up again by a pack of coyotes howling and screaming close to me. Got up at 5am with the sun not up yet, I started off. This area of the Galiuro's is covered in knee high grass, which did not make me feel that comfortable with the snakes out and the rocks the area was covered with. Followed a very faint trail across the first ridge then down into the first creek crossing which was dry. From there it was all up, up and up with the grass continuing. Bushwhacked over to Double Trough Spring then continued up to Mud Spring which was my stopping point. Relaxed in the shade at the spring and headed back down. Three cowboys on horseback arrived back at the TH right before me (that was the truck that was there). At some point I want to hike to Power's Garden, but it's definitely a backpack due to the distance and drive. No wildlife sightings and no cows at all on the trail or at Mud Spring.

_____________________

Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.

Jan 14 2022

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

Powers Garden via Paddys River, AZ

Backpack		Jan 14 2022
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Backpack	27.39 Miles	6,281 AEG

Backpack	27.39 Miles	2 Days
	6,281 ft AEG		15 LBS Pack

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Paddys River Trail #293

Deer Creek Cabin - Galiuros

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Decided to try my luck with a risky loop in the Galiuros and was rewarded with an excellent adventure. It's a good time to get out there.

Paddy's River #293
Parked at Deer Creek TH and walked FR253 to the Deer Creek Ranch gate. Had some bypass options but didn't know if they would work - turns out the Forest Service already worked out the details. There's a small pull-out next to the gate with a FS sign (no mention of the trail, just a "foot traffic only") and a short ladder to get over the fence. Singletrack winds through the grassy pastures until the far side of Home Ranch Tank and connects with the original trail.

Old jeep trail only lasts a half mile, then back to singletrack (it was unmarked, I left a cairn). This time it goes uphill through manzanita, and while the tread is obvious, it is quite overgrown and gave me some early cuts. Brief grassy footpath and then into the scrub, which is also obvious tread with thick overgrowth. Made it to the saddle feeling optimistic about the trail conditions - I came in with low expectations and, even with the disuse, there was a discernible route.

Dropping down the other side of the saddle was interesting. There was little brush to fight through - now it was grassy slopes, bare rock, and minimal catclaw - but the old tread was more faint and there were a few lightly cairned re-routes. I meandered along, enjoying the partly cloudy skies and big views of Sulphur Springs Valley. The only time I truly lost the trail was right before the final drop into Paddy's River, when I stuck to topo and must have missed a re-route, and ended up perched on a steep slope above a drainage. Descent was painful.

Paddy's River was paradise. Surrounded by tall pines, plentiful flat spots for camping, and a happy little creek flowing through. If the flow was dependable I could see this being a great low-mileage alternative to Powers Garden. Took two breaks next to the water, soaking up the ambience and filling to full water capacity, delaying the inevitable slog to the divide.

Took some meandering to find the track leading out of the river, and the search was worth it - there is a lovely set of singletrack switchbacks marching uphill, cairned on each turn, that is overgrown yet easy to walk. Of course, I lost them after a half mile and couldn't pick them back up and chose to use game paths to continue. Pretty sure the trail stays south of the ridge and I was trying to ride the line. At 6200' there is a single cairn before the scrub forest begins and... bushwhack time. I did find two separate trails, one old and wide and the other a narrow singletrack that seemed newer. Even with the options, and sporadic flagging, this climb was tough, and I crawled and slithered many times to get through the thick forest. My opinion on burns definitely changed on this section. Last hundred yards were more open and I strutted out onto the Divide with ease.

East Divide #287
Good grief those views. Santa Catalinas, Rincons, and Pinalenos were all crowned with snow, and the dramatic lighting made for some legit gasps. Trail is slightly overgrown and there was snow on the north-facing slopes, never got deeper than a few slushy inches. I trotted happily along this trail, giddy with views and easy hiking. You could easily camp on this trail and have nearby water, with the melting snow and all.

