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| | | Palisade Trail to Mud Spring, AZ | | | |
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Palisade Trail to Mud Spring, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.72 Miles |
2,102 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.72 Miles | 5 Hrs 26 Mns | | 2.10 mph |
| 2,102 ft AEG | 1 Hour 45 Mns Break | 25 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Today I decided to do a training hike for an upcoming section hike of the AZT in March. I packed about a 25-pound load, which seemed reasonable since I expect my pack weight for the AZT to push 30lbs because of some long water carries.
It was going to bust 80 in Tucson, so a trip up the Catalina Highway was warranted. Got stuck behind a lifted pickup that couldn't manage turns above 30mph and seemed oblivious to the "slower traffic use pullouts" courtesy, so the trip up was an excellent patience-building exercise.
The unpaved portion of Organization Ridge Road is closed until March, so I parked near the ranger cabin and walked to the trailhead. This added another mile or so and a little more AEG to the itinerary.
There's a bit of deadfall in the piney part of the hike. Looks like enough to keep trail crews busy for a bit. Still some crunchy snow in spots. Burn scars had some overly affectionate defoliated locust trees reaching into the trail. I used my trekking poles to resist their advances, and was thankful my shirt and pants escaped without any holes or tears.
I enjoyed the variety of experiences on such a short hike. The trail starts off in lovely pine woods, descends into a mixed oak-pine-juniper woodland with awesome ridge top views of the front rage, and drops further into oak scrub canyons with even better views.
Mud Spring was a rather anticlimactic destination, and lived up to its name... very muddy. I proceeded a bit past it to see if there were better views or anything worth stopping for, and finally just turned around at a drainage crossing. It was lunchtime and I knew a spot just off trail with flowing water and little falls that could be pleasant enough. I'd last been there some years past and the vegetation has since grown up, so I had to find a different route down to it. On the way I did a little exploring, then found my spot and enjoyed lunch.
After a bit I packed up and hiked back up the hill. Afternoon temperatures were warmish in the sun, but once back in the pines it was delightful. There was a 1:1 lizard-hiker ratio, which seemed a little high for February. |
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