Grandpa Does the Arizona Trail: Passage 29

[Note:  the passage numbering begins to change again here.  Originally, this was Passage 30 (Mormon Lake), with two parts, South and North, about 36 miles long).  Now, the North section is the Anderson Mesa section.]

We've apparently hiked (and biked) this section on several dates:

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July 10 and 11, 2023

Setting up camp at the Double Springs Campground, on these two days, we out-and-back hiked the section of trail around Mormon Lake, to a bit over half a mile past Marshall Spring south, and two miles past the passage endpoint at Mayflower Spring north. The weather, though hot in the sun, was generally comfortable. Most of the route is smooth trail, with few climbs or descents or rocky sections. The flora is pine woods, mostly ponderosa (a few spruce, a few piñon pines), punctuated by open parks, like much of the rest of the Mogollon Rim. The fauna, on the other hand . . . we saw many deer, both singly and in herds, and on the 11th, we spooked what looked to be a herd of elk on the hillside, bulkier and noisier than deer, but not so noisy as cattle. Just a few glimpses of dark brown coats and white tail undersides and rumps. Mayflower Spring was running.

On July 14, we attempted to complete the passage by hiking from where I thought we had stopped in September 2009, to just south of Marshall Spring. The problem was getting there. I had (as described below) mistakenly estimated that we'd gotten as far north as Navajo Spring (trail mile 527.6 in the AZT mapbook), which we tried to reach by car. Beware Forest Road 219! We first tried to get in from the east. After about 1/2 mile of decent gravel and dirt, the road turned into a rock garden that, even with me driving our XTerra in 4wd, we felt we couldn't sustain for the couple of miles it would have taken to get to Navajo Spring. We then attempted to come in from the west side, using FR 91 to 219 on the other side. Imagine our surprise upon finding 219 (though signed for Mormon Lake in 4 miles) in even worse shape than on the west side. We hiked from the junction on 219 to the trail, about 1.8 miles up the road, then put in 2/10 of a mile north on the AZT.

August 28, 2005 (a short section around Mormon Lake.)  We tried to mountain bike north from the Double Springs campground toward Marshall Lake, and south from the campground to the southern end of the lake.  I believe that we probably biked a total of two miles north, and about a mile and a half south, to Wallace Spring.

Notes:

We hiked/mountain biked at least some of this stretch around Mormon Lake  North of Double Springs Campground, the ground is pretty rocky and hilly.  South of the campground, the trail follows hill contours around the lake, sometimes steep.

6 September 2009

Richard, Jeannie, Sarah, Chris, Ranger, me.

Allen Lake Landing [on the Lake Mary Road] to, as it turns out, the confluence of Forest Road 90H with the AZT, near La Negrita Tank.  Temperature circa 80 and clear for most of the day, clouding to threaten thunderstorms in the late afternoon.  We walked about 2 [actually 8, according to hiking partner Richard Duerden's more accurate notes] miles of the trail, to spare the dog, who was on medication for arthritis.

This trail is completely clear, sometimes follows an old railroad grade, and would be perfect for biking, except . . .

This was Labor Day Sunday, and it seemed like everyone with an ATV and a gun was out in the woods.  There was so much engine noise and gunshot sound that the dog was spooked, and it felt more like an urban than a wilderness walk.

There's water at an unnamed spring just northwest of the Forest Highway junction, and also at Patch Tank.  If one were doing a through-hike, one could easily find water, I think.

2023 Final Comment:

It turns out that between 2005 and July 2023, I have hiked virtually the whole of the new Passage 29. I now know that in 2009, we got farther north than I had thought, to about trail mile 529 (see above). That leaves me with less than a mile of distance between FR 90H, mentioned above, and just south of Marshall Spring, where we stopped on July 10, 2023. Maybe I'll hike that bit in the future, but otherwise, it's been adjudicated that I can call this passage hiked.

Here is the passage map: https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/29_MormonLake.pdf

Arizona Trail: Passage 28

Happy Jack Passage

 We seem to have done this passage in at least three legs:

 September 25, 2004:  Forest Road 211 to a road junction near Kenneth Tank.

September 16, 2006:  Bergaman Park to Allan Lake

August 22, 2007:  Bergaman Park to approximately Dave’s Tank.

 I seem to remember hiking (scouting) the short section between Forest Road 211 and SR 87, though I didn’t document it.

