Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 11

With four of us it took longer to get going, especially as it was Pops’ first day and she had to finalize her gear system. It was long enough that Thorn and I got a second round of coffee from the hotel lobby, which opened at 7 am. Shortly afterwards, we hiked out of town, turning onto a road full of detour barricades and drawing barks from neighborhood dogs. A local guy biked after us and asked questions about our route, in a curious and easy going manner. He told us to visit a giant tortoise a little ways down the road and we tried to, but we couldn’t find it in the indicated enclosure.

When the road curved south, we began hiking the northern edge of a series of fields, crossing the occasional dry irrigation ditch. Over time, we picked up a dirt field road and watched several tractors approach as they tilled the soil. At the end of a short paved section, two javelina emerged from the brush. One ran across the road while the other returned whence it came. It was Thorn’s first javelina sighting! From the pavement, we entered Tidwell Wash and hiked along it for nearly two miles. A couple planes flew by overhead, taking off from a small airfield.

Back on dirt road and nine miles along, we came to a cattle trough fed from a solar powered well. The four of us still had water so we decided to skip the source and continue to the next one. We listened to audiobooks; Bird & Pops took one earbud each and listened to the same one. I was excited to start the newest Dresden Files book, which I had after a couple months wait. In three miles, we stopped for water and lunch. It was a similar situation, a solar well with a trough plus a stock pond nearby. The trough water was clear, yet had a slightly salty/ mineral taste. We sat in the shade of a couple stubby trees and ate our lunch. Bird had carried out a one pound danish; Thorn and Pops helped her finish 3/4 of it as lunch dessert.

The rest of the day was dirt road walking. Post lunch, the road climbed and it was warm, though not hot. Bird became nauseous and we took several rest breaks to help her recover. None of us minded, that’s why we’re hiking together after all, for company and to be there for one another. One rest break took place within sight of an active copper mine’s tailings. I found them scenic, set amongst prickly pear and mountains. The GET formerly traveled through the mine’s location.

As if recognizing that Bird would appreciate cooler weather, the sky became overcast and we received a brief, scattered rain. I deflected it with my sun umbrella. We cut ~2.6 miles from our route by taking a road that appeared in onX’s topographic map layer. It was actually there, which is not always the case. Having completed a 20 mile day, we set up our tents on Salt Trap Road, it being a flat, vegetation free surface with seemingly rare traffic. Thorn did find a small space just off the road. While we set up camp, a rainbow briefly decorated the sky.

Day 12

An alarm went off at the regular time, 5 am. We discussed what we were each having for breakfast. A short walk down the road and I was excited to be back in a wash. We came upon a unique water source, a spring leaking from the corner of a cement dam. While we filtered water, a ruby-throated hummingbird buzzed past then landed and sipped from the source. The wash wove through a canyon and for a short distance there were occasional water pools.

A series of critter encounters came in short succession. First, I found a brilliant blue butterfly submerged in a pond. Then a one foot snake rattled at us and turned out to be a Prairie Rattlesnake, another new species for me! Shortly after, Thorn and I were examining a lizard that looked possibly smooshed. She prodded it with her pole and it startled us into laughter when it skittered off.

For a time, intermittent howls broke the silence. Around a bend, we discovered a pack of hounds, each wearing a radio collar. There were around seven, a couple in the canyon, one to the left, several scaling the right hand side. Somewhat puzzled, we figured they must have an owner in the vicinity. The canyon narrowed to a slot and we jumped an algae filled pool, only to encounter an impassible pour-off. Thorn checked the route and saw that we’d missed a foot trail which bypassed that portion of the canyon. We retraced our steps, the pool trickier to cross going upward, though we all made it without wet feet. A cairn marked the trail which slowly climbed ~100 ft above the canyon’s floor before descending again. Near its apex, we met two men on horseback, hunting mountain lions; the hounds were theirs.

The canyon ended at a confluence with a couple others, the flat space between filled with trees and the strong flow of Bonita Creek. Bird threw a large log into the creek and we crossed it. Soon we entered Midnight Canyon, which had a couple narrow spots roofed by wedged, giant boulders. We exited the canyon on a 4WD drive road and began to climb. There was a loud, distant boom. Thorn spotted a smoke plume and we figured it was likely an intentional explosion at the copper mine. We climbed ~2,000 ft. to Bellmeyer Saddle, where we ate lunch. Bird is unabashedly slower on climbs. She got a shorter lunch than the rest of us.

