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| Run/Jog | 14.75 Miles |
3,448 AEG |
| | Run/Jog | 14.75 Miles | 7 Hrs 7 Mns | | 2.07 mph |
| 3,448 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Tried this loop (with Steeple rather than the Long Cienega route mentioned in the official guide) a few years ago and bailed on the way down KP Creek, following a game (bear) trail straight up to the KP rim. I decided to try it the opposite direction this time, in order to get the potentially overgrown part of Steeple out of the way first.
First mistake was that I left all my nutrition in Phoenix, so I had to buy stuff at a gas station in Eagar. And in retrospect, I needed more calories.
Things were going OK for awhile. At about 8k elevation, in the upper reaches of Steeple trail, I very nearly stepped on a black-tailed rattlesnake, which unlocked a whole new fear about something I didn't think I'd have to worry about up there. Steeple Trail was in surprisingly good shape considering all the locust in the area, and I didn't have any serious route finding issues until I was within a quarter mile or so of Paradise Park trail. It started getting a little scratchier right before the junction, but past Paradise Park trail there was a nice shady stretch with a couple spots with an actual trickle in the creek.
I was expecting the dry stretch of KP Trail that traverses along the bench to be potentially hot, scratchy, and miserable, but it was actually not too bad. While the trail was faint in places, it was always pretty intuitive where it went, with some occasional confidence cairns and even a set of someone fresh footprints.
I was happy to get to KP Creek, but it turned out this was where the struggle really began. There was a really overgrown stretch just upstream from the McKittrick trail junction where I was really not sure where I was supposed to be. At one point I saw an apparent path leaving the creek on the north side, which I followed and wasted 15-20 minutes following probably game trails before I decided I need to backtrack and follow the creek. Things improved slightly within a half mile or so upstream from the Blue Cabin Ruins trail (still signed, but the trail looked nonexistent), but that's where the grade really started increasing.
By the time I got to the South Fork confluence, I was pretty wrecked, and worried about running out of water. I also forgot my filter back in Phoenix, so I kept a bottle of unfiltered creek water for the purpose of at least keeping my mouth moist, which seems to have helped. But the real problem was lack of calories, and I was basically crawling by the time I was on my way up North Fork, and stopping every 10 minutes or so for a break.
Brutal day, but glad I finally got this one done. Unfortunately, with the slow start to the monsoon, there is nothing worth foraging as of yet. |
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KP Creek |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | Good flow from the confluence all the way down to where KP trail leaves the creek. Flow in the north fork starts about a half mile up from the confluence. |
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Steeple Creek |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Upper Steeple (above Paradise Park junction) is dry. The springs marked on the map between PP and KP trails have a trickle. | | _____________________
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