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| Backpack | 43.73 Miles |
9,276 AEG |
| | Backpack | 43.73 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 9,276 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Alternate title: Galiuro Waterfallin'
East Divide / Tortilla / Sycamore
The lower foothills were a total vibe. I usually think of them as a means to an end, merely an access to the "good parts" of this wilderness, but today the hills were verdant, creeks aflowin', and temps perfect. Reached Mud Spring (no beef stew there today) and then continued on Sycamore for another 1.5 miles, dodging a few muddy messes on the way.
Horse Canyon Trail
This dashed line on the topo maps has been on my mind. I tried to pick it up at the curve of Sycamore Trail, wandered around until I found some tread, then backtracked to find the "start", which is marked by a small cairn with the old sign's metal support hung over. Between cairns and good tread, it was easy to follow the route up and over the saddle and to Tortilla Trail, where its kinda signed. Continued on the tread down to Sycamore Creek proper for a quick breakfast.
Picked up the tread on the other side of the creek and continued heading west through a burn scar. The trail is surprisingly easy to follow and reminded me of a VERY tame Sandy Saddle - this one is well-cairned, and the patches of manzanita are less than a few feet high. Lost it momentarily at a grassy saddle, otherwise was able to keep on tread all the way to Topout Divide, where the burn ends and a steady line of cairns march south (slightly up-creek) to Horse Canyon.
The magic started almost as soon as I met the canyon, with a series of impressive drops that were rushing (well, rushing with little-creek energy). The trail was still well-defined, solid bypasses around the biggest drops and overgrown where rock-hopping is an option, just like any official trail out here. The middle section dragged a bit, when the creek mostly dried up and the afternoon began to heat up, and then I found the tallest plunge about .5 miles east of Tortilla Trail junction. After that I was a bit over-stimulated and tired, so I trudged the rest of the way down the canyon and set up my hammock next to Rattlesnake Creek for a snooze.
Powers Garden / Mailbox / Pipestem
Rattlesnake Creek was flowing strong, which complicated a few crossings. Wanted to do some scouting in Mailbox, and did find some hints of trail in the tangle, it was just more difficult than I had the energy to deal with today. Both the tread and creek were pretty cluttered for the half mile I explored. The rest of Powers Garden trail got tough and I soaked one leg up to my knee on a crossing. Anxious about finding a campsite for the night, I made some olympic-level athletic leaps to reach Pipestem Creek, which was flowing at a much slower pace.
The sun had already "set" in the deep valley, and my shoes were both damp, so I cruised up the creek. Lower Ringtail was the first candidate, and while it was an interesting location, there were no good trees for my hammock. A short distance later and I bumped into the "red rock falls", where the trail swings around through two grassy clearings that were begging me to stay. Rushing falls, good trees, minimal cold sink, and solid sky views made for an excellent sleep that night.
Pipestem / Juniper
Cold predawn temps made for an adequate alarm, and I was packed and on trail with the sunrise. My chattering teeth accompanied the gentle trickle of an otherwise quiet morning. Without many drops along this section I spent more time trying to track tread until I reached the "sliver" of a sign that marked the start of Juniper. This one was tough to track for the first half, so I rock-hopped along the pleasant little drainage, and then picked up some good sections near the top. I think this is because the trail continues north, outside the the wilderness, and most traffic (hunters or cattle) come in from the north (Fourmile?). Watered up near the spring and backtracked to Pipestem.
The next 3 miles was a steady uphill march. There was at least one wholly unnecessary, catclaw-choked section of tread that climbed high up the hillside only to drop back down. Not many waterfalls, though there are some nice rock pools that probably hold water year round. While I didn't see an obvious path or sign zipping up to the south (where the topo map claims Pipestem meets West Divide), there was a fork in that area that may have been it. I kept close to the creek until I was below Maverick Tank, where I pulled to my full (5.5L) capacity for a dry afternoon and evening.
West Divide: Pipestem -> Field Canyon
From the junction, this trail makes a steady, uphill climb up the grassy hillside, the trail varying from a very thin tread perched precariously on a steep slope to a very wide, cairned path dancing on the ridge. About a mile in I bumped into the first serious overgrowth, near 6602', and had to fight through thick brush to continue forward. This was how the the next few miles went - easy strolling one minute, crawling and cursing the next. I didn't see much wildlife.
