Temporal Gulch - AZT #4 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Apr 26 2024

kyleGChiker

Guides 1
Routes 61
Photos 604
Triplogs 79

male

Joined May 28 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2024
		kyleGChiker • Triplogs 79

Hiking	21.96 Miles	4,037 AEG

Hiking	21.96 Miles	10 Hrs 54 Mns		2.41 mph
	4,037 ft AEG	1 Hour 48 Mns Break	20 LBS Pack

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Sorry for the lack of triplogs recently. In the last year, I've been laid off from my job twice, got engaged in December and married in July (honeymoon was in Banff National Park, Canada!), not to mention several trips for foreign countries for ministry and volunteer work.

Anyway, this hike was a few months ago, but I still wanted to write a brief triplog and include a GPS track and photoset.

Mom and I are continuing to check off the Arizona Trail passages. For this one, we went down to southern AZ to do passages 3 and 4 over a weekend. The sunrises were gorgeous. The cacti were in full bloom, including various kinds. The hike itself was quite nice, with stellar views of Mt. Wrightson and the surrounding foothills. There was also quite a bit of water along the trail, which was great! My photos are geotagged, so you can find where the water was that way.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Claret Cup Cactus

Apr 13 2024

mt98dew

Guides 69
Routes 37
Photos 3,010
Triplogs 2,387

55 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 13 2024
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,387

Hiking	21.80 Miles	2,500 AEG

Hiking	21.80 Miles	8 Hrs 30 Mns	2.56 mph
	2,500 ft AEG

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DarthStiller

Fun day in the Santa Rita Mountains. Met up with Chris to do a shuttle on this new and improved version of passage 4. We downloaded the new route from the AZ Trail. Not that this was necessary. This trail was so new, the mini-bulldozers (that created it), we’re still doing celebratory wheelies at the TH. The reroute was supposedly finished in the summer 2023. We should probably rename the passage from “Temporal Gulch”. From what I have read, I don’t think this new route has much to do with the original route. I’d be interested in hearing someone who has done them both and knowing which one is better. Personally, I had no complaints with what we did today. Chris wanted to the do the trail north to south so we started from the Gardner TH around 8:30. Unfortunately, the hike is kind of a “haze” for me. That, plus the fact that my Garmin died on me about 2 miles in (and I didn’t realize it immediately. I was able to replace the batteries and record most of the hike) means that my description isn’t as sharp as I would like it to be.

The only road walking involved the first 200 yds leaving the TH (And there was actually a cow trail next to the road that we used to avoid the road). There were four streams crossings with decent flowing water. Easy to navigate. I’m sure all the thru hikers appreciated that opportunity to replenish their supplies. Not really sure where the old and new trail diverged. It wasn’t until we were about 7 miles into the trail that it was evident new build. Passed a couple of “historic sites” early on that had trail signage about what we were looking at. The trail was very gradual throughout. We lost more elevation than we gained on this hike, but with one exception, the ups and downs never felt excessive. Views initially were primarily of Mt Wrightson. The trail did a nice job of touching the side of every hill without reaching the top. Biggest climb occurred around the 8 mile mark, (probably the biggest change in elevation anywhere in the hike). The climb brought us to some fantastic wide open views to the south. From this point, the “back and fourth” was ridiculous. There was one point where you could see the trail about .25 miles away on the other side of the valley. It took us a mile to reach that point as the trail followed the contours of the inner slope of that valley.

There was a second notable climb going this direction that brought us to a gate and one of the only splits in the trail. There was a trail map there that gave a view of the trails in the area. The trail that split off went a little more to the east and lead to the Temporal Gulch Trail. The AZ Trail proceeded to do a number of annoying switchbacks as it followed as it followed a series of shelf-like plateaus that very gradually worked its way east and to the flatlands below. Reaching the flat section did not mean we were done with the hike. We still had over 3 miles to go before reaching the TH. The views here were fairly limited and to be honest I think both Chris and I were thinking about reaching the end. There was one other signed (and mapped) split that lead from the AZ Trail to the TH.

The hike wasn’t bad at all. I had a toe nail that was causing issues along the way and the sun was grueling toward the end (always clip your toe nails and wear sun screen for those longer hikes). The trail was in fantastic condition!! Easy to follow. The signage for this trail was abundant between trail markers, gates and “cattle bridges”. All of which had the AZ Trail moniker. The quality looked to be high-end. Very posh. The trail was practically rock free. The elevation change was very well thought out, but I’m sure that added to the mileage. Shade was minimal. There were a couple of spots early on and then again during the second climb where we got some brief respites from the sun, but that was it.

Great company with Chris. It made for a quick going initially, though as the hike wore on, the conversation wore down. Fairly active trail for being in the middle of nowhere. Passes 12 hikers (most with backpacks), 7 bikers and 1 trail runner. I love to come back and try the original route just to see the differences.

