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| Backpack | 5.50 Miles |
775 AEG |
| | Backpack | 5.50 Miles | 1 Day 2 Hrs 30 Mns | | |
| 775 ft AEG | | 34 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | | This was my first backpack trip. It took almost an hour on forest roads to get to the trail head but fortunately I was with people that had been there before. I could see someone easily getting lost otherwise especially in the dark! We camped at the trail head Friday night. There is ample parking and space to camp there overnight. We had 6 vehicles and there was another vehicle there as well with room to spare. Saturday morning, we departed at the trail head sign for Dorsey Springs. The first mile or so of the hike is fairly easy and somewhat flat and shaded. We saw some neat Alligator Juniper trees along the way. There are a lot of fallen trees and underbrush in this area. We stepped over a few on the trail. After about a mile or so, we started the descent into Sycamore Canyon. This was my first time on a backpack and I was very grateful for my hiking poles once we started the climb down because the 34 lb pack was messing with my balance! There are a few areas where you cross rocks or boulders on the trail as you go down. The many pine needles and leaves made area slippery as well as loose rock. Occasionally, the trail flattens out briefly between descents and there are logs for breaks. We took a few breaks along the way to make pack adjustments, etc. Dorsey Springs has a long black pipe and the water looked clean and was cold. A few noted seeing some plankton. There was mint growing all around the spring. We filtered all our water and the taste was just fine. Beyond the springs, there are plenty of spaces to camp (signage is good to make sure no one camps too close to the springs!) While it is getting warmer out, I was quite surprised at just how many mosquitoes and bees were around both at the trail head and at the springs. It still reached 39 at night and I figured we were safe for a little bit longer. Not so! If there was one thing I could change about this trip, it would indeed be the crazy amounts of bees and mosquitoes! We saw and heard many frogs. We even heard a turkey at one point. Sunday morning, we packed up and began to head to the trail head. I was intimidated about the climb with the pack because the day before that was mostly what I was thinking as we climbed down...how on earth am I going to make it out of here??? And, it was challenging but I kept repeating "slow and steady" and took breaks to sip water and before I knew it, we were back up to the flatter ground. Once we were done with the main climbing area, the hike out was fairly smooth and enjoyable. I'll definitely backpack again. I don't think I'd call Dorsey Springs my favorite place - we had some in our group do a longer hike and camp to Geronimo Springs and they made many comments of how beautiful the canyon opens up past the end point of the Dorsey Springs trail. I guess I just need to keep working to get up to a point to backpack further and see more of this area. Overall, it made for a great first backpack, and I enjoyed the remoteness of the area and ample water available. |
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Dorsey Spring |
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| | | Water looked clean and flowed well from a black pipe. Some noted seeing plankton. We filtered all of it and it was cold and tasted just fine. | | _____________________
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