Notes:

 9/25/04  Sarah, Richard, Chris, me, Ranger

 Relatively flat, 70-80 degrees, climb out of initial dirt road.  Ponderosa pines, jeep road through Jack’s Canyon.  Ponderosa pines in thickets above canyon.

 No animals to see.  Clear day.  Nice country, easy hiking.  Biggest adventure—trying to take jeep trails back to main forest road.  Sarah got very frustrated and walked after a couple of miles.  Richard knocked out his cruise control.

 Saturday, August 22, 2007

 Chris, Richard, Sarah, Ranger, me

 Bergaman Park to approximately Dave’s Tank (changed route).  Day was partly cloudy to cloudy, c. 70-80 degrees Farenheit.  I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu when we got to the forst road junction east of Bergaman Park.  I would have sworn that I’d been there before.  Everything looked familiar, but nothing (like trail junctions) was where it “should have been.”  That feeling persisted throughout the day, but I’ve checked my records—I’ve never hiked that area before.  It must be similar to the scenery around Jack’s Canyon in 2004.

 The route has changed from the old topo version of the trail route.  I’ve marked where Richard and I thought it was.  I love hiking these woods—the forest roads crisscross the area and it’s pretty flat.  The Ponderosa woods are punctuated by great meadows (parks).  It’s hard to tell if the springs in the area would sustain a through hike that didn’t use caches.

Wildlife we saw:

2 herds of elk, 1 King Snake, several horny toads (!) and domestic cows.

 Ranger picked up a thorn or something that has infected his paw.

 I-17 was blocked on the return journey, and we came home via Pine-Strawberry-Payson.  We had supper at the Pine Mountain (?).  I’ve now travelled the Stoneman Lake Road (busy) and the General Crook Trail (deserted).

9/16/06

 Bergaman Park to Allan Lake.

 Open Ponderosa Pine forest, mostly flat.  Perfect weather—Blue sky, low humidity, 75-85 degrees.

 Bergaman Park is a huge meadow (1/2 x ½ mile?).

 Saw an elk, which we chased (unintentionally) down the trail.

 Richard’s Birthday—beer and carrot cake in the woods.

 (These pictures are all from the August 25, 2007 hike.)

Here's the passage map:  https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/28_HappyJack.pdf

 

 

Arizona Trail: Passage 27

I have perhaps hiked on this passage more times than any other single passage of the Arizona Trail (maybe with the exception of the Mazatzal passages).  Here are my notes from the various times I've hiked it, from 2001-2020; the photos will be from Arizona Trail Day (in the Fall of 2019) and Chris's and my trip in 2020 during the COVID pandemic (physically-distant camping).

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The Notes:

 

Arley, Donna, Richard, me

June 23, 2001 (dayhike). 

 Began 9 a.m.  Temp mid 70’s-80 with 10 mph breeze.

 Dusty herbal smell of pines.  Wild roses, Indian paintbrush, bridal lace (?) etc.  Small blooms, nothing big.  Partly cloudy.  Started at General Springs historical marker where FR 300 intersects with See (?) Canyon trail.  Follow springs canyon toward Blue Ridge Reservoir.  Plenty of pools in Spring Canyon.  Winds in the pines, bird calls.  How to explain bird calls without clichés?  Trilling arpeggios.  Easy, great hiking along the creek.  General Springs Cabin at the beginning of the trail (built 1912).  Plexiglass windows in old wood frame.  Battle of Big Dry Wash historical marker.  General Crook vs. Apaches, 1882.  (Crook won. –2 soldiers, -20 Apaches).  Total one-way trip--3 miles (6 miles total out and back).

 

 Perfect day – partly cloudy, open shade

 Yellow columbine, dragonflies along creek, blue, red, and black.  Large water beetles in pools, water skimmers, tadpoles.  (Green notebook)

 July 15,  2006 Blue Ridge/Moqui Campground

 Scouted about 2 ½ more miles of the AZ Trail.  Gently rolling, or pretty flat, trail through oak and ponderosa pine forest.  Near the campground is a stand of aspen.

The trail is easy for a little while south of the campground, but then climbs a ridge.  The rock erosion dams make it extremely difficult to ride either up or down.  I quit after ½ mile south.  (Yellow notebook).

 Turns out the trail goes right past/through Blue Ridge campground.  The campground itself is excellent—fire pits, grill setup, cement benches, graveled level tent pads, big trees.  The washroom is the cleanest one I’ve ever been in!