Conditions improved the closer I got to Rhodes Peak. There's a cool "break" that the trail goes through, and things immediately changed. Before it was mostly forested, blocked from the wind, and a mixture of great & terrible conditions - after it was grassy slopes (except for the manzanita on Rhodes Peak) with huge cairns and ridiculous winds that threatened to hurl me right across to East Divide. Doing my best to lean into the wind, I kept my head down and marched from one cairn to the next, wishing I had done this section in the opposite direction. Before I knew it I was at the unmarked junction with Field Canyon, tumbling downhill in the search for a campsite without wind. Found an unremarkable section with convenient trees & no cold-sink about .5 miles in and called it.
West Divide: Field Canyon -> Tent Lookout
I slept like an absolute log that night, only waking up once to turn over. Hammock is life. Briefly thought about continuing down Field Canyon for an early exit and decided to continue a little bit more down West Divide. After all, @chumley promised (posted a photo) that the trail conditions were pristine (in 2015) between Field & S Field trails (only half), so I figured it'd be very easy morning hiking (from a photo posted in 2015). It wasn't. I could not even tell if there had been any trail maintenance along this section, losing the tread over a dozen times, and even resorted to walking backwards to let my pack take more of the beating.
Blooded, bruised, and with many a hot take on what a "wilderness trail" should entail, I hauled up the short spur to Tent Lookout and was astounded by the view. It's by far the best one I had from the West Divide, great views of the interior of the wilderness. There's a few giant nails, hooks, and posts that make me curious about what else was up here - maybe a hitching post for horses? Anyways, this is a mandatory future campsite on a less-windy weekend.
S Field Canyon
There was no part of me that wanted to continue on West Divide, not today, so after resting at Tent Lookout I started the trudge down S Field Canyon Trail. It's fine, though it feels very utilitarian compared to other Galiuro trails. There's no shade and some minor catclaw at the bottom, and the views are just okay compared to what you get at the top. Reached the bottom with little fanfare, zipped up past Powers Garden (no one was home today), and then watered up at Horse Creek, where I learned my water filter was plugged up and my dirty water bag was broken.
Tortilla
Squeezed out 2 liters for the 8 mile hike back to the trailhead and then hauled up to the saddle. With low water I decided that a snack + .5 liter drink every 2 miles would help ration out my supplies, and that worked out well, especially because this trail is quite familiar. My original plan would have me going out on Corral Canyon, a final dose of waterfall goodness before descending from Kennedy, and I just didn't have the gumption for that today. Anyways, this trail was easy to trot along and still had the green grass & trickling drainages that had been delighting me all weekend, so I made it back to the trailhead a tad thirsty yet very satisfied with the adventure. |
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Horse Canyon |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | Strong flow for most of it's length, especially the final mile before Rattlesnake Creek. |
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Juniper Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Steady flow coming out of spring. Slight (cleaner) trickle coming down the eastern drainage. |
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Lower Ringtail Tank |
26-50% full |
26-50% full |
| | | Steady trickle leaving tank and flowing over (filled-in) dam. |
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Mailbox Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Intermittent trickle along first half mile, didn't proceed further. |
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Maverick Tank |
26-50% full |
26-50% full |
| | | Technically didn't go all the way to the marked location, but there was a dam and several large pools downstream that had good flow and appeared to be dependable (lots of growth around them). |
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Mud Spring |
Gallon per minute |
Gallon per minute |
| | | Trough was full, surrounding ground was soaked. |
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Peepstem Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Muted flow coming into Pipestem. |
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Pipestem Canyon |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | Light, intermittent flow. Waterfall & pool areas had strongest flows. |
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Upper Sycamore Tank |
26-50% full |
26-50% full |
| | | Metal tank was empty, steady creek flow nearby with plenty of algae. | | _____________________
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
On the way back we met UofA associate doing some flora surveying he was the first person we'd seen in three days! Saw 3 deer on the drive out and then went to Safford for the night and Mexican 
