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| Hiking | 14.36 Miles |
2,835 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.36 Miles | 8 Hrs 2 Mns | | 1.90 mph |
| 2,835 ft AEG | 28 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Managed to squeeze in one more visit to the Mazatzal Wilderness during the cool weather blip that we had this past week...in an attempt to avoid precipitation and give myself some time to shake the fatigue brought on by my delightful bee sting from last time, we selected Wednesday as the day to get out...unfortunately for me, my persistent insomnia decided to come back with a vengeance and I tackled the hike on less than two hours of sleep  and spoiler alert....we failed in our attempt to avoid the precipitation 
Anticipating a long day, we met up bright and early to head to the trailhead. The road to the Mount Peely trailhead was slightly damp on our way in, evidence of rains received in the previous days - there were signs of someone passing when the roads were more wet with clumps of mud strewn all over the place - we probably should have picked that up as a foreshadowing of what our drive out might be like. We arrived at the trailhead around 7:45 after taking in the views across the deer creek valley of Mount Catherine and the adjacent peak to find a pair of northbound backpackers packing up camp in the lot. Turns out they received a whole bunch of rain in the recent days and the lot was the best spot for them to find a flat spot suitable for camping.
We grabbed our gear and left them to finish breaking down their camp, anticipating that we'd see them again later in the day. The well defined track leaves the parking lot, heading up hill through manzanita to join with the Mazatzal Divide Trail (marked with impressive signage) a half mile later. We started up the switchbacks, continuing up the side of Mt. Peely through more manzanita and desert scrub, glad for the clouds overhead and remarking on how wet all the plants were with drops of water still clinging to a lot of the foliage. Looking south as we climbed upward, we spotted Mount Ord, the Four Peaks, Weaver's Needle and the Superstition Ridgeline in the distance.
After the last switchback, the trail winds around the northern side of Mount Peely and the vegetation changes to forest with stands of intermixed pines, fir and oak trees. It was such a nice change to be walking on a forested track! As we crossed the wilderness boundary, we paused briefly to enjoy the view of Mount Catharine (taking note of the visible trail that we'd be walking in a few miles) and the adjacent unnamed peak. We saw the cairn marking the route for the Mount Peely summit, but neither of us was interested in adding the elevation or the additional mile to our planned hike.
We continued on, enjoying the walk through the woods and the gradual descent to the saddle between Peely and Catharine. As we crossed the saddle, the skies decided to open up and started spitting graupel which evolved to a steady drizzle of varying intensity. Unfortunately, with the fire damage, there wasn't much in the way of tall trees to provide shelter from the precipitation...we pressed onward, steadily climbing the side of Mount Catharine and winding our way around to its northern face before the trail bends northward and around the upper reaches of the Deer Creek drainage that suffered some fire damage just last year. The moisture in the air seemed to bring back the smell of stale fire as we walked through the affected areas. We eventually reached the high point of this passage of the AZT and looked for a spot to shelter while taking in a snack. We found a tree that provided a bit of cover from the rain. Luckily, while we were stopped, the rains decided to take a brief break allowing us to wander around and enjoy the 360 degree views - unfortunately, the cloud cover wasn't being very cooperative for capturing photos. While admiring Mazatzal Peak in the distance, Jason was able to spot a section of the trail we had hiked just a few weeks ago when we did our Barnhardt-Divide-YBar loop. We decided to turn back after our break rather than descending to Bear Saddle (and Bear Spring).
The return hike was wet with near continuous rain and had us slightly worried as we heard the rumble of thunder overhead several times. Pushing through some of the slightly brushy sections of trail ensured we were fully drenched by the time we got back to the truck. Turns out the 10% chance of precipitation in the forecast was localized over the peaks - and we were caught in it all day
Once we got some separation from Mount Catharine, the ongoing drizzle finally abated and while the hike down the switchbacks was done in sunshine, it wasn't enough to bake us dry. Was glad to get back to the trailhead and a change of clothing. After getting dry, we started heading home, but it turns out our adventure wasn't completely done just yet. While the road was wet and muddy, and mostly easy to traverse, there was a section lower down that crosses into clay involving a couple turns that was a skating rink. J had the 4Runner in 4Lo and 1st gear and we were still sliding around thanks to all the mud caked on the tires. Thankfully, that section wasn’t very long. Safe to say, with recent rains, that section may be a bit trecherous to navigate...and since we had a gravity assist, we were able to inch our way down...the same may not be possible going in the uphill direction.
Wildlife: lots of birdsong, and a bunny. Spotted a couple of bluejays on the drive - I could hear them, but never managed to spy one while hiking. Also saw a couple fat squirrels on the drive along with another bunny.
Other hikers: 7 AZT backpackers (6 northbound (2 singles and two pairs), 1 southbound)
It's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of walking in a forested area. Some sections were slightly reminiscent of the pacific northwest - complete with moss growing on the trees and the moisture falling from the sky  . I continue to be entranced with the hikes in the Mazzies - the views to be had were gorgeous. I'm not sure if we'll make it back to finish the small section of the Divide Trail from our turnaround point to the junction with the Y-Bar trail any time soon...but stranger things have happened, so I won't rule it out Thanks for the invite Jason - looking forward to the next one! |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Not much in the way of wildflowers...thankfully, since I'm sure my stopping for photos this time would have been less appreciated given the weather! |
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| Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
No water at the crossing but plenty very nearby up canyon
and spoiler alert....we failed in our attempt to avoid the precipitation 
. I continue to be entranced with the hikes in the Mazzies - the views to be had were gorgeous. I'm not sure if we'll make it back to finish the small section of the Divide Trail from our turnaround point to the junction with the Y-Bar trail any time soon...but stranger things have happened, so I won't rule it out 
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
, however, she was awesome in letting us use her filter to stock back up. After refilling, we continued, making a quick stop at Chilson Spring before reaching Chilson camp for lunch. Found a nice lunch spot under some nice shade trees where we rehydrated and cooled off for a bit before starting back. The hike back to the Barnhardt junction was hot, however, the wind picked up and the clouds came in for a bit, covering up the fireball, which helped immensely. We stopped at the rock outcropping (break spot everyone stops at) for a break when it started to sprinkle. It sprinkled just enough to crank up the humidity, and the sun coming back out sure didn't help, but it was all downhill, so not a huge deal. The rest of the hike down was uneventful, however, we narrowly missed hitting a rattlesnake that decided to cross the road in front of us on the drive out. He was nice enough to stop for some pics before leaving. 
Only came across 5 people all day, the last two were hiking down Barnhardt carrying a huge backpack and an umbrella. We asked them where they camped, only to be told this was just a 'training' hike. 
Great hike with great company, thanks B & S for the invite!
Never heard a peep out of them 
and they left camp early the next morning. 
We went upstream to Horse Camp Seep, playing in the other 6 waterfalls along the way. Then we headed back. 
