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| Hiking | 7.26 Miles |
877 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.26 Miles | 3 Hrs 51 Mns | | 2.17 mph |
| 877 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Slept okay I think but my mattress did deflate somewhat which messed with my side sleeping; however, I did figure out a way to work with the air that was left. It was a nice morning and Kelly made me some delish Ethiopian coffee and I tried a new Grits breakfast meal; perhaps more savory than I thought it should be in the morning. We took our time packing, still admiring our surroundings.
We crossed the creek in a little easier area this time and headed up the hill, to the TH, and down the hill through the ferns and by the lupine to FR 95. The scenery on the road was very pretty with cool geology, roses and ferns. We once again admired the drop off to get around the fallen road and culvert. It is fairly steep on both sides getting down and then up. Once you get off the road it levels off for a bit before the climb to the Ridge. Still complained about there not being one switchback on there as it seems a long climb.
We hung out at a log near the clearing area and had a snack. We could hear the tractor working in the distance to the south of us. We made our way through the heavily ferned area to Quien Sabe Draw. We decided to see how long it was; I figured a mile. It really is a beautiful draw to enjoy with the tall trees and scattered ferns throughout. A little over 3/4 mile later you arrive at what appears to have been a road at one time. The temp would get hot once in a while which I thot was surprising for the morning. Needless to say, when the breeze picked up, so did I  .
We passed by Fred Haught spring area and saw some hikers across the way. We were going to stop and get water here but ended up going farther. I wanted to see if the new energy powder I had would help me with my energy level as the previous afternoon, I could have stopped and taken a nap way too easily. We finally found an area and I loaded my Pina Colada energy powder into my container and took a couple big swigs. We would stop a little later and finish it off. I don't know if it helps, but my energy level stayed fairly steady; although my legs were getting a little worn out the last couple miles.
We continued to admire the scenery we had passed through yesterday alongside the water which was now constantly present. There was one area that we got to do the log balance beam across. It was easy with the poles. This time it was Kelly's turn to smell the vanilla. I saw the perfect 7 foot Xmas tree but my picture didn't turn out very well. In fact, I didn't like a lot of my photos  ; the light just wasn't good. I should be pulling out my Pany when there is such harsh light. I will have to remember to do that in Glacier. We had one more uphill to go but not before going through a heavily ferned area. The hill has a nice enough grade and then you hit that rock area that's so cool. It's weird that it doesn't last long and then goes back to forest.
Tonto 3 was waiting where we left it; always a good thing. I got us our beers and we sat on a log that had a small silver metal tag on it that said, "do not remove", how odd. The area around the cabin was pretty active. We changed our clothes and then headed west on FR300. It was a nice drive, though very windy. The New Mexico Locust was blooming in many places along the way. There was less traffic so that was good. We had lunch at Las Casita in Camp Verde and headed back for Phx.
Thanks to Kelly for helping me practice for my trip. I'm so glad I did the backpack trip, but didn't feel like I did very well; so I was a little dejected and was wondering if I could do the full six-nites at Glacier. We shall see. It could turn into a 3-nite trip in the Belly River and 2 nites in the Cut Bank Valley... due to bear activity and I think secretly, I'd like that. My pack is 40 lbs  including a litre of water. (A lot of the weight is my electronics, and food of course)
Video from our hike from Pinchot campsite to Gen'l Springs Cabin: [ youtube video ]
Watch from the north end of Quien Sabe Draw to TH 9:49AM-12:18PM, 4.55 miles, 7270-7515 elevation. 132 avg bpm/150 max. 28% zone 5 max, 54% zone 4 anaerobic, 16% zone 3 aerobic burning 982 calories.
Watch from campsite to Quien Sabe Draw 8:26-9:31AM, 1.75 miles, 7150-7439 elevation. 127 avg bpm/151 max burning 393 calories.
Temp 83.8 sunny and 9% humidity, little to no breeze. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
LOTS of ferns, a couple Heal All/Self-Heal among others I couldn't quite ID. We saw some Fleabane and of course, the Flagstaff Ragwort on the AZT part. |
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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. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. Made the turn at the RR T junction and headed up to the tunnel. The last section is hella steep with tons of sand to slide on (not sure what was worse, going up or down). We got to the tunnel with a group of 3, already there. A bit disappointing seeing the tunnel only goes back maybe 100 feet, the hike there and back was not worth the ROI. Made the steep climb down, then back up to the rim. 
There are several use trails that head upwards - they eventually converge, climbing steeply. The tread is loose sand and rock, especially in the upper reaches. Once we hit the top, we had a look at the stacked stone structure outside of the tunnel before having a look inside - the tunnel itself has an impressively large opening, but quickly diminishes in size as it quickly tapers to the end - seems they didn't manage to make much progress before losing funding and the project was abandoned. The inside of the tunnel has been marked with a bunch of graffiti done in charcoal/soot, though there are also some markings that have been carved into the rock. After our brief exploration, we made our way slowly back up to the rim, more than making up for our general lack of AEG along the earlier portion of our day 
Leaving at dusk, we spotted several elk off the 300. Then deer in both pine & strawberry. Another grand adventure.
