Dates: October 14-15, 2017
Distance: 20.1 miles
My second completed section of the Arizona Trail was Passage #26. This overnight backpacking route followed the Highline Trail from Pine, AZ and then breaks off to the north in the last 3 miles and finishes on the top of the Mogollon Rim at FR300 near General Springs Cabin after passing by an old abandoned railroad tunnel project only 200′ below the rim.
This map shows the file statistics from the Arizona Trail official website, not actual miles hiked. Google Earth occasionally misrepresents actual trail lengths.
Day 1 – 10/14/17 – Pine Trailhead to Bray Creek
Distance: 12.5 miles
I joined up with Patrick Fuchs again for my second passage of the Arizona Trail, along with his friend Laurie Anne, for this 2-day backpacking trip. This time it was Passage #26, a 20.1 mile route that follows the first ~17 miles of the Highline Trail from Pine Trailhead and cuts up onto the top of the Mogollon Rim near Washington Park. Our plan was to make it the first day to Bray Creek which looked to be our best option to camp near a reliable water source and some forest cover.
Patrick staged his car on FR300 near General Springs Cabin, our northern terminus to this passage, and was shuttled back down to Pine by a local friend for a breakfast with Laurie and I at the Early Bird Cafe. We shuttled Laurie’s car to the Camp Geronimo parking at Webber Creek 8 miles up the trail since she had to turn back on Sunday morning and get home early while Patrick and I finished this passage. Breakfast burritos were had by all, and we saved the second half of our burritos for our lunch. We head off to Pine Trailhead to get started.
We all fill our bottles and reservoirs with water for the first 8 miles, knowing that Webber Creek has water we can filter. The trail starts with an immediate 1000′ gain but it’s steady and the temps are comfortable in the 60’s. We pass through some Ponderosa and Oak forest at first, then quickly transition to Juniper and lowland forest for the next few miles until the terrain opens back up. We get our first views of the Mogollon Rim to our right.
The changing geology in the next few miles is impressive. We cross over an endless series of rolling drainages and ridges, and the biome keeps changing continuously. Red soil and Junipers, hard rock and Manzanita, and soft soil with Oak and Ponderosa all seem to keep repeating themselves. The variety is refreshing, and the Fall colors keep showing themselves in the canyon drainages. The views of the valley to the southeast go for miles while we follow the foothills parallel to the Rim.
We crush the first 8 miles to Geronimo Trailhead, just across Webber Creek in a very lush canyon. This junction is just outside of the gates of Camp Geronimo, the primary Boy Scout camp in Arizona. We take a lunch break at Webber Creek and fill up on a bit of water for the next 4 mile section. Patrick chats with a knowledgeable gentleman at the sign about some local history, and we’re on our way again.
Not long after rising back up out of this valley, we mistakenly take a brief wrong turn to our right up a drainage of red rock and mixed forest. The trail had veered left, but the drainage looked like the actual trail. Only a brief way into this detour, Patrick flags us to stop immediately and points to something ahead of him behind a tree. We see black fur and hear the sound of claws on tree bark, then notice the long black tail as it runs away. It’s a coatimundi! We had literally just been talking about seeing them only an hour previous, and I had said I hoped that someday I’d actually spot one in Arizona. Wish granted. We watched it quickly run up the drainage and disappear, giving us one last glimpse but without time to capture it on camera.
Besides the continued sweeping views in this section of the trail, we almost stepped on a small tarantula which was kind enough to sit still on the trail for a photo shoot.
Next stop: Bray Creek, camp for the night.
We soon arrive at Bray Creek. On my map’s satellite imagery, this looked like a great forested area to call home for the night. Water reports were the most hopeful here, and we were thrilled to see that the spring was spouting at least a gallon per minute of clear, cool water. It didn’t take long to find a campsite nearby that would fit all 3 of us, so we set up our tents and made our dinners. Making use of the existing fire ring that was there, we had a small fire to warm up by as the sun set.
And that’s when it happened — the winds started picking up from the Rim and funneled right into the valley that we were in. And it didn’t stop, all night. Sustained high wind with gusts of an estimated 50-60mph happened all night and into sunrise. Needless to say, we all had many small naps instead of actual sleep that night. The sand and fine grit worked its way through our tent and bivy screens, covering ourselves and our gear with powdery grit.
Day 2 – 10/15/17 – Bray Creek to the Mogollon Rim
Distance: 8.6 miles
Day 2 started out with laughs and a few “WTF’s”. The wind was still blowing after sunrise, so we started breaking camp pretty quick and ate breakfast even quicker. Laurie had to backtrack 4 miles to her car at Geronimo Trailhead, so she packed up and we said our goodbyes. Patrick and I shook the riffles of dirt out of our tents and gear and continued on the trail.
Literally 200 yards ahead on the next ridge, we were completely out of the wind and warmed ourselves in the sun. The terrain continued like yesterday – ridges and drainages one after another. The constant changing scenery really keeps this passage interesting. Chase Creek is marked incorrectly in the Arizona Trail Guthook app, but we found the correct one on our topo map and located good water flowing through it so we stocked up. Sycamore Creek also had a trickle to it.
The day was warming up, and we passed through a dry and hot section until coming over one last ridge and descending into the Washington Park area. This lush region is kept healthy by an almost year-round flow of the East Verde River. This was by far the most greenery we had seen on the trip. We sat by the river and drank some fresh filtered water, then continued up through Washington Park on a new section of Arizona Trail that routes the old trail off of a powerline service road. Again, the Guthook app was wrong but luckily my recently downloaded KML file of this section from the Arizona Trail Association website was current. We would have hated to miss this amazing part of the trip.
We crossed one of the brand new bridges constructed over the East Verde River, and found out later that we were the first Arizona Trail thru or section hikers to use this bridge. Pretty cool. Not long after this new section, we meet up with the old trail and start to ascend the 1200′ climb to the Rim.
After climbing up out of Washington Park and the lush woods around the East Verde, it’s time for the final push up to the top of the Mogollon Rim to complete this passage. It’s warm outside but we’re excited to complete this section and get into Pine for the celebratory Arizona Trail Ale and a hot meal at That Brewery. Along this final push, we knew that there was an old abandoned railroad tunnel project ahead on a short side trail and scramble, and I was excited to finally see it.
We saw the sign for the light usage trail that lead to the tunnel, and we scrambled up 180′ in less than a quarter of a mile to get to it. It’s fairly lackluster, but it’s one of those unique little gems that most people don’t take the time to go and see. It only goes back about 100′ before the construction was abandoned from what we can only guess to be financial issues with the project. There’s an old stone building right at the mouth of the tunnel, and rumors have it that this building was used to store the dynamite. Who knows for sure.
We leave the railroad tunnel and get back on the trail, and before we know it, we’re on the top of the Rim at FR300 and Patrick’s car. A quick drive down 12 miles of dirt road and a few miles down the highway, and we’re quickly in Pine having a cold one and a burger to celebrate a great trip.