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Apr 13 2024

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 13 2024
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	21.86 Miles	2,541 AEG

Hiking	21.86 Miles	8 Hrs 34 Mns	2.67 mph
	2,541 ft AEG	23 Mns Break

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mt98dew

Finally got to get together with Brian to hike a section of the AZT. good thing because everyone else has been dropping like flies. Seems like the farther the drives, the more things come up for a reason to cancel

.

We dropped my vehicle off at the Casa Blanca Canyon TH and headed up to the Apache Springs TH to hike SOBO. I downloaded the .gpx file from the AZT website since it's been recently rerouted in a few sections. This track gave an AEG of 1471', but in actuality it turned out to more like nearly 2600'.

Wrightson still has some snow on the north facing slopes, but not as much as has been thru the winter. The views down below into the various canyons are nice, and looking out in the distance the nearby mountain ranges also look nice, some still also have some snow left.

the start of the trail at the north end has an old flume used to move water to Kentucky Camp for the mining they did there. Other than that, not much signs of mining or other historical activity in this section. A few herds of cows here and there. Saw a few thru hikers and mountain bikers, but traffic was pretty light.

The last section downhill through the side canyons was a bit monotonous because after every switchback it looked the same as the previous side canyon. around the 7 mile mark on our descent before the big climb before the junction with the Temporal Gulch Trail, that section looked very new and freshly dug and cut.

Total turned out to be 22 miles, which might be record for me for a dayhike. I was expecting to be hurting more by the end, but I took some ibuprofen after lunch to preventatively fend that off.

finished up by 5pm and had a long drive home, but the traffic was a bit lighter than the usual Saturday afternoon rush.

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Nov 17 2023

markthurman53

Guides 187
Routes 989
Photos 12,068
Triplogs 864

72 male

Joined Jun 27 2015
Tucson, Arizona

AZ Trail Gardner Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Nov 17 2023
		markthurman53 • Triplogs 864

Hiking	8.10 Miles	837 AEG

Hiking	8.10 Miles	3 Hrs 58 Mns		2.05 mph
	837 ft AEG	1 Min Break	20 LBS Pack

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Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

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mamakatt22

Started out in Gardner Canyon on the Arizona Trail. We wanted to hike a section from Gardner Canyon to Tunnel Spring that Ginny has not been on before. This was suppose to be a fairly easy 3 mile in to Tunnel Spring then return the way we came. This is a fairly easy hike as you follow along the canal that supplied water to Kentucky Camp. The fly in the ointment was when we got to Gardner Canyon crossing the trail no longer follows the road to Tunnel Spring it heads across the road and heads east as it climbs the hill on the south side of Gardner Creek. We followed the trail and it eventually starts heading south around the hill. I kept expecting it to connect up to the old Arizona Trail but it never does, keeps heading in a southeast direction. I figured this may be a new section of the Arizona Trail and I had no idea where it was heading. After hiking in 4 miles we decided to turn around and return. Really nice trail but I can see it was made for mountain bikers, excessively long winding trail to avoid any sudden elevation changes. I will have to do this section another day when I know where it is I will end up.

I looked for a route on HAZ but didn't find one, if anyone knows where this GPS route is let me know. When I got home I did see on Google earth where the trail leads and a web site that shows where the new routes go. I still need a GPS route though. The trail no longer goes through Patagonia which is bad if you are relying on that for restock. I also think some of the most interesting sections of the AZ trail in this area are along the old route. Looking forward to doing these new sections.

A smattering of water at a spring along Cave creek where the trail crosses, would definitely have to treat as it looked pretty bad and there are a lot of cattle in the area. No other water along the trail. Saw 3 other through hikers on our return. Overall a very good hike on a really good weather day, the resent storm though very little rain cleared up the skies.

Cave Creek

Pools to trickle

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Nov 12 2021

kaiboxer

Routes 7
Photos 3
Triplogs 35

51 male

Joined Sep 12 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 12 2021
		kaiboxer • Triplogs 35

Hiking	6.50 Miles	546 AEG

Hiking	6.50 Miles	3 Hrs 22 Mns	2.45 mph
	546 ft AEG	43 Mns Break

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SB from TH clear sky nice weather. Went in to Tunnel Spring and turned around.

	Cave Creek	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	There were puddles and seeps coming out of the side of the trail.

	Tunnel Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Water in the tank if you need it. Top was clear lots of growth in the bottom.

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2 archives

Apr 07 2021

ttretta

Photos 71
Triplogs 40

60 female

Joined Jul 28 2015
Gilbert, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Apr 07 2021
		ttretta • Triplogs 40

Backpack	22.30 Miles	3,870 AEG

Backpack	22.30 Miles
	3,870 ft AEG

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Arrived in Patagonia Weds morning, and left my vehicle parked in front of the Marshall's Office, as he instructed (talk about peace of mind!). All restaurants were closed so went to the market for a breakfast sandwich, and then began the road walk. I made my way to the Temporal Gulch trailhead, which was littered with empty soda cans and boxes, and probably 10 water jugs. I wished I could carry that all out....ugh. Water was plentiful on this first day, from the windmill spigot at mile 59, to Anaconda Spring, Walker Basin and my campsite for the night, Bear Spring. Lots of water in the creek below Bear Spring, so didn't have to rely on the algae filled water and figure out the broken pipe. Others had commented that you can fish the parts of out the bottom of the tub, but I couldn't find them all. The next morning I hit the trail and appreciated all the interpretive signs along the way describing the mining operations. Ran into two groups of equestrians on this stretch.