 October 12, 2019--Arizona Trail Day with Richard, Sarah, Chris, Jeannie.

May 29-30, 2020

 Covid camping with Chris.  Camped at Rock Crossing trailhead (that is, nearby, maybe ½ mile).

 Day hiking passage 28 of the Arizona Trail (Blue Ridge Passage).

 

May 29—Hiked south to the place where Richard and I stopped on Arizona Trail Day (intersection with FR 212A?).  Rock Creek Canyon is gnarly—very vertical.  One way was over 5 miles (over 10 round trip).

May 30--Hiked north to the entrance to the Moqui Campground, which I had scouted earlier.

Here's the passage map:  https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/27_BlueRidge.pdf

Arizona Trail: Passage 26

Highline Passage

Late 1990s-Early 2000s

I am certain to have been on this passage a couple of times:  I have a note that Chris and I walked the passage from the Pine Trailhead for a few miles toward Washington Park.  We stopped before the Geronimo Trailhead, however.  On the Highline, we did meet Will Gentrup from ASU on the trail, in my memory (I have no notebook entries on any of this).

I also remember doing hikes around Washington Park with Arley and Donna and others in, I think, the mid- to late 1990s, but don't exactly know where we went (also no notebooks).   I do remember going by the Tunnel Trail, which climbs the Rim from Washington Park.

Here's the passage map: https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/26_Highline.pdf

Arizona Trail: Passage 25

[A quick note:  Until this iteration of the Arizona Trail maps, this passage (Whiterock Mesa) was originally two:  Whiterock Mesa and Hardscrabble Mesa.  From this point on, each passage will be a numeral lower than the original passage numbering.]

Whiterock Mesa

January 19-20, 2002  Twin Buttes TH to LF Ranch (out at the Baby Doll TH).  Richard, Doug, Nathaniel, me.

1/19—Reached Twin Buttes at 11:15, took Trail 14 essentially SE.  Weather in the 60’s with high clouds.  Began in juniper scrub at 5800 feet.  If the map is correct, we descended a total of 1400 feet over the day, to Whiterock Springs at 4400 feet.

Great hiking, with ever-improving views.  Occasionally we lost the trail, which is lightly marked with cairns, probably for horse packers (the cairns were low and squat – hard to see from the ground, but probably easy from a horse, and they seemed too far apart).

As we descended, we actually got more spruce-type vegetation (it now strikes me that I’ve seen juniper scrub into and out of the Verde Valley on I-17 at about 5-6000 feet)1/19—Reached Twin Buttes at 11:15, took Trail 14 essentially SE.  Weather in the 60’s with high clouds.  Began in juniper scrub at 5800 feet.  If the map is correct, we descended a total of 1400 feet over the day, to Whiterock Springs at 4400 feet.

Great hiking, with ever-improving views.  Occasionally we lost the trail, which is lightly marked with cairns, probably for horse packers (the cairns were low and squat – hard to see from the ground, but probably easy from a horse, and they seemed too far apart).

As we descended, we actually got more spruce-type vegetation (it now strikes me that I’ve seen juniper scrub into and out of the Verde Valley on I-17 at about 5-6000 feet)

White Rock Springs is below a steep climb down, in the spruce.  Though it doesn’t look like it, there’s a great campsite east off the trail about 100 yards down or so from the spring.  Water flow at the spring was small, but there were two small full tanks.  We didn’t filter, just boiled, but the water had a lot of dissolved lime.  Cloud cover dissipated overnight, taking the temp down to 25 degrees or so.  It warmed up quickly after sunup.  We got underway at about 9:30 a.m.

 Great hiking!  The day was perfectly clear, and warmed up to about 65 degrees.  Most of the day was level, along a ridge that took us to within 2 miles of LF ranch.  There’s significant grazing for a couple of miles along that ridge with well(!)-used stock tanks built.  They would work for emergency water, but aren’t appetizing.  The trail drops just past Fuzzy’s Point (with a small marker).  From the point, you get a panoramic view of the Mazatzals and the cut-butte valley of the East Verde.  It is easy to see why LF Ranch is still inhabited – the setting is ideal.  But you’re really cut off from amenities.

