After considerable indecision over where to go and what to check out on the AZT, Lee and I finally pulled out of Tucson headed once again to the Superior area. We drove to the tiny town of Kelvin to pick up on a section of AZT we missed by heading west to Box Canyon, thinking that the trail was too unbuilt and passing through wilderness in White Canyon.
So the first day we went to check out both the Ripsey wash sections and the bushwhack over to Walnut Canyon area. On reaching the first singletrack I was immediately happy we had decided to include this in our route. Like the other sections near here (Boulders, Antelope Peak), someone has done a very impressive (almost professional) job of building singletrack. We climbed away on solidly built switchbacks and nicely benched trail. I only had to unclip and stop for one or two of them — the rest of the climb I was able to ride.
After a few miles of unclear trail along a ridge that afforded 360 degree views we saw what looked like a road switchbacking off the ridge. But our trail was clearly leading to it. Maybe it was a trail? We got to it and saw that it was indeed a trail, possibly cut by a sweco trailbuilding bulldozer. The switchback platforms were nicely done, but the trail did seem a little overbuilt for the area and amount of use it will receive. It’s hard to complaing when you’re blasting down a nice smooth trail through gold, white and purple wildflowers.
Heading out of a side wash we came to Ripsey Wash where we could see more heavily built trail heading out, but the way to connect to it was not obvious. We rode up the road too far before finally finding a way to connect over to it. Lee was getting hit by an allergy attack so he laid down for a rest while I explored the trail on the other side. It continued nicely back towards where we had come from before dying in some thick vegetation. We’ll know not to follow that dead end on our big ride.
The deeply cut in trail above the wash abruptly ended in a grove of flowers. From here we bushwhacked up to a powerline road. More flags took us out of the wash but no more trail showed up, so we ended up on a long bushwhack to hop a fence and head back to the powerline road. We’ll just take the road around next time.
Blasting down the Florence Kelvin highway at 30mph we could see much of the trail we had ridden up — including the switchbacks of ‘the big hill.’ It was kind of cool to see, but again I think they overdid it in that area. That trail cut will be visible–from 50 miles away–for a long, long time.
We crossed the Gila River (very strong and high flow) on the railroad bridge, hopping over a rattlesnake laying between two ties. On the other side of the bridge we saw yellow flagging indicating a trail idea, but it looked like some very rough country ahead. There is no trail here for miles and given that we have to carry bikes, we bailed on it. We’ll be doing plenty of hike-a-bike when the time comes. So instead we’ll ride the pavement briefly (about 6 miles) to Battle Axe road where we can drop down into White Canyon to rejoin the AZT. Although the trail is still on the drawing board here, I’ve been assured it will stay out of the Wilderness.
The next day was Pinto Creek round 3. Once again we found ourselves trying to crack the riddle of the Superstition Mountains. This time we had planned a route between Pinto Creek and the Wilderness Boundary. As most routes do, it looked good on paper and our hopes were high. Perhaps too high.
The initial climb away from Pinto Creek was not too bad. It was rocky and steep and perhaps unrideable, but did not look too bad. At the end of this first 4×4 road we dropped into a steep gully to cross over to another road. The second road was starting to be reclaimed by the desert, but it was 100% rideable to its terminus. We looked up at Apache Hill and the tiny gap to its west side. An ATV trail took us up two short pitches, then we were on our own. We started traversing Apache Hill before spotting a faint trail closer to the drainage. It was overgrown and steep, but it was definitely a trail.
After a false trail at the pass we found a good one heading down. We found signs of maintenence — sawed branches, but it was a very old trail and certainly not in use. Unfortunately it wound into a yucca field with dirt clearings where we immediately lost it. We spent some time looking around but never found a decent route, so bushwhacking and getting ripped to shreds by all manner of prickly plants was our destiny. We came to a clearing of an old road that took us into little Campaign Creek which had flooded BIG. We only followed it for a short while before taking what turned out to be the wrong drainage. We were heading to Gunsight Gap — our break through the Superstitions. From there it was all downhill (and not that far) to a forest road that would take us to Roosevelt Lake.
We did make it to Gunsight, but it was not without hardship and suffering. The vegetation was unbelievably thick — thicker than aerial photos and our own aerial recon had indicated. We weren’t exactly ethusiastic about the route, or about turning around to do it again!!! On the way back, though, we did correct a few route mistakes, following drainages that we knew to be clear (or more clear). We also saved ourselves hopping over a few minor steep ridges, and found a nice high route through some rocks.
So, the recon trip was very valuable in that we now know the best way to get through. But we are still left with a difficult decision. The question has remained the same throughout: how do we get through the Superstitions and does a viable mountain bike route exist? The answer to the latter is No. The former is weighing heavily on my mind.
There are (long) pavement options on either side, but they are dangerous and not very attractive. They both miss miles of legal (to bikes) singletrack on the south side of the Superstitions. There’s a way to cut off some pavement on the east side by riding through the mine. Then there’s the brutality that is Pinto Creek. We know all about that route. There’s always hiking through the Superstitions on the actual AZT. We’ll be hiking the canyon anyway. Then, there’s our new route through Gunsight Gap that is rideable on both ends, but has some difficult bushwacking and hiking in the middle. It also requires us to ride/hike down Haunted Canyon, which is no small task in itself. It’s a beast.
Decisions, decisions. The choice here is definitely not clear. But this is what is interesting about it. If it were obvious and easy, anyone could do it. That’s not what about this trip is about.
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