Rattlesnake #285
My prints were the first on East Divide until I reached this junction. There had been several parties doing the High Creek -> Rattlesnake route, pressing down the snow and creating slick sections that were barely traversable without spikes (I did bring them, just didn't want to put them on unless I had to). Only spicy section was at that red-dirt slope where the mud was slick as ice. Dropping down into the creek was slightly overgrown, nothing pointy. Creek started flowing early on, only fading out a few times on the length. Met two backpackers at Holdout Spring who were very knowledgeable about the area (got a new lead on YLE access that I need to follow up on). Final two miles were surprisingly overgrown, and when I reached Powers Garden trail I was ready to be done.

Camped at the first fire ring I found. The chill had been settling for the last hour and I shivered through, not wanting to layer up until camp was setup and I had wiped some of the sweat/grime/blood off. Tried to start a fire but the larger pieces were stubborn, so when dinner was done I leaped into my tent. My lil' thermometer claimed 14F at 7AM (yesterday high was about 60F). Temps in my tent didn't get too low - my water didn't freeze - and a new down quilt kept my nice and cozy all night. Inflatable pad did get a little chilly, even supplemented with a sheet of reflective mylar. Quickly made breakfast and started down the trail, eager to warm up.

Powers Garden #94
Easily distracted by shiny things, I made it a few minutes before wandering over to the stamp mill, then hunt for Rattlesnake Spring (didn't find it), then follow an old tread on the wrong side of the creek until I was above the ball mill. Lots of suspicious little trails crawling around up there, lots of cool things to track down. Past that I was able to focus and make quick work of the rest of the trail, stopping briefly to talk to two knowledgeable men at the Garden who had brought 5 horses (and a son) in for a hunting expedition. Some new deadfall along the trail, nothing too worrisome.

Tortilla Trail #254
Hours after sunrise the cold temps at the base of Powers Garden was palpable. There's a great campsite near the junction that I wouldn't touch outside of summer. Anyways, trail climbed quickly and I stopped at the first creek crossing to water up. The next half mile is magical and had strong Little Blue vibes. Then it was time for the main climb, which went quick, and I appreciated the warm sun after the chilly morning.

Next few miles dragged. A sharp wind was picking up, and combined with the shaded slopes, had me alternating layers multiple times. Trail design is great and tread is in good shape (had to be for those horses to get in). Reached the dam on Sycamore Creek, which was flowing strong, and stopped for lunch, donning about every layer I had to keep warm. Noticed with dismay that there is a connection with Sycamore Trail and that the old tread up to Topout Divide seems to be sticking around, guess I'll need to make another Powers Garden loop to explore that further. Reached Mud Spring and bid welcome to the local resident, who had aged a lot since my last visit. Continued on to the junction with Deer Creek Administrative site spur (not sure if it has a name) and decided to check that out.

Dropping down to the site was steep and easy, and I swear there were some bootprints, but it was empty. There are corrals, a restroom, trough, and locked cabin - I wonder why this isn't the official trailhead, it's pretty nice. Road in isn't that bad (but is gated). I went cross-country to complete the loop.

Saw 5-6 deer, smelled a few skunks, didn't see any fresh bear sign. Only saw the two pairs of humans out there. Enjoyed this trip a lot more than my first one, already planning my return trip during the cold months.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mining Equipment Trail Signs and Markings

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bassett Peak Galiuro Wilderness Home Ranch Tank Limestone Spring Mud Spring North Field Canyon Paddy's River at Paddy's River Trail Pinaleno Mountains Powers Garden Rattlesnake Creek Rincon Mountains Santa Catalina Mountains South Field Canyon Sulphur Springs Valley Upper Sycamore Tank

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Sunrise

	Deer Creek Cabin Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Clear water in trough, good flow in nearby drainage.

	Holdout Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Water in springbox and cave. Also, the drainage was flowing and there was a lil' waterfall.

Home Ranch Tank

51-75% full

	Horse Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Happy flow coming down the canyon.

	Limestone Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Springbox was half full. Spring itself looked to be collapsed in. Would not depend on this source during much of the year.

