Moments in Dirt and Ink

Coronado National Forest Click for map. With a little bit of time and having been able to download information for the local geocaches, I decided to pop up Ladybug Peak again, this time the very easy way. The road passes through a saddle just below it and Bear Canyon Trail climbs just half a mile to its top from there. I missed three geocaches because I hadn't downloaded them prior to coming to the forest, but one is on the top. Admittedly, it looks like I should have found it while I was looking for the register, but it is so short that I may as well go for it. And I have this feeling I'll finish Ladybug Trail although I actually already did that when I got to where it ends in Bear Canyon Trail. This end of the trail has one of these fancy kiosks with a map. Turkey Flat Trail is shown on it, but not as a path. Heliograph is also shown as a path. So the person tracing out the trails knew a bit more of them than the maps they were tracing. The trail climbs to wh...

Coronado National Forest Click for map. There is both trail and road up Heliograph Peak. The trail climbs up from Arcadia National Recreation Trail near Eagle Rock, not that it can be found on the National Forest quad. My initial plan was to start at the lower end of the trail at Upper Arcadia, but got lazy or loop happy and am at the upper end at Shannon Campground. The campground itself if actually locked up tight and under a blanket of snow, but there is parking a few feet up the road to Heliograph Peak, which is next door and also locked tight. I could bring my snowshoes for the snow, but have decided to go with the easier to carry rubber and chain "crampons" since it is a bit compacted and I am lighter without big pack and cat. They actually say "crampons" on them, but are more like spikey tire chains for my feet. They are too big for any of my shoes except my boots, so that is what I am wearing. Anyway, it seems like the right environment for waterpr...

Coronado National Forest Click for map. I want to go up Mount Graham and I want to do it right with some climb involved. It has 6300 feet of prominence, after all, and one should honor that. The sign at Round the Mountain Trailhead, the old summer CCC camp, says 17 miles to Columbine, the old winter CCC camp. I want to break off just short of that to take Deadman Highline Trail further up and across to finish coming down Noon Creek Ridge. I figure it for about 35 miles, which is too much for a day. That means Timmy, the cat, has to come with me, with all his limitations. He did a 5 mile day, hopefully he can do 7 mile days. That really slows me down to 5 days from probably 3 days. The big beautiful new kiosk at the trail says food has to be in the car or hanging in trees. I expect the bear canister is also okay and there do not look to be too many trees suitable for hanging food even where it hasn't burned, so that has to come. Oh, and there is snow up there and I got me ...

Coronado National Forest Click for map. Well, I said quite some time back that I was going to Coronado National Forest and now I finally got to a little bit of it. I saw it for all its high prominence peaks. It is a forest made of many separate pieces centered on "sky islands", mountains that stick up significantly from the surrounding terrain such that the tops have vastly different (and often unique, like islands) flora and fauna. It's a more poetic way of saying the same thing. This particular sky island is the Pinaleno Mountains and the high point, Mount Graham, stands over 10k feet on a desert floor of about 4k feet. I figure a good get-to-know-the-place hike will be the Ladybug Trail. It runs through a bit of elevation without getting into too much snow, will let me get a better look at the higher elevations, and there is even a peak to grab at the end. Also, unlike a few other trails in the area, most of it didn't just burn in the 2017 Frye Fire. ...

Tonto National Forest Click for map. I don't want to neglect the Goldfield Mountains simply because they have not been designated wilderness. I can see approximately two named peaks in an area that should have a lot more, so it looks like they have been neglected enough. There is one showing many layers that has caught my eye. It gets the sun long before a lot of what is east of it, so it must be quite high up. I want to go up that one. Maybe it is Dome Mountain, the high point of the Goldfields. It doesn't seem to be in quite the right direction, but I'll go for that one. If it's the one, great. If not, I'll still be on a worthy peak. To enter the area with a vehicle, one needs to pick up a free Bulldog Canyon permit from the Mesa Ranger Station, but since this is a 4WD area, I'll just use one of the many parking spaces outside the gate and walk in. One of a few gates into the Bulldog Canyon area of the Goldfield Mountains with a fellow dueling th...

Tonto National Forest Click for map. I had thought I might try this loop backpacking with the cat, staying near the spring, but it is just so short (as a shakedown trip should be) and that would preclude the possibility of finding a way up Hackberry Mesa and it really is just easier to day hike, so the excuses mounted and Timmy had to stay behind again. The weather man says there will only be a 4 hour break from solid clouds starting at 7AM, so I got moving early enough to enjoy some golden hour light. Since the trail is so short, I decided to just walk the mile rather than drive the 4 miles to get to the start. Across the way are the Goldfield Mountains bathing in the golden morning light. Hackberry Spring trail starts at the horse parking for First Water. There are bathrooms, no camping, and the Tonto Pass is not required for the abundant parking. There are a few cars already including one with backpackers getting their gear together. The trail is signed at the nort...

Tonto National Forest Click for map. The Hieroglyphics Trail caught my eye while looking over the map for my previous visit to the Superstition Wilderness . Nothing happened with it then, but it will now. There is actually a way up to the high point of the same ridge I was on a few days ago along unmaintained use trails, but I am only looking for an evening hike to the spring today. Parking is available 5AM to 10PM after which cars might get towed, so I guess no overnight trips can start from here. Signs at the trailhead talk about the history of the trail and how the community has managed to get it where there was once access only by trespassing, but nothing about preservation of the petroglyphs (they are not known to actually be hieroglyphics) from careless visitation even though they are the destination of the official trail. Both the Hieroglyphics Trail and the western section of Jacob's Crosscut start here. Information is directed at the second. So through the...

Tonto National Forest Click for map. Ah, the Superstition Mountains. They really are a jewel of the state and right now they seem quite green. Of course, I'm out to get up into them and around here, they actually have trails. The one I am after is a non-system, unmaintained trail, but it will still be a nice change to be on even that much trail. Entries exist north and south of the Lost Dutchman State Park as well as within, but it seems silly to pay $7 to go in and then walk right back out again. I'm starting at the north end at the first lot on the road to First Water although the closest is at the south end. It's only 6 miles up and down, according to the information for the geocache at the top, so this gives me a little more area to explore. On trail! Cholla can still be a problem when on trail, but not all that often. Oh, the delight of being on trail. Southward to the Superstition Mountains. Siphon Draw goes right up the middle between the rock faces. ...