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| Backpack | 95.35 Miles |
11,510 AEG |
| | Backpack | 95.35 Miles | 4 Days | | |
| 11,510 ft AEG | | 25 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | So with a new job on the horizon, I figured I better get out for one last hurrah before reintegrating into the rat race...
Day 0
Got everything packed and ready to go. Used food from my aborted L2H attempt last month. Easy peasy prep, no shopping necessary. About 7pm, I hopped in my truck and headed to the Picket Post trailhead with daughter and her boyfriend following. Stopped for a quick bite at the Mickey Ds nearing the Renaissance Festival grounds.
Made it to the trailhead where I parked my truck and loaded my gear into the car. Camp host came up wondering what the heck we were doing and spouting how the FS was supposed to lock the gate. He pointed out three stars and said they showed up about every three days then flare real bright and disappear. He must be on drugs, they were Orion's belt.
Left the trailhead and started the long winding drive to Tiger Mine trailhead. There were picketers/protesters at Winkelman, Kearny and other towns. Don't know why, perhaps because the proposed Rosemont Mine was stopped? Made it to Tiger Mine trailhead a bit past 10pm and said goodbye to daughter and boyfriend while they drove off. Found a couple geocaches nearby then set up my tarp in the parking area as it was damp and I knew the dew would be heavy. Forgot my hiking sticks but found a large wood stake and used the hitching post to tie off the ridgeline instead. Tucked in at 11pm.
Day 1 - 22 miles
Alarm went off at 6am. I'm no longer used to getting up and going in the dark and cold. Finally roused half hour late. Tarp completely soaked. Stuffed it in its bag and put it in an OPSak to keep everything else dry. On trail at half past seven. My morning routine sure is off.
First few miles I amused myself finding a series of ten geocaches named after Arizona pioneers. After that I just walked, enjoying the trail along with one other geocache about 13 miles out. I enjoy this section, watching Antelope Peak get ever closer. I pass two other backpackers hiking the Black Hills passage south. We had a chat and one asked for my Instagram. Later I see two bike packers that started in Utah.
Made it to Camp Grant Wash where there was a water cache at the AZT gate. I stopped and hung up my tarp and groundsheet to dry and had some food. Hiker Abe Lincoln passed by and topped off his water and we had a short chat. He started at Utah Nov. 1 so is making good time. I decided to get water here instead of at Beehive well so I wouldn't have to bother filtering. I packed up and got back on trail. Not too far later, I met another hiker sectioning from Flagstaff to Tucson.
After passing Beehive Well and climbing out Putnam Wash, I started thinking about looking for a place to camp as it was near sunset. In the gloaming a large Diamondback let me know to stay back. It was a big one with a good 3" diameter body. As it darkened, I found a couple of agave stocks for pitching the tarp and continued along the ridge. The cactus were thick along the ridge and I never spotted a satisfactory place to spend the night until I dropped down to Dodson Wash where there was a nice clear level area. I knew it was going to be another damp night at this location but was able to get a good pitch to keep things as dry as possible considering. Tucked in at 8pm.
Day 2 - 23.5 miles
Alarm went off at 6am. I was just as slow as the previous day and made it on the trail at half past seven. I spent the morning working my way around Antelope Peak. About a quarter mile before Freeman Rd, saw a herd of six or seven does and fawns run across. I reached the Freeman Road trailhead about 10am. I hung the tarp out to dry and held the groundsheet in the wind for a bit while it dried. I ate some and filled up on water and was back on trail about 11am.
I find four geocaches today, all are near the trail, the farthest being about 150' off. They are a nice distraction and I time them to take my pack off and get food to eat while I walk. I see no one today, except for someone next to a truck off in the distance.
My plan was to get water at a stock tank about 12 some miles past Freeman Rd, but I notice another water source just off the trail about 4 miles farther. Last report was dry but that was before last weeks rains. I decide to go there instead. It's getting dark before I arrive so I have to pull my headlamp out to hopefully find it. I do, without too much trouble. The pipe into the trough is no longer running but the trough has enough clear water for my needs.
It's cold and damp in the wash the trough is in, so I continue walking. The trail turns on a road and climbs up to a ridge where I decide to camp. I toss the agave stock I'd been carrying for the last mile or so and cowboy camp. Tucked in at 8pm and enjoy watching the stars as I fall asleep.
Day 3 - 25 miles
Alarm went off at 6am. I wasn't quite as slow as the previous two days and made it on the trail at twenty past seven. There was a dew on the ridge but not too bad. I wipe my quilt off and pack it up. Is it bad to dig a cat hole where rodents burrow? I hope the tunnel was abandoned. If not it probably is now.