	Mud Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Spring, box, and puddles below. Dead cow stench is minimal.

	Paddy's River at Paddy's River Trail	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Lots of water flowing through the creek, plenty of deep pools along stretch w trail.

	Rattlesnake Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Spring location is sus, did not find anything resembling a spring on the hillside. Creek was flowing strong below. Some knowledgeable campers at Powers Garden stated that there is "always a pool of water in the creek" near here.

	Upper Sycamore Tank	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Both creeks were flowing strong. Dam had a trickle over. Metal water tanks were both empty (except for a thin layer of ice on the bottom).

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1 archive

Nov 01 2021

Pivo

Guides 2
Routes 512
Photos 5,579
Triplogs 4,277

69 male

Joined Mar 01 2009
Aztec, NM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 01 2021
		Pivo • Triplogs 4,277

Hiking	5.01 Miles	593 AEG

Hiking	5.01 Miles	2 Hrs		2.66 mph
	593 ft AEG	7 Mns Break	8 LBS Pack

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MyRudy

Rudy and I hit the road this morning to check out the color in Ash Creek. Still early for the best maple color. There is color, but the best is yet to come. Perhaps 10-14 more days until peak.

Lots of bugs in the canyon today. A mosquito veil or bug spray is recommended.

Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
Still early for the Maples. In other areas today's color would be "substantial". Yet not for Ash Creek.

_____________________

2 archives

Oct 30 2021

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 30 2021
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Hiking	12.57 Miles	2,886 AEG

Hiking	12.57 Miles	4 Hrs 44 Mns	2.68 mph
	2,886 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

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Needed to get a fall foliage trip in before the season's over and I'd been wanting to check out the Galliuros for awhile, so this seemed like the day to do it. Left bright and early before 6am and got as far as I felt comfortable taking the Jeep 4 hours later, then went back down the road a bit to where I felt a rescue would be more doable if I needed one (there's no clear "end" to the road, seems like it just turns to trail over a 100 yard stretch...)

Jogged a little at the start, but kept having to stop to take pictures. The first section still had a bit of green, but by the time I got to the bend to the west, it was, as a friend said it, a "kaleidoscopic leaf tunnel." That last half mile or so to the random copse of aspens was amazing. The aspens themselves were yellowing nicely to add to the show.

Once onto the climb out of the canyon the views started opening up, and I was struck by the cool rock formations (fortunately not by any actual rocks). I also managed to get a cactus spine through my shoe, which is the first time I've ever managed to do this right after passing an aspen grove. What an amazing mix of microclimates this place has.

Bassett Peak trail was a bit more chunky and overgrown, with some eroded sections on the switchbacks up the north face of the summit. I didn't realize the trail doesn't actually go to the summit, and got to the saddle to the south before I realized that. I did poke around a little past the saddle because I was curious where the trail went, since it wasn't on the FS map. The bushwack up to the summit was easy.

The way down was fun, although I was a little achy, gotta start doing more of the mid-week stuff again. Probably took even more pictures on the way down; I think the lighting was a little better that point.

I don't know if the foliage has necessarily "peaked" yet, as there were still some stretches that were green or just starting to turn, but the upper section is definitely there, and some trees are shedding leaves. Probably couldn't go wrong visiting any time in the next week, but I don't know that I'd wait any longer than that.

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
The last half mile or so before the aspens is putting on a show.

	Upper Ash Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Steady thin stream coming out of the pipe, and another seep below the spring box.

_____________________

Mar 20 2021

Guides 38
Routes 182
Photos 1,602
Triplogs 232

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Mar 20 2021
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 232

Backpack	25.73 Miles	5,215 AEG

Backpack	25.73 Miles	2 Days
	5,215 ft AEG

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Sycamore Trail #278

[ checklist ] Corral Spring Kennedy Peak Mud Spring Powers Garden Powers Garden Spring Sycamore Canyon Spring

Kennedy Peak Trail #287A

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Long, dark drive from San Tan Valley. Was pleasantly surprised to see that FR253 was recently graded, that plus a dry Aravaipa made it very easy to reach TH.