Wildflowers Observation Light
Pretty blooms starting to pop

	Anaconda Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Trickling water and pools

	Bear Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Spring was dripping from pipe, tub was full, creek bed had lots of flowing water.

	Mansfield Canyon	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	Major water pressure from windmill spigot!

	Tunnel Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Lots of water in tub, plus flowing in creek

	Upper Walker Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Pools and trickling from upper rocks back up behind dam

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1 archive

Nov 21 2020

johnlp

Guides 1
Routes 14
Photos 7,202
Triplogs 5,208

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 21 2020
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	22.88 Miles	3,779 AEG

Hiking	22.88 Miles	8 Hrs 51 Mns	2.88 mph
	3,779 ft AEG	55 Mns Break

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Walker Canyon Trail

Chinaman Trail #137

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trekkin_gecko

Kelly and I decided this AZT segment could be done as a long day hike. We got a shuttle ride from the end of the segment on Gardner Canyon Road to the beginning in Patagonia where we started our hike.
Kelly mentioned a road walk to begin the hike, but I had no idea it would last for 3 hours! The scenery was interesting enough that it passed by relatively quick.
Lots of sycamore and cottonwoods once we reached Temporal Gulch. No water right now as expected with the continued dry spell.
Once we entered the Mount Wrightson Wilderness, the landscape is heavily wooded with oaks and evergreens. Very pleasant hiking. We saw a bird that looked like a grouse run off the trail into the brush. Descending next to Bear spring that has clear water. Filtered water there and had snacks.
The final few miles are back down into grasslands and oaks on good tread.
Good to finish another AZT segment. Fun hike. Thanks Kelly!

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Anaconda Spring

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“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Nov 21 2020

trekkin_gecko

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

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 21 2020
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	22.88 Miles	3,779 AEG

Hiking	22.88 Miles	8 Hrs 51 Mns	2.88 mph
	3,779 ft AEG	55 Mns Break

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Walker Canyon Trail

Chinaman Trail #137

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johnlp

conditions looked perfect for a dayhike of azt passage #4 saturday
utilized ken's shuttle service again, setting out from patagona around 0730
chilly temps, but soon enough shed layers on the uphill road walk
the road wasn't that bad, good scenery and smooth sailing to start with
once the road narrowed and dropped into temporal gulch, it was more interesting
took a break around the ten mile point
solid uphill to the saddle on walker canyon trail, then a welcome descent on chinaman trail
these were very nice trails, and we enjoyed the pine trees and views of wrightson up close
passed bear spring, where john filtered a liter and we took another break
eventually the terrain changed back to grasslands, with interesting scenery along gardner canyon
passed tunnel spring and the beginning of the pipeline
finished up around 1620
i was about a quart low at this point and it took me awhile to rehydrate - note to self

good hike, especially the half on actual trails
it's been fun doing these passages with john, and hopefully one more before i get busy at work in december
thanks, lp!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Windmill

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bear Spring

	Anaconda Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	water running across the road a pool down lower, which was fouled with cow poop

	Bear Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	upper pool was full of good water tank was full with spigot dripping, but water looked murkier there

	FS 72 Stock Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	covered in algae - ick

	Tunnel Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	john said there was water inside

Upper Walker Tank

Dry

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hazhole

Oct 09 2020

MAP

Routes 137
Photos 1
Triplogs 105

44 female

Joined Oct 21 2016
Tempe, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 09 2020
		MAP • Triplogs 105

Hiking	24.29 Miles	3,596 AEG

Hiking	24.29 Miles	1 Day 34 Mns
	3,596 ft AEG

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Friday October 9: Finished the Harshaw Road portion from a Passage 2/3 hike back in March that we hadn't completed at the time. This time we brought bikes & rode from Patagonia up to the parking area on Harshaw & back. It's a lovely little ride & much faster on bike then on foot.

Saturday October 10: AZT in a Day! The morning was a little cool but really perfect weather to start hiking. It's too bad I only have a hybrid bike with little tread (and also too bad that I suck at mountain biking) because this would have been a great passage to bike - or at least the road part would. There is A LOT of road walking. The views surrounding us were so beautiful pretty much the whole time though and we soaked them in. Early in the morning there were a couple guys that kept driving by slowly on Temporal Road and that felt uncomfortable. Obviously everything turned out okay but something really felt off with those two vehicles/people and we were happy when we finally reached a trail at Upper Walker Tank. Favorite spots were: Mansfield Canyon, a campsite/overlook looking down and out into Temporal Gulch after the road separates from Temporal Gulch Trail, all of Passage 4 after it becomes trail trail, and Tunnel Spring. There were some pockets of water & algae-covered ponds for the cows when we were coming up from the south but the springs on the east side were dry as far as we could see (except Tunnel Spring which was super cool & refreshing). The portion of the trail that runs along Gardner Canyon Road was really pretty too! The Passage 4 hike took us 11 hours 30 minutes total time - the time on here is incorrect because I combined the biking portion from the previous day. I'm kind of sad for the southern-most AZ passages to be complete but know I will see them again and they will probably be a totally different experience when I do!