A quick drop off the ridge brings you to an old ranch site that must have been earlier inhabited by Indians (saw 2 potsherds).  Polk Spring, on the bank of Rock Creek at the ranch site, really pumps.  There’s a small clear creeklet that flows into Rock Creek.  The East Verde was running low (too low to float), so it was an easy ford (thank goodness for a stick).  Ate lunch on the gravel bar at 12:30.  Trail 14 skirts the ranch.  It has a cutoff to the Baby Doll trailhead road, which we didn’t take.

The Road’s a good surface, but has some really steep slogs.  It always seems too hot when I hike it.  Got to the truck by 3:15.  Didn’t finish the car shuttle until approx. 6:30 (but we rested at the trailhead for about ½ hour).

Hardscrabble Mesa to Pine Trailhead

10-12-03:  Richard Sarah, Chris, Ranger, me

 Lovely hike along power lines.  Saw Blue Juniper, manzanita, Oak Spring running (dying), Ponderosa pines.  The bark beetle is changing the ecosystem.

[No pictures that I can find]

Here's the passage map: https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/25_WhiterockMesa.pdf

Arizona Trail: Passage 24

Red Hills Passage

[Continuing my notes on a trip with Richard, May 15-18, 1999]

5/17

Camped at Brush Spring – badly used by cattle and horse people.

5/18

Very overgrown spur trail out to LF Ranch.  Glad we were going downhill.  Hot (100+degree) hiking from LF Ranch to the Doll Baby Trailhead.  When we got there, we had to fix a flat tire on the truck, which had happened about a mile from the trailhead.

[As with the previous entry, whenever I digitize my film slides, I will add pictures.]

Here's the passage map:  https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/24_RedHills.pdf

Arizona Trail: Passage 23

Mazatzal Divide Passage

This is the first passage of the Arizona Trail that I hiked.  It's also my first multiday packing trip with Richard.  He has the HikeAZ handle Mazatzal, because his project during the end of the 1990s and beginning decade of the 2000's was to hike as much in the Mazatzal Wilderness as possible.  At the time, I was not aware of the Arizona Trail, but this was the beginning.

This is also the second extended backpacking trip that I had taken in Arizona, the first being a traverse of the Mazatzals with Maxie in 1998 (which overlapped this trip from Horse Camp Seep to the Park).  In that trip, we'd traversed the wilderness west to east from Sheep Bridge Trailhead to City Creek (not the smartest direction of travel).  The year after this inaugurated an approximately 13-year annual backpacking or backcountry trip tradition among the three of us.  The Superstitions passage, as well as part of the Four Peaks passages were done as annual group trips.

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But here are the notes from May 15-18, 1999, with Richard.

5/15 Mt. Peeley to Windsor Seep

Weather:  Clear, high 70’s low 45 degrees.  Fair amount of initial climbing, but with good vistas.  We could see the Mt. Peeley Road until 2 p.m.  (Road surface good, but narrow and steep.  Many recreational people.)

Approx. 4 p.m. we found Bear Spring.  It was running decently and the spring had been improved with concrete.  We did not check Fisher Spring.

Widnsor Seep 5 p.m.  Great views (as usual).  Very tired.  At approx. 5:30 two younger men came from the Barnhart.  They seemed nice, but fired their gun several times in their camp at night, the last (2) times at 11:30.  Nervous night, but perhaps this was just cowboy stupidity.

5/16

Did not check Windsor Seep, since I would have had to pass our marksmen’s (?) camp.  We were walking by 8:45.  Nice views, but uneventful, to Chilson.  At Chilson, I was expecting the tanks to be full.  They weren’t.  I followed the pipe to the spring, which was running decently.  Lunch at Chilson, met a dayhiker, and filled the bottles at Chilson spring.  As it turned out, we needn’t have spent that extra 45 minutes.  About a mile down the trail, we came to some (slightly) running pools, right across the trail.  We sponged off here.

At Horse Camp Seep, water is available, but not immediately apparent.  We decided to camp here (at 3:30) because it was just a bit longer to get there, and because we knew there was water at Horse Camp Seep.  That means a longer day tomorrow, but I’ll be backtracking some of the trail I did last year.

Been feeling funny this trip, a bit.  Just nervous – about water, about gun-toting campers – even though so far everything’s been fine.  I put it down to severe exertion (though the trails aren’t as hard as last year, I’m not in as good of shape).

(If I ever digitize my film slides from this trip, there will be pictures.)

Here's the passage map:  https://aztrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/23_MazatzalDivide.pdf