East Divide #287
Easy walking up the grassy lowlands with a few cairns to keep you moving forward. Everything looks toasted, even with the recent snows/rains. Passed what felt like a half-dozen signed junctions before reaching Mud Springs, bit of a maze to figure out at the start. Noticed something weird here that several of the other trails had - two treads that were not-quite-parallel, sometimes collapsing to a single track and other times devolving into game trails. Unsure if this is due to chatty cowbows or meandering livestock. Regardless, it had me backtracking many times throughout the weekend.

Sycamore Creek #278
Picked this up at Mud Springs, took a bit of wandering to find where it started. Recent maintenance and a few re-routes were appreciated. Once I reached the saddle by China Peak the trail plummeted down over steep switchbacks, and while the cairns were huge, the re-routed tread is hard to track. Once the trail hits the creek it does a very good job at sticking to the banks and cleaning hopping from one side to the other. There is some minor deadfall and overgrowth to navigate, and I chose to boulder-hop a few times, overall it was pretty fun.

Bumped into a large group of teenagers w/ chaperones who were hiking from Rattlesnake Canyon to Redfield over two weeks. Chatted for ten minutes, could have spent all day sharing stories, but we were heading in different directions and each had many miles to cover before nightfall. That was shortly before Sycamore Canyon Spring, and I spent much of the rest of the trail following tread high up the banks and trying to imagine how I'd fit two weeks worth of food in my tiny pack.

Powers Garden #96
Rattlesnake Creek was flowing happily, a nice change from the stagnant pools in Sycamore, which gave me (temporary) hope for water sources. Also, this trail was annoyingly well-maintained, recently trimmed back neatly and a small army of bootprints pounded into the tread. As there was no one at Powers Garden, my guess is that a crew had walked in from Rattlesnake Road and done some work on the trail or at the Garden, and then hiked out on Friday.

This was a very enjoyable section, with the big trees and views on each side. I passed Pipestem (signed), Mailbox (unsigned), and Tortilla (signed) junctions, and somewhere along the way my happy little creek completely dried up. Camping in the middle of a field of dead grass with a single liter of water didn't sound like fun, so I bailed my original plan (set up camp here and go hunting for the Mailbox spur) and decided to push forward instead. The rest of the trail to Corral Canyon seemed to drag, mostly because I kept veering into Rattlesnake Creek in hopes of finding a crystal-clear pool of water.

Corral Canyon #291
Bit more deadfall and overgrowth, and the creek crossings can be confusing, yet the tread is solid and was much better than expected. Followed it for a mile and found some trickling water, pulled to full capacity and backtracked a half-mile to a nice campsite.

Took my time setting up camp and getting some firewood for the night. I was expecting a cold night and wanted to glamp, even brought a little chair along. Managed to stay up until 8 before crashing, and then slept in the next morning. New sleeping pad was a real winner, probably got down to high 30s and kept warm. Woke up feeling wonderfully refreshed.

Tracking the creek crossings got a bit more difficult, and I did spend some time boulder-hopping. The one crossing that is truly important is right at Corral Spring, where (if you're heading uphill) you leave the south bank, backtrack downstream to the spring about twenty feet, and then head up the north bank. If you miss this, you'll end up at the bottom of a very formidable waterfall. Going up the north bank is a set of steep switchbacks with a few re-routes due to deadfall, which is something that you need to repeat near the end of the trail.

The final leg of the trail is on the top of a ridgeline, and this is where the burn comes in full. There's good tread, and a few cairns, and enough deadfall to turn the whole thing into a maze. Two nice campsites and a small stand of surviving pines wait at the end of the trail.

Kennedy Peak #287A
Short jaunt south on East Divide and a humble sign point to the peak, which is another maze of deadfall. There are plenty of cairns, though sections of the tread have been washed out. I lost the trail on both the hike up and down. Anyways, views on top were totally worth it - after spending yesterday on the grassy north side and in deep canyons, seeing the expansiveness of the wilderness was a moving moment.