The trail starts off dropping down to Ripsey Wash where I look for a geocache that's supposed to be in a trail marker. I completely disassemble it but don't find the cache. There's a lizard in the rocks so I pick it up by the tail and move it away so it doesn't get squished by a rock. I inadvertently step on it a few minutes later. So sad. I fix the trail marker and continue up into the Tortilla Mountains. I contemplate how so many hikers live off of tortillas, but I never pack them.
So far, the terrain has been fairly tame, but that all ends now and for most of the rest of this trip. The climb into the Tortillas is managed and the views are spectacular. Once I reach the top, I can see over to Kearny and the Ray Mine complex. I enjoy walking the ridge and the views that go with it. It is cool, I've kept my wind jacket on and wear it most of the way to the Florence-Kelvin trailhead but it warms as I descend and I'm finally able to take it off.
I stop shortly before the Gila River and pull my quilt out to dry, draping it across a Jojoba I pull other things out that are damp so they can also dry. I eat and drink and relax while everything dries and then pack things back up and head down to the spigot at the county work yard where I fill up with water. I leave with 4 liters plus a 20oz Gatorade bottle. More than I need, but I want to limit how much water I'll grab from the Gila River.
There is a lot of up and down in and out of washes undulation along the Gila River. I pass the AZT completion marker. I enjoy walking through the mesquite groves though the scent of cattle is strong in the damp air. The trail goes in and out of the desert and to the river. I see a javelina in a desert section. The sun starts to set but I want to get a bit farther so I can finish tomorrow. I pull my headlamp out and continue. The trail meets a road and follows it down. I turn up the road to rise above the dampness. I find a small clear spot in all the rocks next to the road where I camp for the night. A breeze starts and it gets windier as the night progresses. There's no dew where I'm at this night.
Day 4 - 23.2 miles
Alarm went off at 6am. I fell back asleep but woke up again soon enough. I'm getting better and was on trail about 7am. I have about 1.5 miles to the Gila river, where I stop to get water. I know exactly where to go as I camped there almost five years ago when I first hiked this section. I filtered water into the Gatorade bottle. It didn't filter clear which was disconcerting. I have a new Sawyer Squeeze; is it bad? I drink several gulps of the water, then fill the bottle up again. I leave with a Gatorade bottle of filtered Gila and a liter of unfiltered Gila. As I walk back to the trail, I hear coughing and then see a man. We talked. He drove and camped there and asked how to get to the river. As the trail climbs up I saw him by the river. He looked up and we waived to each other.
The trail reaches Rincon Rd and climbs up away from the river. There is a lot of climbing for the next many miles but the geology and the views are some of the best the AZT has to offer. I really like this bit of trail, it's very beautiful. The day warms some but I get very sweaty from the climbing. As I near the end of the climbing, I stop to fix a chafing issue. Bringing the Body Glide wasn't a waste after all. I eat some and mix some Gatorade. Somehow I accidentally pour some water in the Gatorade powder. Oops. At least the bin was almost empty.
I finish the first big climb crossing over a saddle. It's much colder on the other side. I put my wind jacket on and enjoy the views of the other side. Somewhere things warm back up and I take it off again. I pass to southbound hikers. They started at Utah but are going to get off at Kearny as weather is coming in and so is Thanksgiving.
After the last ascent I have about ten miles to go, almost all down hill and four hours to sunset. Things are good. At 7.5 miles to go, I reach FSR4 and a resupply box. There are a couple of bike packers that took off when I arrived and another southbound hiker. We talked for a bit and told him where I found water. He mentioned that the trail through the Superstitions was fun but pretty messed up after the rains with parts he had to more or less scramble across.
This stretch is fun, Picket Post comes in and out of view and the setting sun shining on it as I neared the end was a nice way to end the day. As the sun lowered it started to cool off and I put the wind jacket back on. I was tired but happy to reach the trailhead a bit past sunset. It was cold too. My truck's thermometer said 45 degrees when I started the drive home. |
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](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
. We will always remember that being the case with the Picketpost southbound passage as well. But now instead of being Picketposted we have to say Gilaed as this is the earlier passage. It's only about a mile the wrong way but at this stage it felt like ten 
. We finally made it to ground level again after travelling on great trail. In fact, the trail condition for this whole passage, even the first 9 miles, is pretty darn good if you ask me. 
. At about mile six on this day, we started a gradual 200 foot climb high above the river almost from the river. We found a perch tucked between some rocks to have our lunch and tend to my apparent blister which I discovered I had as my sock was a bit bloody; otherwise I would have still thot it was rocks. Ambika band-aided me up and I was good to go. So down we went contouring around the end of the Spine above us.
