The Arizona Trail – Passage #25 – Whiterock Mesa

Day 1 – 9/9/17 – Doll Baby Trailhead to Twin Buttes Road

Distance:  17.3 miles

After leaving a car at our finishing location at the Pine Trailhead, we drove my truck down to Payson and west on Main Street until it turned into Doll Baby Ranch Road.  At the end of this 10 mile stretch, we parked at the Doll Baby Trailhead which is the closest public access point to the southern end of passage 25.  This is where our hike begins.

From here, we have an approximately 4 mile hike uphill along a service road until we come upon LF Ranch near the East Verde River, where we will join the actual Arizona Trail.  Along this 4 mile stretch, we immediately began encountering wildlife along the road.  Our first friend was an adult tarantula right in the center of the trail.  Not long after, we came across a gopher snake sunning itself along the side of the trail.

Upon approaching LF Ranch, we watched as a coyote chased a jackrabbit across the trail in front of us and into the mesquite trees and undergrowth.  The coyote saw us and ran a different direction.  That jackrabbit owes us one!

With LF Ranch nearby, deep behind the mesquites, we approached the East Verde River for our only water crossing of this passage.  Patrick and I chose to just leave our shoes on and cross with wet feet.  Temps were warming up, and we knew our shoes would dry quickly with the help of our Darn Tough wool socks.

After our crossing of the East Verde, we begin our 3,100′ ascent up onto Whiterock Mesa over the next 12 miles.  We reach the first part of the plateau in just 1.7 miles with a quick 900′ climb, passing Polk Spring on the way up.  We have more than enough water to get us to Whiterock Spring, our last chance at good water before having to filter from muddy cattle tanks, so we press on.  We quickly come upon a very aggressive large Western Diamondback rattlesnake that alerted us from 15′ away with a very constant rattle.  We took some pictures from afar, and made wide berth around this angry reptile.  Moving along more carefully at this point, and after climbing for a quick 2 more miles, we reach Whiterock Spring and are happy to see that it has clear water in its steel tank.  We load up all of our bottles and bags at this point, planning for a dry rest of the day and possibly a dry camp.

Now on top of Whiterock Mesa, it gradually ascends at an almost unnoticed pace.  We are greeted with Juniper wilderness filled with rocky terrain of various types, and come to rock formations that look like piles of old bones which make the cairns look almost ghoulish.  The day has warmed up close to 90 degrees, but the views and scenery don’t disappoint.  We have enough water with us to get through the rest of the day and for camp, but we still take a look at any cattle tanks that we pass so we can get an idea of that tomorrow’s water possibilities will be.  Every tank has water, albeit murky and not very inviting, but at least we know we won’t dehydrate.

The day is winding down and we’ve put on almost 15 miles so far.  I notice that my right IT band is giving me substantial pain in the side of my knee.  It’s a familiar pain that I experienced in 2016 on my trip to Mt. Whitney, and I know how hard it makes it to walk especially on downhill sections.  I’m just going to have to suck it up.  We reach Twin Buttes Road and follow it for a short while before turning off onto an old powerline road.  Suddenly we see two jackrabbits bounding up to us as though we weren’t even standing there.  One hopped right around me and went about his business, grazing in the grass as the other just watched us.  Normally jackrabbits quickly run away at the sight of humans.  Maybe this was a bit of a “thank you” for saving the other rabbit earlier in the day?  You decide.  Anyways, as the sun begins to set, we search for a good 1/2 mile to find a camp spot that is flat enough for us to set up our tents for the night.  We eat a quick dinner and talk about the day, and then retire to our tents and catch some well-deserved sleep.