East Divide #287
Return to the junction and then heading down over the million switchbacks. Snow was a minor issue, a few stretches where the narrow tread was covered in slick iciness that promised an quickened descent. Eventually the snow obstacles were replaced with deadfall, and then overgrowth kicked in. I didn't care too much - I was heading downhill and the trailhead felt within reach.

As soon as the junction to Mud Springs shows up the trail veers back onto grassy flatlands and makes a sizeable re-route to the south to avoid the deep tributaries of Oak Creek. At least, it was a re-route according to the route I had. Eventually the track swung north, joined with my route from yesterday, and I rolled back down to the trailhead.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Brush Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at mouth.

	Corral Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Dry at mouth. Trickling pools start to intermittently show up after 1 mile upstream.

	Corral Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Water directly below the cement box.

	Horse Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at mouth.

	Mailbox Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at mouth.

	Mud Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Spring box was full, trough was overflowing, downhill tank & trough were full. Cow corpse is still there fouling up trough overflow, but trough still seems clean enough.

	Pipestem Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at mouth.

	Powers Garden Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Two large, algae-clogged pools. Totally unappealing. Rattlesnake Creek was completely dry from Corral Creek to Pipestem, this spring did nothing to help that.

	South Field Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at mouth.

	Sycamore Canyon Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Several appealing pools trickling, plenty to pull from.

	Sycamore Creek	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Handful of sad pools, mostly between spring & mouth.

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Nov 20 2020

etale

Routes 1
Triplogs 1

male

Joined Feb 14 2018
Benson, AZ

Cedar Flat Galiuros Loop, AZ

Backpack		Nov 20 2020
		etale • Triplogs 1

Backpack	35.47 Miles	3,427 AEG

Backpack	35.47 Miles	4 Days
	3,427 ft AEG

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Recommended for experienced hikers only, with strong backgrounds in off-trail hiking, navigation, and water-finding. This is a long, arduous hike with several difficult off-trail sections. Even though it largely follows the West Divide trail, little of that trail remains between Hooker Cabin and Cedar Flat, and there is no trail whatsoever from Cedar Flat to the saddle above Long Tom Mine. Many other portions of trail are faint at best. All marked Springs within 0.5 mi of the route were bone dry, with the exception of the unnamed Spring in the side canyon south of Kiehlberg Canyon, Holdout Spring, and Jackson Spring. Water is not easy to find in dry months, though the more narrow slot canyons do hold water almost year-round.

Drove to Jackson Cabin for a 7am start (Note: high clearance 4WD vehicle required for this). First day hiked Jackson Cabin to Hooker Cabin on the West Divide Trail. There was no water anywhere in the main drainage of Redfield Canyon this time of year (late November, major ongoing drought), but after snow melt in Feb/ March, or after a good Monsoon season, the canyon has lots of water. West Divide trail above Hooker Cabin grows faint, and I didn't take this route. Instead, took theunnamed side canyon to the northeast of Hooker Cabin, veering left at the confluence with Negro Canyon. There was good water in several pockets in this side canyon. Scrambled up to Cedar flat via an unnamed drainage, and spent the first night at Cedar Flat, finding more water in pockets along the drainages.

Second day hiked from Cedar Flat to Holdout Spring, taking the route of West Divide Trail up to Rattlesnake Canyon. There is no remaining trail between Cedar Flat and the saddle just south of Long Tom Mine, nor any sign of the trail that I was able to find. This was an arduous bushwhack up the canyons. Passed by Cedar Spring, Knothe Spring, and Echols Spring; all dry. I suspect these would have water at other times of the year, as the plants growing on them were healthier and greener than anywhere else. There is water in the spring box below the abandoned cabin in the canyon to the southeast of Kiehlberg tank, and there was some water around Kiehlberg tank itself. The trail starts to get decent again halfway between Kiehlberg tank and Powers Mine. Holdout Spring always has great water, and there were one or two pockets of water in the deeper stone culverts along Rattlesnake Canyon about a mile prior to Holdout Spring. Spent the night at Holdout Spring.