Bear Spring

Dry

	Mansfield Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	There was a pool of water in the rocks on the east side of the road/trail.

	Tunnel Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Not sure what the flow was but the dam created in the tunnel was full to the top & nice and cool.

	Upper Walker Tank	Dry	Dry
	Bullet holes shot through tank. The tank looks like a giant planter. No water in the immediate area.

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Apr 04 2020

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Santa Ritas mega loop, AZ

Run/Jog		Apr 04 2020
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	26.51 Miles	7,083 AEG

Run/Jog	26.51 Miles	9 Hrs 7 Mns	2.92 mph
	7,083 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

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Bog Springs Trail #156

Super Trail #134

Four Springs Trail

Crest Trail #144 - Santa Rita Mtns

Gardner Canyon Trail #143

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Temporal Gulch Trail #595

Old Baldy Trail #372 to Wrightson Summit

Walker Basin Trail #136 - Santa Rita Mountains

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A friend in Tuscon invited me out to do a big route in the Santa Ritas that involved three of the only trails in the Santa Ritas I haven't completed yet, so I couldn't say no. One of these, Four Springs Trail, was particularly high on my list.

We started up from Bog Springs (safely distanced, of course). Lots of hikers, even above Kent Springs where the trail is no longer "official". The trail is still in really good shape. The six miles or so to the top was a serious grind. Topped off our water with some nice cold snowmelt near Armour Spring (the spring itself was just a drip), and continued up the Crest.

Being at the high point felt good, something like 8 miles and 4,500 feet of climbing later...

Once on Super Trail, some actual consistent running was possible, and we made good time down to Walker Basin Trail via Gardner Canyon. GC was not in terrible shape, just a bit overgrown in places. Couple pieces of migrant garbage.

Along Walker Basin, we found a side drainage with good flow, so I decided to top off my water here, not knowing what the water situation in Temporal Gulch would be... There would be 2-3 other flowing creeks before we even got to TG trail...

Temporal Gulch actually had good water, and some nice pools that I really wanted to just stop and swim in, but there are some signs of cattle in the area. This was an unexpectedly pleasant part of the route, despite the climbing and the fact that I was already totally wrecked. Lots of shade and vegetation in there, and in the upper half, pine trees.

Once up above Josephine Canyon, the trail levels out. Stopped at McBeth Spring for one last fill. The rest of the day was unremarkable, although I never thought it was possible for me to go that slow down Old Baldy...

This was a great loop, but easily the most challenging route I've done in probably six months.

	Armour Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Little pool with seepage under a rock. Good flow in the drainage to the east (but not much snow left).

	Baldy Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Some water in the box.

	Kent Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	No water in the spring box, but lots in the canyon next to it.

	McBeth Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Moderate flow coming out of the pipe.

	Upper Walker Tank	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Creek is flowing.

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1 archive

Oct 25 2019

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 25 2019
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	25.00 Miles	2,500 AEG

Hiking	25.00 Miles	10 Hrs	2.50 mph
	2,500 ft AEG

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Day 1 of 3 to finish the AZT. SOBO on a busy day in the Santa Ritas with eager deer hunters everywhere. There was light clean flow in Gardner and Big Casa Blanca canyons. Down The Gulch then continued through Patagonia to stay a couple nights at the rustic Spirit Tree Inn, located about a half mile from the Harshaw Road trailhead.

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Sep 19 2019

clyde_joelle

Triplogs 43

70 female

Joined Jan 01 2019
Sierra Vista

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 19 2019
		clyde_joelle • Triplogs 43

Hiking	22.30 Miles	3,870 AEG

Hiking	22.30 Miles
	3,870 ft AEG

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Backpack 9/19-20/2019 and dayhike on 1/19/20

Mar 02 2019

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,124

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Old Pueblo Endurance Run 25 Miler, AZ

Run/Jog		Mar 02 2019
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124

Run/Jog	25.71 Miles	3,462 AEG

Run/Jog	25.71 Miles	5 Hrs 2 Mns		5.23 mph
	3,462 ft AEG	7 Mns Break	5 LBS Pack

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Santa Rita Mountains - AZT #5

Greaterville Trail #79

Link Trail - Santa Rita Mtns

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

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I ran the Old Pueblo 25 miler on a picture perfect morning. i had signed up for the 50 in 2016 and injured my achilles on the last long run of my training block and never got to do it.

the course is a combo of variably rough dirt roads, Arizona Trail, and other lesser known trails in the eastern Santa Ritas and really highlights the beautiful little section of Southern AZ that is the eastern Santa Ritas. Good old memories of AZT hikes with the boys.

