Superior to Oracle
October 31st
Brian:
We decided to take a rest day in Superior before our last week+ on the trail. It was a very pleasant stay, and it seemed we could have stayed there an entire week with no penalty to our overall schedule. Anyway, we mustered the motivation and headed out early Sunday morning, walking through the southern neighborhoods of Superior as the sun rose, heading along Telegraph Canyon Rd and eventually FR 4 where we would rejoin the AZT north of Picketpost Mountain. The morning was very nice, although surprisingly cool as we sluggishly made our way along.
Joining with the AZT we followed another old road and eventually dropped into and climbed out of a few drainages. The trail was discernable, but only marked with the occasional cairn.In the early afternoon we came upon Hole in the Rock and descended the drainage below it. It was quite scenic as the canyon had many stately Saguaros and a number of interesting rock formations. We continued down canyon following rock cairns until joining up with an old miner's track which dropped us into a larger canyon, with rising cliffs of white and tan stone. Walnut Spring, an artesian well, was close by and we filled up with 3-3.5 gallons apiece for the days and mileage to Oracle.
We then followed a gravelly wash up canyon which joined with Battleaxe Rd near Copper Butte. Heading south, we continued to follow a large wash until taking a sharp left and working our way towards a saddle along a road which would lead us to a wash down to the Gila River. We laid out our sleeping bags just as the wind picked up. Total hiking time:~11 hrs.Amity:
A day that passed relatively quickly, although in some ways seemed quite long. I know that I was not particularly inspired to walk. Superior was a comfortable place to spend a day and I sort of miss it.
The morning was simple, following a road to Walnut Canyon. The views were outstanding south of Hole-in-the-rock. As we descended towards the canyon, the most toothy peak I have seen yet this trip stood framed directly in front of us between two ridges, a dark rocky canine point draped in scree, a perfect Mt. Doom. Disappointingly, from the south, it had the appearance of a molar, if any tooth at all, and lacked any menace what-so-ever.
Walnut Canyon was pleasant. The artesian well was an amazing fount of the clearest, cleanest water. It is said to run all year and I wonder where within the earth it is born. An impressive water source in so arid a landscape. The flow rate was so great that filling 3 gallons worth of containers took only moments.
Three gallons should be plenty to Oracle. The temperatures are cool and today the sun was not particularly strong as a haze and high clouds diminished its glare.
November 1st
Brian:
Cool, windy temperatures greeted us in the morning as we continued down a rugged 4wd road and into a broad wash. An hour of gravelly walking got us to the banks of the Gila River which we were happy to simply walk across without even getting our feet wet. A series of cattle paths led us onto some railroad tracks which we followed to a ranch and the Kelvin/Florence HWY which is a nicely graded dirt road.Heading eastward briefly brought us to Ripsey Wash which we followed for a few hours until leaving the wash to follow a trail of brightly colored ribbon tied to vegetation. This path led us along a road and into a wash which we followed a good distance before hopping a barb wire fence and continuing along an old two track.
Amity noticed more flagging at a road junction and we followed them through the desert in a generally SE direction. After a bit of hiking the colored ribbon abruptly ran out at an old road which we followed a short time to a saddle with a powerpole. As evening set, we quickly descended and made camp.
It seems we are sharing the general area with some hoofed beast, as occasional noises are drifting up from the small wash below us. Whatever it is, I hope it is friendly and does not mind our temporary encroachment. Total hiking time:~10.5 hrs
Amity:
A long day with a lot of progress and no progress at all. We crossed the Gila, a river I've been fascinated with since the day I first heard the words Arizona Trail. The crossing was easy as the river was low. We walked across on some rocks, more accurately a sort of sandy rocky bar without even the slightest risk of getting our shoes even a tiny bit damp.
The climb up Ripsey Wash was simple and straight forward. The wash was wide and sandy with some ATV traffic. An empty Bud Light can made a good soccer ball, which I enjoyed kicking along for diversion's sake.
Post-wash became a little more challenging, in greater part because of our perceptions that the route would be difficult to keep tabs on than it actually was in reality. None-the-less, we had plenty of manic highs as the route became apparent (the best was a series of orange and pink flagging, from which we trotted one to the next, a Where's Waldo kind of quest to be the first to say "There's the next blaze!") and depressing lows as the route would seemingly fade into a giant question mark surrounded by nothing but very prickly vegetation.
Camped with only a vague sense of where we are. We know we need to head SE so at least the plan for the morning is clear.
I'm hoping that the hoofed critter scuttling along in the nearby wash is a javelina, a creature I am most curious to see.
November 2nd
Amity:
Election Day. I can't help but wonder how the day is shaking out around the nation. At the same time, I don't know if I really want to see any headlines while in town tomorrow.
A day of good mileage and satisfying forward progress. For initially feeling somewhat vague as to our location in relationship to the AZT we quickly settled on a strategy that brought us great success. Almost directly out of camp, we decided to stick to the powerline road, the path of least resistance heading in a generally SE direction. When that began to drift too far to the south, we got on a 4WD road that resumed our bearing. Making good time on these roads, we suddenly came to a rise where the AZT appeared, crossing our road from the southwest. Not where I would have ever expected to find it, but there it was. Our road was working so well for us we decided to stick with it rather than following the now foil AZT flags into some unknown. On we went, across Freeman Road, past Antelope Peak, up out of washes and down into the next. With the old road undulating like a roller coaster track, my legs definitely feel like they got some exercise today.
We are camped only a few miles away from Oracle. I feel like I've learned a lot this section about navigation. Once we discarded the notion of needing to find the Arizona Trail and began focusing on our destination, navigation and subsequent decision making became a breeze.
Brian:
We left camp this morning with the general intention of heading SE...at least until identifying something we were certain of in the landscape before altering our route. The AZT was not obvious since running out of colored flagging yesterday evening, so we headed out cross-country until re-discovering a two-track road that more or less followed our general bearing. The road wove around and beneath a set of major powerlines, which were strangely not denoted on our maps, so they were of little relevance for helping to identify our location. Anyway, we continued on the two-track (which seemed to be the utility/maintenance road for the lines) until we reached a point where we could discern some landmarks in the distance.Amity took a bearing off Antelope Peak and Black Mountain which told us we were a bit west of where we needed to be. Fortunately, a dirt road was close by that afforded us easy travel eastward so we followed it a ways to try to get back on track. Eventually we swung back southeast and came upon an AZT post and some rock cairns. We were happy to have discovered the blaze, and also happy with our prior decision making in regard to route and direction.
Coming to a junction with the AZT a bit further down the trail, we decided not to subject ourselves to the inconsistencies of colored ribbons and rock cairns and forged our own plans for the remainder of the day. This worked beautifully. Forgoing the frustrations of what at times feels like random follow-the-colored-ribbon-wandering, we made excellent progress the rest of the afternoon and eventually re-joined the AZT at an old, undulating utility road which we followed for a few miles into the evening before we made camp.
All in all a very satisfying day with good problem solving and planning on our part. We were both a little anxious going into this section of trail (GPS was repeatedly recommended) but we managed to keep our wits about ourselves, stay found, and make excellent time. We are camped just a few miles from Oracle and the coyotes are finally back...it is nice to doze to their conversations again and undoubtedly we will be awakened by their hellos in the morning.