Third day hiked from Holdout Spring to just below Basset peak, taking the East Divide trail. In contrast to the West Divide trail, this was much more traveled, though no water at this elevation. It was a long day of hiking and carrying as much water as I could from Holdout. Extraordinary sunsets from below Bassett peak.

Final day hiked up past Bassett Peak, and back down to Jackson Cabin via what is marked on *some* maps as #287C, though this "trail" does not appear on any FS maps. Like several of the other sections, this part is not for the faint of heart as it is quite steep in places, with the old and worn trail washed out rockslides. Jackson Spring was flowing great, but this was the only water I found between Holdout Spring and Jackson Spring along my route.

The Galiuros are an extremely special and unusual place.

Wildflowers Observation None
Fall foliage was extensive and lovely.

Cedar Spring

Dry

Echols Spring

Dry

Holdout Spring

Quart per minute

	Jackson Canyon Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Great, clean flow.

Kielberg Tank

1-25% full

Knothe Spring

Dry

8 archives

Nov 14 2020

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Deer Creek to High Creek, AZ

Backpack		Nov 14 2020
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Backpack	23.00 Miles	5,808 AEG

Backpack	23.00 Miles	3 Days
	5,808 ft AEG

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Deer Creek Cabin - Galiuros

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	JoelHazelton	John9L
	Jonnybackpack	KatClaw

Kathleen had been begging me to take her to Powers Garden for a while, and not to turn down an excuse to spend time in the Galiuros, I penciled in a date on the calendar. Of course, the plans went all crazy and the whos and whens weren't finally settled until a few hours before we started. Kathleen had to work, until I fomo-guilted her on the drive east, and she managed to pull everything together and make the trailhead before sunset. Jon was gonna meet us in the morning, but that got thwarted and he didn't leave the valley until mid morning. Joel had a bunch of stuff keep him from getting out of town on time and he drove through the night. Patrick was on time and Nate somehow got his Prius all the way out there in time for a Friday night car camp.

Saturday morning, Joel rolled up and he and I opted to set up a shuttle so we could come out via High Creek instead of returning back to Deer Creek. This took longer than expected ... the shortest route isn't an option because a ranch owner has restricted access. So after the long way around, we weren't ready to hit the trail until after 11. Patrick, Nate, 9L, and Kathleen had all started a few hours earlier while we were shuttling. Jon was running about an hour behind us but we opted to head out rather than waiting.

A couple of miles in we met Kathleen and Chewy in bad shape. An illness had set in and despite making it halfway there, she decided that it wasn't worth backpacking and waking up in the middle of the wilderness with a worsening sickness of unknown severity. It's a tough call to make, but it was the right decision. I wouldn't want to be sick like that in the middle of the woods either. She assured us she would make it back to the truck, so we said our goodbyes and continued on.

There was a foul-smelling rotting cow carcass at Mud Spring, which didn't pose any issues since nobody would drink from that spring anyway. The views on the Tortilla trail are open and ok, but really not a good descriptor for this range as a whole. There was a puddle or two of water in a couple of shaded drainages from the previous week's rain, but it was otherwise a very dry hike in. Some maples splashed bright reds near the mouth of Horse Canyon providing a welcoming entrance to Powers Garden after the steep and scree-ey descent from the crest.

Despite evidence of some very recent horse traffic, we were pleased to find the Garden unoccupied, except for 9L, Patrick and Nate who had already set up camp. Jon arrived around sunset after stopping for some photos along the way.

The cabin was unlocked and very well stocked. Actually, people abandon property here instead of carrying it out, and I wish they wouldn't. Sleeping pads, sleeping bags, tents, canned goods, you name it. Even a bottle of whisky!

But seriously ... it's not helping to leave anything here. If you carry it in, carry it out too. Your 12-lb Ozark Trail sleeping bag is trash. The cabin does not need another bottle of mustard!