i actually felt pretty bad on this day, randomly, but still tried to push my pace. i am usually pretty conservative in races and not very fast, so all things considered, i am happy with the pace i kept.

there was definitely still snow on the course and tons of water! about 10-15 creek crossings with water above mid-calves. some deeper!

ran a little bit with one of the dudes doing the 75 miler. otherwise easily found my own solitude.

awesome event, gorgeous day with a killer southern AZ mountain sunrise, and nice to finally get out on the OP course proper

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hi

2 archives

Mar 01 2019

Hippy

Guides 8
Routes 12
Photos 1,918
Triplogs 662

39 female

Joined Dec 02 2009
Grand Canyon

Arizona Trail 2019, AZ

Backpack		Mar 01 2019
		Hippy • Triplogs 662

Backpack	152.00 Miles

Backpack	152.00 Miles	17 Days

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Huachuca Mountains - AZT #1

Canelo Hills East - AZT #2

Canelo Hills West - AZT #3

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Santa Rita Mountains - AZT #5

Las Colinas - AZT #6

Las Cienegas - AZT #7

Rincon Valley - AZT #8

Rincon Mountains - AZT #9

Redington Pass - AZT #10

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Started at Mexico March 1st.
C/p'd below are notes from my journal.

Surprisingly clean toilet at Montezuma Pass.
2 Border Patrol agents dayhiked to Miller, guy with cool mustache his dad works as Head Boiler Tech at El Tovar. Neat.
Running out of light, stopped early. Absolutely gorgeous views Mexico! Beautiful San Pedro Valley. Shoes working out great!
Met hikers “Steady”(f), “Golden” (m, hasher name “Golden Pee Showers”), “Stump”(m) and “Mandolin”(f) (last two shared our campsite).
Walk the Moon Avalanche song stuck in head.

March 2
met “Gourmet”(f) who did PCT in 2017 and Adam who is doing sections of AZT to train for PCT! stopped at Bathtub Spring together.
Waited for Jamie (he did Miller Peak) at Carr Jct, met up here 1:30pm. Still so windy. Absolutely stunning juniper sheltering two or three other trees, amazing! Old rusty stuff and some saw marks on juniper. Someone must have used her branches for firewood. But she is still huge. Gorgeous tree, she is sheltering our tent tonight. Will thank her properly tonight and in morning. SO windy, very chilly. Shoes and socks soaked from snow, so cold. Temp was 40° at 3am, wind-chill lowered it but inside the tent was 45°!
Neil Young's Old Man’ stuck in my head today.

March 3
Happy birthday Tavi (my daughter) no signal yet, will call her tomorrow even though I called her before we left on March 1st.
Hike 11.8 miles. Camp is Calm, no wind, warm, barely need a puffy coat, perfectly flat, right next to a gentle trickling creek, we'll have morning sun, there was a perfect little firering we made a very small fire in just to enjoy the scent and aesthetically pleasing flickering flame as the sun sunk low over the horizon. I am relaxed. Coyotes tonight.

March 4
Hiked 12 miles. There's a point when you've been walking in silence...thinking...and suddenly you think you've thunk every thought there was to think! Then you ponder on that and go down another rabbit hole of wonderment.
Running low on cheez-its Jamie's looking mighty tasty today.
If you want to train for a couple Grand Canyon rim to rim's, training on the Arizona Trail would definitely be wise. Conversely if you want to train for the Arizona Trail a couple rim to rims would be wise.

March 5, 2019
Day 5
Hiked 13.3 miles. Really don't want blister to deal with yet! Feet. On. Fire. Hotspot on right foot is getting way worse,why is it always the same spot?? Lots of breaks to dry out foot, taped it up too. Note to self- injinji toe socks. Must. Have.

March 6

March 7, 2019
Day 7
Hiked 11-12 miles Gonna mail food ahead to Colossal Cave. Saw another hiker outside wearing a Moenkopi shirt! He had a sexy Aussie accent and told us about his 21 day private trip, his backpack was massive. Jamie thinks I want to see him again just to hear his voice, he's not wrong. Found an old toilet in the forest. Saw two cow calfs nursing,the black baby cow stopped to look at us and had a big white milk mustache! So adorable.

March 8, 2019
Day 8
Hiked 10.8 miles Cloudy day so much wind almost zero sun hitting us all day. Water flowing great in garden Cyn creek. Lots to drink!! Fell asleep within 30mins of setting up tent.