Bird led our descent, expertly picking out the best route between a mix of wash and intermittent trail. Three miles along, in the shade of cottonwoods, water from Smith Spring ran across muddy ground filled with cattle prints. Surprisingly, the water didn’t taste like cow. We each gathered some before continuing a mile to a trailhead. There was a brief road segment, in which we saw a wild burro! Then we arrived at Eagle Creek. I unzipped my lower pant legs and removed my gaiters. We forded the creek four times, the deepest one just over my knees. The water was a pleasant temperature and the current was mild. We set up camp in a pleasant spot, amongst mesquite trees.

Day 13

The route promised 50 total fords of Eagle Creek over 8.8 miles. It seemed like too perfect of a number so I kept track in my Tally app (it turned out to be 51). Up until around crossing 40, we were usually on a rocky ATV road so it was easy to tell where the ford entered and exited the creek. Most crossings were around knee high, the deepest was just below my crotch. The water was muddy so we couldn’t tell the depth. It was fun, wading back and forth across the creek on a warm, sunny day. I was glad that I had two poles to stabilize myself against the flow and seek out footing.

When we weren’t on the ATV road, we pushed through willow bushes or followed cow paths through trees. At one point, two ATVs passed us. We passed them while they set up to fish, which apparently didn’t work out because they passed us a final time shortly after. The creek crossings kept us to portions of the canyon bottom with walkable terrain. Some bends were particularly scenic, where the reddish rock walls had fun crevices or protrusions. After crossing 40, we passed an old ranch house and entered a more pristine portion of the creek. There was a faint path and the creek was narrower.

There were two fun critter encounters. Thorn spotted a snake after the rest of us either stepped over or walked around it without noticing. It was curled up tight with its head tucked under a coil. When Pops and I went back to check it out, it got nervous and slithered a short distance, lifting its head and raising its rattle. It was young, perhaps a little over a foot. I thought it was another Prairie Rattlesnake, however seek said that it was an Arizona Black Rattlesnake, which is the only Arizona snake species that can undergo morphological color change, like a chameleon. The other critters were a pair of butterflies mating on my arm.

We exited the canyon via the dry drainages of a couple smaller canyons. After three miles, we reached Cottonwood Spring and ate lunch. Bird had a packet of cheesecake Jello pudding and a packet of dry nonfat milk. I contributed filtered water and a Ziploc bag. She mixed the pudding ingredients and put the bag in a water pool to cool. We all partook of the delicious lunch dessert. While we ate, we filtered water for a 15 mile carry. Thorn and I’s BeFree filters worked ~5 times faster than Pops and Bird’s Platypus filters.

From the creek, it was ten miles to our planned camp spot. The first portion was via more drainages with a faint trail that either followed the wash or rose to either side. There was an art to telling if a side trail was a pointless up-down or useful for bypassing canyon debris. I mostly nailed it when I took a turn leading. Eventually we exited the drainages and got onto a consistent trail that contoured along hillsides or climbed steadily upward. It was a relief to make faster progress. Still, by the time we reached a faint two track road, it was getting dark and we had 3.6 miles to go so we stopped to eat dinner.

Our night hike was uneventful. In the first mile, I could see a giant copper mine’s lights: tiny haul trucks and other facilities. The last 1.6 miles were on a paved highway with happily no traffic. Finally, we reached the Granville Recreation area, a free site with an open bathroom that contained a trash can. We commandeered the first site and I set up my tent while the others cowboy camped near the picnic tables. It was a long day, in addition to the creek crossings, we gained 5,000+ ft. and covered a total of 21-23 miles.

Day 14

We took the Granville Trail away from the recreation area and climbed Sardine Saddle. Brett noted that it offered “superlative” views and we all agreed. For the following four miles, the trail rose and fell as it contoured with the hillsides, sometimes becoming indistinct. We struggled through the miles and it was late morning by the time we gathered water at a concrete trough with an incoming clear flow.

Under a mile later, the trail passed through a corral. It contained a plastic trough full of very clear water and we did laundry by pouring it over socks and other items, wringing them out. After that, other than a ridge top cross country segment, we were on a two-track dirt road that, though rocky, gave us a clear path. On the ridge, Bird took a tumble that put a gash in her knee and we took a quick break. Then there were a couple brief rain showers. Pops and I deployed our sun umbrellas. I felt fancy, as if I was at a picnic with a parasol.

Yesterday, all of us ate through more food than we allotted for the day. At lunch, which we ate by the side of Juan Miller Road, I shared that I’d been dreaming of trail magic, so had Bird and Pops. Three miles later, we were gathering water at Turkey Creek, which crossed the road. A lady in a pickup stopped to check on us. She and her husband, who continued on in a second pickup, were off to round up wayward cows using horses and dogs. When Bird asked if she had any snacks, she drove back to her house and returned with a dozen fresh chicken eggs, a tin of salmon, four broth packets, and a few other items. This generous, sweet lady was named Kyle. Pops and I each gave her crystals that we found on the trail. It was a sweet moment and we happily planned what to do with our bounty of food.