We had a good fire, and managed to stay warm until bed. Always a cold sink, the garden dropped into the 20s and all our waters were frozen solid. We reconsidered why we hadn't all just slept in the cabin as it would have provided a few degrees of relief. No matter, once the sun hit the valley, the frost melted and things warmed up quickly.

The spring had plentiful water, but despite being clear, had a bit of a funky odor. If the spring area doesn't get a little bit of maintenance, I think this may become a less-than-ideal water source in the next few years. All the former infrastructure has gone to feces and I'm not sure there will ever be running water at the cabin or a clean trough for filtering and wildlife again.

Nate took off at first light and hiked out on his own. 9L and Patrick left in late morning, heading back via Tortilla. Jon and Joel and I headed south on what should have been an "easy" day. I had planned to make another visit to the cabin and mine, but when we got to the junction, I wasn't feeling it, and having been there before, didn't need to do it again this time.

The Rattlesnake Trail has flashed since the 2014 fire and much of the tread is gone as you meander through a dense stand of Arizona Cypress growing in the sandy and rocky flood debris. After pleasant hiking so far, this last 2 miles was a lot of work. It's quite overgrown and between route-finding, creek crossings, bushwhacking, and the end of our second day of hiking, we were all pretty happy to get to camp at Holdout Spring.

As expected, Holdout was full of clear, delicious water ... the first we had seen all day since leaving Powers. Camp here was at least 15 degrees warmer than down in the garden, and we were all thoroughly pleased by that.

The next morning we took it slow getting going and stopped a few times along the way to enjoy the fall colors along the trail as we climbed up toward the divide. We may have been a little bit late for colors, but it's tough to tell ... it seems that there had been an extended freeze at some point in the previous couple of weeks that had put an abrupt end to most of the colors.

The hike to the divide from Holdout is truly scenic, and so much better than Tortilla on the way in. I had forgotten a few of the sections and really enjoyed the tired grind on the climb out. Heading down High Creek was a delight as always, with a few pockets of really nice color that deserved a break. At one point, my phone fell out of my pocket as I sat and I left without it. This near-disaster was averted as I take enough photos that it hadn't been more than 100 yards before I grabbed for it and realized where it must be!

The Mark-KO tree has settled from forehead height to a more manageable chest height.

I had left my truck at the most popular camp area and since I was a few minutes ahead of the others, I drove a half mile or so back up the road to pick them up. There are some sections up there that just make it not worth the drive vs just walking it!

We didn't see any bears in person, but they were obviously plentiful across the entire range. Over the course of the three days, I don't believe we ever went more than 100 yards without encountering a healthy pile of poop, and often could not go more than a few steps. On no hike that I can recall have I seen so much sign of bear activity over such a large area.

We drove back to Deer Creek to fetch the other cars before heading back home. But not before getting to enjoy the spectacular beauty of the Aravaipa Valley as daylight waned. Each trip to the Galiuros makes me wonder why I don't come back here more often! So Kathleen ... I guess we'll have to schedule this one again and finally get it done!

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Galiuro Wilderness Powers Garden Spring

	Brush Canyon	Dry	Dry
	No sign of water

	Corral Canyon	Dry	Dry
	No sign of water. Didn't hike up far to investigate further

Deer Creek Cabin Spring

Dry

	Holdout Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Clear and cold. Good water in the cave spring box and in the main spring box which was full and delicious.

	Horse Canyon	Dry	Dry
	No sign of water even though it rained a little bit the previous week

Horse Canyon Tank

Dry

	Mud Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	No idea how much flow ... plenty of water, but gross due to cattle traffic. Rotting dead cow carcass made it even worse.

	Powers Garden Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Good pools of clear water, but foul smell possibly due to rotting leaves and debris. Filtered and flavored, and nobody got sick!

	Rattlesnake Spring	Dry	Dry
	No water anywhere

Upper Sycamore Tank

Dry

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

2 archives

Nov 14 2020

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 14 2020
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	14.00 Miles	3,000 AEG

Hiking	14.00 Miles	6 Hrs	2.33 mph
	3,000 ft AEG

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