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Pine to Roosevelt Lake |
October 22nd Brian October 23rd Brian: We hiked on, steadily descending along White Rocks Mesa, until dropping down through a small cliffband to White Rocks Spring which was full and running. Some ocotillo cactus nearby were blooming which was an unexpected treat. Continuing our descent we dropped onto Polles Mesa, through
some cow-burnt country, down a very steep 4wd road, through a
lovely cottonwood tree gallery, until finally reaching Rock Creek
and the East Verde River. Rock Creek was absolutely exquisite
and was a welcome spot for a lunch break, a refreshing rinse,
and of course a good spot to filter water. LF Ranch is just across
the river and is still an active ranch, although it is situated
in the wilderness area. Much of this wilderness area was charred last year in a large forest fire, and our route up was not spared from the flames. Although burnt, the landscape was still quite interesting and had an intriguing raw quality. Unfortunately my camera did not fair well from its apparent dowsing from a few nights back and I was therefore unable to capture any images of the stark beauty which we hiked through. It felt great to have a steady, continuous climbing effort and we made good time to the saddle despite our heavy loads. The recent rains had washed out the trail wherever it crossed a drainage which made for tricky footing. After reaching the saddle we contoured around through some small
forested areas that did not get torched, eventually hiking through
more burned areas before dropping into a drainage with a spring,
and some still standing trees and understory vegetation. Climbing
out of the drainage we quickly gained a saddle and decided to
make camp for the night among the charred skeletons of Ponderosa
and Juniper. The views were quite stunning: 6 distinct individual
mountain range ridgelines fading in tones of gray on the westward
horizon, and a snow capped Mt Humphrey's to the north. October 24th Amity: Brian: The trail today was absolutely fantastic. A contouring beauty of classic trail construction. We are about half way finished with the hike, and incredibly, this was our first day without setting foot on a road. I think this fact played a role in one of the most relaxing and peaceful days on the AZT for me thus far. The day was truly timeless and I enjoyed every minute of hiking through the charred landscape. This place has a good sense to it, even in its current barbequed state. I think we are incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to hike this wilderness as I cannot imagine the condition of the trail in the near future, particularly after another major rain, and intense vegetative re-growth post burn that will undoubtedly take place. Much of the trail is already eroded from the hillsides, and downed timber has made the going slow at times. Regardless, I would encourage hearty AZT hikers to tackle the future challenges the Northern Mazatzal Wilderness will pose for their respective hikes. Maybe the AZTA will have the foresight to plan accordingly and come up with an alternative route besides a road walk along the highway to Payson as a bypass. Despite that the day consisted largely of walking through burned forest, occasionally we would enter pockets of forest that were miraculously spared from the flames. Signs of wildlife was abundant, as if the animals had consolidated themselves to the remaining habitable lands. We saw 3 sets of individual bear tracks, cat prints, horned lizards, a rattlesnake, and tarantulas throughout the day as we hiked through these oases of habitat. We are camped tonight on a high saddle just down trail from the turnoff for Bear Springs. Thankfully we are in a small grove of live trees which are doing a wonderful job at breaking the wind, and shading us from the glow of a near full moon. October 25th Brian: We descended
from Mt Peeley into a maze of drainages and gullys, often on
uncomfortably steep and eroding sections of trail. Apparently
the trail crew boss responsible for the beautiful contours of
the northern Mazatzal had retired before this section was worked.
Anyway, we eventually climbed to the saddle of Saddle Mountain,
and began a slow descent towards Hwy 87 through some very nice
drainages where we noticed our first Barrel Cacti of the trip. October 26th Amity: Brian: Heading off towards the Four Peaks Wilderness and hopeful of getting in as many miles as possible, we began our climb from Sycamore Creek to Boulder Creek. Although faint in places, much of the route was in good shape up to Boulder Creek. Just about every carsonite AZT post was blown off at about knee height...surely the enthusiasm of some local gunslinger tired of shooting at cans or discarded refrigerators by the HWY. Anyway, the trail along side Boulder Creek was a bushwhacking adventure as much of the trail was steep, eroded, and overgrown. There did appear to be some new trail tread at one point heading upwards to a ridgeline, but since it was unblazed, we stuck to the original route until reaching a Forest Service Rd on the ridge above us, slightly battered, bloody, and bruised from our vegetative encounters. We followed the Forest Rd for about 9 miles, and it was certainly a welcome break from the mornings bushwhack. We made good time along the road, counting tarantulas and looking east and west at the distant views. Eventually we came to the Pigeon Springs Trailhead where we turned off the road and shortly passed a group of women day hikers. They were the first folks since the Grand Canyon we have seen on the trail. In a short time we entered the Four Peaks Wilderness, named for the 4 jutting, rocky escarpments that rise above us on the horizon. The trail contoured nicely throughout the afternoon, and it appears to have been worked fairly recently. We had heard this section had some overgrown Burmese-Jungle type spots, but thus far it has been smooth sailing. Camp tonight
is in a small grove of trees, a few hundred yards above the
trail. The lights of massive, sprawling Phoenix can be seen
below to the west. Tomorrow should find us in Roosevelt for
a quick re-supply and hopeful shower. Although my personal
record of 14 days with no shower is not yet in jeopardy, I
see no reason to set a new personal best, as I am beginning
to stick to myself. Thanks for reading. October
27th Brian: The trail out of the Four Peaks Wilderness was pretty nice. Nice grade, not too much wandering as we descended to Roosevelt Lake. A bit of spitting rain last night and this morning, with more in the forecast. Very windy. First Saguaro Cacti of the trip along the trail today. Heading out this afternoon to climb into the Superstition Wilderness. Amity:
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