March 9, 2019
Day 9
Hiked 15.5 miles
Brrrrr. Birds making every sound imaginable when sun hit tree tops. Nice waking up to such innocent wildlife again.
Ran into “Two Step” he was SoBo section told us there's food at Kentucky Camp. “Warden” passed us while we breaked a mile from KC said his knee was bum so he's taking it easy. Nice guy from Alaska. Met Matt B. (Shin splints guy) at Kentucky Camp, shared salami with him hiked a while with TikTok(m), Cookie and Cashmere (f & f) a badass trio.
Will is gonna meet us at Twin Tanks and Emily Hansen is gonna ride by and say hi (she also brought me some injinji toe socks!)
Gorgeous views of rolling hills today decent wind but not too bad. Sunset was spectacular!
Tonight the northern horizon glows a soft salmon pinkish orange like a sunset 3 hours late.
I got up to pee and was struck by the darkness of the night sky above me. Every star imaginable seems out tonight. The gentle glow of Tucson to the north stopped just low enough to allow the stars to POP on their own. The entire 360° view from camp tonight is like some sort of long exposure photo from sunrise to darkness and star light. I've tried to describe it best I can with words but only having stood beside me and having seen it with your own eyes would make you understand. It was beautiful.

March 10, 2019
Day 10
Hiked 14 miles. Camped at Twin Tanks azt mile 100. 10mi a day average feels good and comfortable. Had some longer days with easier terrain and shorter days with exhausting uphill and snow. Met “One Step” he's from Maine. Met “Ridge Route”(m) and “Shortcut”(f) from San Diego. Will found us about 2 miles from Twin Tanks! He brought fried chicken haha Will is awesome and super glad to have him along! His trailname is Ullward (Ullward and upward! I would yell every day we were together)
“One step” and another guy are camped nearby. Lots of cows.

March 11,2019
Day 11
Hike 6mi to Sahuarita hwy83 jct.
Arch hurts. Met “Cake” (m), “Warden”, and Shin Splints Matt showed up too. Emily Hansen is gonna come find us when she finishes her bike ride and drive us somewhere. Wonder how many ppl we can fit in her truck haha
Cake said he has two friends who are gonna work at the North Rim, John and Ellen. Can't wait to meet them. Trying to convince him to come up too haha Met “Rainbow Dash”(f) at Trailhead here she's hitching up to Tucson too.
Staying at fancy schmancy Omni Resort in Tucson with Will (he's amazing! I really enjoy hanging with him I hope he knows that), Emily Hansen joined us too. Zero day tomorrow thank goodness, my left arch is really hurting me. It's swollen and flat, like the arch collapsed or something. After 100 miles I'd collapse too...lol Emily is my hero. I cannot thank her enough for her kindness and support.
Shin Splints Matt crawled into the BearBox at Sahuarita JCT and I laughingly called him "Bear Box", that's his trailname now.
After we met "Rainbow Dash" someone mentioned thinking her name was Lightning Princess, shortly thereafter BearBox gave me my trailname of "Lightning Princess".

((Note BearBox had to pull off trail later on north, he took the summer off then returned to finish the AZT NoBo, he caught up with Jamie and I while we were working on the North Rim and attended our annual Halloween party up there. Cool reunion))

March 13, 2019
Day 13
Hiked 6.4 miles to Cienega Creek, camp below beautiful cottonwood atAZT mile 113.1
Great water source. Right next to railroad tracks.
Annette Feagans dropped us of at trailhead 1pm!!
“Stump” and “Mandolin” were dropped at same time.
Made it to the snake tunnel shortly and met “Worm” aka Mike. We saw him in Kentucky camp earlier too. Got some great photos of Ullward (Will). He's so fun to hike with. Went a few miles further to creek setup camp early at 4:30, today is a great day for my foot so took it easy. New inserts doing good so far. “Golden” showed up in Cienega Creek just now, he's gonna camp by us cool! He said he's shooting for Oracle by Monday wow! Big days ahead. He's not a fan of snow on the mtns either. We'll see.

March 14
Day 14
Hiked 13.3 miles to camp in Rincon creek at azt mile 126.3
Camping with Bluebird & Tiny Dancer, Mandolin & Stump. Good group!
Met Good Name/Ole Gramps(?) At Colossal Cave. I took a 45 min tour with Guide Savannah it was $18 and tax. I had margaritas...i want to then give the whole trail and report back on every margarita that is accessible from the trail. Camped at Rincon creek with Tiny Dancer, Bluebird, Mandolin and Stump.

March 15,2019
Day 15
Hiked 9 miles. Camp at Grass Shack Campground at azt mile 135.3
Left foot hurts so bad I was having dreams about walking and falling and rolling my ankle. Absolutely ridiculous. Contemplating getting off trail for a few days and bunking up in Oracle somehow...managed to.hike to.grass shack really well. Right around 9 miles foot starts swelling and really hurting. Limped into camp, very beautiful camp. Will was happy to stop too,that was a haul up and it got chilly fast. Tent pitched, I nooked up and dove into a book faster than necessary. Also ate too much and threw up in the toilet up trail...oops.

March 16
Day 16
Hiked 8.9 miles, camp outside Saguaro NP boundary at amazing overlook at AZT mile 144.2
Met “Snow” (f) she mentioned something cookie shop in Summerhaven. Must get Choco chip cookies! She is traveling is with “Barrel”(m). They passed us and moseyed on down trail at a charge.
First 2 miles up to Manning from Grass Shack was okay last 2 to Manning destroyed my foot SO much pain.
Another two to summit then two down to NP boundary and just beyond to awesome campsite. It's tight fit snug for two tents but whatever we're all friends here.