We continued along Juan Miller Road then back onto two track. A couple walls of rain, one heavy and longer, swept over us and I was so grateful for my umbrella. Pops and I chatted while we led the group. She works at a rock climbing gym in Washington DC and has unending energy. As it got dark, we put on our headlamps and worked on our way down the edge of a rocky floodplain. This brought us to the Blue River, which we forded, it was calf deep. A short walk along the river’s bank took us to a canyon trail. Ascending the canyon was easy, but then we had to bushwhack across the canyon. We went under a barbed wire fence, jumped a thin stream, and then under another fence (all by headlamp). A climb of the following hill brought us to flat ground where we set up camp.

Thorn was tired and went to sleep immediately after eating dinner. I loaned Bird my pot and she used it to hard-boil eight of our eggs. While they boiled & cooled, her, Pops, and I shared a delicious lentil and rice dinner that Pops had left over from the CDT. Bird made a broth from the two Lemongrass packets. Then she scrambled the last four eggs and added them in a thin stream. The vision was egg drop soup, however the egg ratio was too high so it became a scramble in broth. Still the result was delicious and we ate happily, saving a portion for Thorn. Well nourished, I organized my tent and fell asleep. 

Day 15

The day started with a quick cross-country segment alongside whorls of slick-rock. At its end, we met up with our old friend, Juan Miller Road and hiked it to a trailhead, where a trail headed east into Wild Bunch Canyon. I enjoyed the name, thinking of the old Western movie and how it paid homage to outlaws. We went up the canyon for 1.3 miles and found pools of water in the drainage. It was the last verified water until Alma so we filled up, Thorn and I assisting the others so that it went faster.

From the canyon, we began a steady climb, the trail working its way along ridges toward a number of peaks. I put on my audiobook. When we reached Morris Day Gap, I examined the trough, which was dry. (I’ve been keeping notes for this section to enter in the water database when we reach Alma.) We’d gotten spread out, but regrouped in order to eat lunch on a ridge with a fantastic view. I ate a hard-boiled egg in addition to my meal and it was delicious!

Bird had applied to three different grad schools and already eliminated one option. While we ate lunch, she heard that her second choice option was not offering a scholarship. This finalized her choice to Colombia and she called her mom to share the news. When the rest of us reached the day’s high point of 8,200 ft., she’d fallen behind and lost the trail so we waited for her to catch up. We were near Maple Peak’s summit and the ridge offered sweeping views. Once she rejoined, we zig-zagged down one side of the peak then did a small ascent to pass near Charlie Moore Mountain.

As early evening came around, a very rocky road brought us to the state line and we passed into New Mexico. We were on a smooth, dirt road for the day’s last three miles. I saw three snowshoe hares, one which ran across the road, and three possibly wild horses. We had decided to camp at dusk so we went off-road to search out a spot with wind protection. Thorn and I set up tents; Bird and Pops cowboy camped in the shelter of a shrubby tree. It was a much colder evening than the last few and I appreciated the extra warmth and protection of my sleeping bag liner.

Day 16

We woke ~4 am and were out of camp 30 minutes later. Definitely an earlier start than desired, however Pops had an interview at 8 am and rest of us were eager for town food. It was a cold morning and most of the walk was in the dark, all on dirt roads. I wore my Senchi & puffy over my base layer the entire way. When I arrived at the Alma Store, I went straight to the hot coffee, which warmed my hands and spirits.

The Alma Grill opened at 7 am and the four of us took over a large table. We all ordered breakfast; I got eggs and hash browns. As I updated the water data, I drank more coffee and ate snacks from my resupply box. Bird & Thorn planned our daily route to the next resupply while Pops took her call. We did snack/ resupply runs in the Alma Store. In the end, we hung out for six hours.

A nice couple from Florida, named Heather and Bucky, gave Bird, Thorn, and I a ride to Glenwood. (Pops was sorting her resupply.) They dropped us off at the Glenwood post office. Thorn discovered a hiker box and we each got some food. I happily picked up the box from my Dad, which contained my 10 degree sleeping bag and a surprise Rice Krispy treat, yum! I put my sleeping quilt and a few other items in the box and sent them to Montana. Pops got dropped at the post office and the two of us walked to the Trading Post. Though we initially planned to stay at a free campground, it had no water, so we got a room in order to do sink laundry and shower. There were even goat milk soap samples!

It was nice to have a comfortable spot to pass the afternoon and evening. We had fun sharing pictures and eating ice cream. Pops discovered that she could create WhatsApp stickers from photos and we laughed at her creations.