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| Hiking | 16.28 Miles |
4,693 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.28 Miles | 8 Hrs 31 Mns | | 2.14 mph |
| 4,693 ft AEG | 54 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Unfortunately, I hadn't been to Upper Horrell for over fourteen months. Decided to get one trip to Campaign in before the summer heat. I was psyched that the nice camp just north of the trailhead was open, so that was my basecamp for two days. The area showed even more evidence of major flash flooding since I'd last visited. Many sections of the J Bar Road were sandier than ever. Good luck to anyone trying to get into this trailhead without 4x4 currently. Just drive fast and don't stop! I first hiked north on the road for 3/4 mile and then contoured at about 3200' on the east side of The Golden Narrows. I've wanted to check out some boulder piles and the walls on that side of Campaign Creek for some time. There definitely are some potential routes that could be climbed. After this brief detour, I started up in earnest. It would of been nice to have remembered my gaiters, as the dry grass was thick and filled my socks and shoes with pointy seed. I must have took at least ten breaks on this entire hike to clean out all of the different types of annoying seeds. The first hill (3669') that I crossed over had ruins. Several rock-lined, room-like structures. It became much cooler and there was a less maddening type of grass once reaching the large bench at 4000' where I transected the official Two Bar Mountain route. Hundreds of small brown grasshoppers were jumping out in front of me, bouncing off my legs, hands, arms and chest. The traverse around 5114 was unburned and involved lots of bushwhacking. There were plentiful white Segos in this section. Around the north corner, I actually had to climb some on the weird volcanic rock to gain the saddle before the final ridgeline, which is truly an amazing place. The land that time forgot! Very similar to the Queen Creek area above Superior. I spent some time snacking at the north end of Two Bar Mountain, but since it was still early, I did not drink my only beer. This was a good decision because the hike south across the top of Two Bar Mountain was taxing, in that there were lots of horst and graben and more bushwhacking. Almost all of this elongated sky island has been untouched by fire until the broad, grassy saddle before peak 5522. The ascent up the north slopes of peak 5522 reminded me of Mound Mountain, just less pine trees. I took a break at the summit and drank my beer. I think this peak had better views than the north side of Two Bar Mountain. The benchmark actually has the elevation at 5519'. It was a quick descent south to the Reavis Gap, where I was ecstatic to be on a trail finally. I only packed three liters of water, so going for Peak 5610 was in the cards, only if I thought I had enough water to do this side trip. Dropping into Pine Creek went quick, where I passed the only person I saw all day. I said hello, but he did not acknowledge me. Hiking up the west side of Pine Creek was very warm, but there were so many white and purple Segos! The bushwhack up to Peak 5610 was exhausting and I drank a lot of my water. It's not a summit I'd repeat. The views are meh, but the neatest thing was the thousands upon thousands of ladybugs that were now in the air, flying crazily in the high winds. After breaking in some minimal shade for a snack, I descended back to the Reavis Gap Trail and made good time back down to Pine Creek. The water pools there were a blessing. It was very warm and thus I stopped several times in tree shade on the climb out of the east side of Pine Creek. My uphill engine was not optimal by this point. I realized that I've never descended the Reavis Gap Trail until this trip. The upper trail sections were very grassy and difficult to follow sometimes. It helped that I'd ascended this trail several other times prior. I passed probably the twentieth deer of the hike about midway down. I drank my last sip once reaching Campaign Creek. The car's cooler beers and water were tasty. Hats off to ssk44 for the challenging and great route to the north side of Two Bar Mountain.
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](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
Once at the trailhead I realized my camera was still on the kitchen table. 
My GPS maps shows 5212 as the summit. It's a cool area walking through the trees with hardly any wind and no one around. I've been to the high point on Two Bar Ridge near the Reavis Gap trail and back up on the mountain so I think I've finally got this one covered. One the trip back down the ridge to the trail I finally located the ruin. There are pot sherds galore in one area but I missed locating the source on the previous 3 trips through. The ruin but it's half buried strew about so no in good shape. I cruised back down in the breeze and didn't take my jacket off until the last few miles. Perfect conditions in the eastern Supes.