March 17
Day 17
Hiked 8 miles to Redington Pass.
Really struggling with left foot. Emptied water from pack to lighten load. Ate as much food as possible this morning to lighten load. Foot has CBD balm on it, wrapped, no blisters, downhill for 8 miles which you'd think would be a blessing but any weight at all causes agony to the left foot. Can I just chopped it off and clone my right foot?

As of March 17 I hiked 152 miles of the AZ Trail before I jury caused me to leave trail. I spent the rest of March, April and May babying the left foot. It was not until July 2019 that the foot could handle miles and weight again. Unfortunately by then i was working full time at Glen Canyon NRA for the National Park Service and it was as hot as Phoenix up there and I worked all sorts of crazy hours.

I'm editing his log in early November, that left foot of mine is much better and ready to get back at it. Let's hope it stays in shape while I train it with a pack this winter.

Jamie and I spent the next week with Will (Ullward) and I spiraled into a post-hike/failed attempt depression. I'm sure I wasn't very fun to be around though I tried to stay positive.
We traveled southern AZ from the Chiricahuas to Picacho to Tombstone then found ourselves in Kanab, Utah to retrieve our vehicle and belongings thanks to Will. He's a wonderful Friend and I'm happy to have spent the time we did together and hope we all get together again soon.

_____________________

Canyon Freak Adventures!

3 archives

Jan 21 2019

tibber

Guides 21
Routes 1,182
Photos 36,858
Triplogs 1,570

69 female

Joined Feb 26 2004
Phoenix, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 21 2019
		tibber • Triplogs 1,570

Hiking	3.85 Miles	144 AEG

Hiking	3.85 Miles	1 Hour 23 Mns	2.78 mph
	144 ft AEG

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	desertgirl	Paintninaz
	Sredfield

Day Three of our nipping the ends to make the middle less. This was a disappointment though as we had hoped to get 6 miles done on the south side of 4 but the road was closed. We had loaded up with a little extra water and everything. DARN!

So off we went for our hike back to the Stage Stop Inn. It was a little windy and a little chilly for a short time. It's on the road but has pretty views. Note to self; check camera settings when shooting in A (which I'm trying to do now as Depth of Field is the priority). Why check settings? Because I had my ISO at 1600 when I was shooting the eclipse the night before. 1600 ISO is just not necessary when you're shooting in daylight. So my pictures are not the best

. The video was not effected.

There was some traffic on the road including one of those ginormous dump trucks. And off to the west of the road was some interesting geology. We enjoyed our walk into Patagonia, undid the shuttle and headed home. Ambika and I stopped in Tucson and had lunch at El Charro with Wendy.

3:18 video [ youtube video ]

It was a lot of driving weekend of which I had to do none as Tonto Jr was not qualified for the upper Passage 4 section.
1-19 Passage 4 Temporal Gulch 3.6 to north TH
1-20 Passage 1 Huachuca 3.8 to the border and back
1-20 Passage 1 Huachuca 4.4 to the north TH leaving 12.4 left
1-21 Passage 4 Temporal Gulch 3.9 to the south TH leaving 14.8 left
a total of 15.7 miles and a Lunar Eclipse... a new wine. Not a bad weekend.

_____________________

For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled.

Jan 21 2019

desertgirl

Guides 20
Routes 13
Photos 3,189
Triplogs 451

female

Joined Mar 31 2002
Chandler, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 21 2019
		desertgirl • Triplogs 451

Hiking	3.85 Miles	144 AEG

Hiking	3.85 Miles	1 Hour 23 Mns	2.78 mph
	144 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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	Paintninaz	Sredfield
	tibber

_____________________

Jan 19 2019

tibber

Guides 21
Routes 1,182
Photos 36,858
Triplogs 1,570

69 female

Joined Feb 26 2004
Phoenix, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4, AZ

Hiking		Jan 19 2019
		tibber • Triplogs 1,570

Hiking	3.56 Miles	301 AEG

Hiking	3.56 Miles	1 Hour 43 Mns	2.30 mph
	301 ft AEG	10 Mns Break

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Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

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	desertgirl	Paintninaz
	Sredfield

a three-day weekend and this was the start with a drive to 4/5 TH to drop one vehicle and then the drive to Tunnel Springs which was not the easiest and involved several water crossings. The hardest part was maneuvering Shawn's truck in that tight space by the spring trough so that we could leave it comfortably off the road.

And now to hike in Gardner Canyon where the water was running; always a treat. And even cooler is I wore my city hiking shoes and my city waist pack. I felt like a different kind of hiker out there today. The first time I've been able to city hike on the Arizona Trail. The hike was on the road here and there for awhile before it finally verged to a single track where we ran into the creek that is not named. We spent a little time here enjoying it before continuing on.

Turns out, this is an interpretive trail so we would stop to read the signs and think about the history of the area. Shawn even did his Karl imitation but went beyond the pale as he had to climb into a tree to retrieve a double mylar balloon. I got some video of it altho I cut off the top part as I forget my camera squishes the frame.

The trail appears to be in pretty good shape and affords some nice views when you look around. We only encountered a few other people but they were on the road and in vehicles. The unwinding of the shuttle takes a little time because the road is not in the best of shape and there are water crossings involved.

We headed over to The Cafe in Sonoita for a wonderful lunch and tried a new bottle of wine. It's like the Ball and Chain except they use a different grape so it was lighter. I think it was called Spooky Tina. Our afternoon in Patagonia was nice as we walked around above the Stage Stop Inn. We watched the moon rise and the sun set; all were beautiful.

Forgot to add that I became one with the trail when I did a face plant. Luckily I only got a scratch on my face and one very bruised knee. But for some reason my triceps hurt pretty bad for a couple days; guess they took the brunt of the fall. And no, I was not filming.

Video 1 Tunnel Springs to Stetson Dam [ youtube video ]
Video 2 Stetson Dam to Gardner Cany TH and our later afternoon in Patagonia [ youtube video ]

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Trash Hauled Out

_____________________

For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled.

1 archive

Dec 09 2018

ShatteredArm

Guides 12
Routes 192
Photos 863
Triplogs 356

42 male

Joined Nov 30 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Run/Jog		Dec 09 2018
		ShatteredArm • Triplogs 356

Run/Jog	24.40 Miles	3,916 AEG

Run/Jog	24.40 Miles	6 Hrs 57 Mns	3.62 mph
	3,916 ft AEG	13 Mns Break

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Chinaman Trail #137

Walker Basin Trail #136 - Santa Rita Mountains

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AZT Passage 4 was the first one I did solo. Drove to Patagonia, with an arrangement to get picked up by my sister at the end of the passage. The first half (or more) of the passage is just on Temporal Canyon Road - pretty lame, views are OK, but it's graded forest road. When I did it, part of the road was closed due to an environmental cleanup project, so I had to do a very worthwhile diversion along jeep roads and cow paths. They should make this a permanent part of the trail, because it's more interesting than forest road.

After rejoining the road, the climb steepened a little bit, and I was pretty done with it by the time I got to Walker Basin TH. There was shade and water there, so it was nice.

Took a nice long break at the high point, at the junction where AZT starts heading down into Casa Blanca Canyon. Texted my sister with an ETA. Stopped and filled up my water at the creek crossing. This was really a beautiful little canyon, with some worthwhile views as it contoured away from the creek.

Once hitting Gardner Canyon Road, I was back in familiar territory (from the Old Pueblo races). Pushed through the last few miles, think it was worse than it was when I was finishing up the 50 miler.

Hard to say whether this segment is awesome or totally sucks, depends on whether you're talking about the road or trail part. North of Walker Basin TH it's pretty great.

_____________________

1 archive

Sep 21 2018

garyc57

Routes 69
Photos 454
Triplogs 112

68 male

Joined Mar 20 2010
Mesa, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 21 2018
		garyc57 • Triplogs 112

Hiking	6.91 Miles	486 AEG

Hiking	6.91 Miles	2 Hrs 18 Mns	3.26 mph
	486 ft AEG	11 Mns Break

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rhedda_6

This is just a road walk - from the Temporal Gulch Trailhead down to the Patagonia post office.

My Trail Angel Extraordinaire drove the car and dropped me off at the trailhead, and she'd drive a ways down the road to a wide spot where she could safely pull off to the side, and either hike back to meet me, or look for heart-shaped rocks.

It was a nice morning for a hike. A small breeze every now and then to keep things cool.

_____________________

1 archive

Apr 20 2018

Mudhole

Routes 28
Photos 1,661
Triplogs 20

52 male

Joined Apr 05 2013
Peoria, AZ

Arizona Trail Passages 4-5, AZ

Backpack		Apr 20 2018
		Mudhole • Triplogs 20

Backpack	37.81 Miles	5,646 AEG

Backpack	37.81 Miles	3 Days
	5,646 ft AEG		9 LBS Pack

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Temporal Gulch - AZT #4

Santa Rita Mountains - AZT #5

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This was a casual paced 2-passage hike on AZT passages 4 and 5 over a 3 day weekend. Our biggest day was day 1 where we hiked from Patagonia to just shy of the junction of the Mt. Wrightson summit trail and camped in a lush oak drainage. Water was plentiful in the mountains and we never ran dry.

Day 2 was a casual stroll up and over the saddle and down to our awaiting reservation at Kentucky Camp in the rental cabin. What a luxury! We had the entire afternoon to relax with some beers left in the cooler of a car we staged there, and it was great sleeping in actual beds and having running water to clean up and cook with.

Day 3 was the majority of passage 5. The scenery in this passage is breathtaking with rolling hills of tall grass and drainages that nearly all had good water to filter. It was hot on day 3, but we had a quick storm roll in that actually hailed on us for 5 minutes before completely clearing up again.

Another 2 passages knocked off the list!

_____________________

"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clean away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." - John Muir

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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