In the Superstition Mountains of Arizona
Our PCT planning began well over a year ago. Not sure exactly when we were actually going to attempt the thru-hike, we knew that educating ourselves about the realities of a 2,600 plus mile thru-hike would be key to our success. We researched and purchased equipment, watched numerous videos of hikers, and spent countless hours behind the computer trying to figure it all out. Alas! We had a date, 2018 was going to be our year. We only had one little problem,
We had yet to actually put all our gear to use!
Gear had certainly changed a lot since my last multi-week backpacking trip, and definitely for the better. Everything is high tech and lightweight, albeit a little more expensive. It helped that we made purchases over several years instead of at the last minute.
We knew that a PCT pre-hike would be good insurance for trail success. We also had the luxury of time getting to the PCT. We were planning a long, slow, meandering trek from Florida to the start of the PCT in Campo, California (near San Diego). Visiting family and friends on the way, we were allowing over a month to make the journey. After countless research we decided the Georgia Loop Trail would allow us to get a good feel for all of our equipment, and even more importantly, our physical condition. As a bonus, it would allow us to hike a small section of the Appalachian Trail.
As luck would have it, the weather deteriorated in Georgia during our planned hike. And although we don’t mind a little rain, the long range forecast was for constant rain and storms for the entire planned hike and beyond. Goodbye Georgia Loop!
Our friends from Arizona suggested we hike the Superstition Mountains, which is part of the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. We gave it a look and decided it was the perfect choice, it was close to the actual start point of the PCT, and the terrain was very similar. Game on!
We pulled our little A-liner camper into the Tortilla Flats National Park campground and began organizing our backpacks. What a beautiful place, stunning mountain view’s surrounded us, with clear skies and cool temps . The area is a popular tourist destination, and just outside the campground was the Tortilla Flat Saloon, featuring a restaurant, mercantile, live music, and even a live band. This may be our reward after a successful pre-hike! We visited the mercantile and purchased a map of the trails in the mountains. As a backup, we also were going to use the Alltrails app on our iPhones.
We completed the shakedown of our packs, leaving behind items we knew we wouldn’t use, like puffy jackets and PCT trail maps. Then we each filled two 1 1/2 liter smart water bottles, and our 2 liter platypus backpack bladder, a total of 10 liters of water for two people. Wanting to get 3 days in the desert, we would probably need to find a water source in the desert to complete the hike with a safety margin.
After we completed filling our packs we tested the weight, wow, we were each around 35 pounds. PCT reality was setting in already. We already knew our base weights were slightly over 20 pounds, but that water weight really adds up. Oh well, no use in complaining, just hike. Studying the various trails on the map we found a good starting point would be the Boulder Canyon trail. That would get us into the desert a decent distance, and allow us to connect to any other trails we may want to hike. Online reviews of the trail revealed that it was considered to be moderate to hard. That should test our bodies. Perfect. Note: we found several online reviewers speaking of near death experiences due to exhaustion, dehydration, and getting lost on this trail. We took this into account, and decided any on-trail decisions would be made with a bigger margin of safety.
Day 1 - We Gone! We found the trailhead had easy access from the Canyon Lake marina where we parked our car. The trailhead signpost was easy to see, however there was a rabies warning sign stapled to the front, adding to the excitement.
We found the terrain was indeed very steep at times, and with very little flat ground, and heavy packs, our hiking speed was reduced to about 1.5 miles per hour. Our spirits were high. Keeping focus on each step was sometimes difficult due to the picturesque views all around us.
Keeping hydrated was a priority, we quickly realized that if we didn’t find a water source we may only have enough to safely last two days. It was more of the steep terrain than the heat making us consume our water supply. We spoke to several day hikers on their way out of the Canyon who told us they found no water up the trail. Somewhat concerning.
So we began checking every gully, basin, and mountainside down flow, for the presence of water to last us into our planned third day. We found none. We even dug under large rocks in the gullies we crossed in search of water, nothing. We did however find an Indian Petroglyph on one of the rock walls, really cool!
We decided to hike to the end of the trail and if we didn’t find a water source, we would camp for the night, then hike out the next day.
As we were getting closer to the end of the trail we found a ravine, and another trail crossing. We came around a bend, and, alas, water! Certainly not a river, or even what we would consider a stream, but a small trickle of flowing water, and certainly enough for us to resupply. Third day back on!
We still had over 3 liters of water each and decided to delay the resupply until day 2. Taking note of the water location, we found an adjoining trail and continued our hike. Around 4 pm we located a small flat spot just big enough for our tent and set up camp.
While examining the tent grounds and surrounding area we found numerous, small, golf ball sized holes in the ground, which Mike later remembered were dens for Mexican Tarantulas. Cathy was not impressed, even after reassurance that they were only nocturnal creatures.
Watching the sun go down, then change the colors of the mountains from brown to orange, then to purple, was quite a sight. We hoped sunrise would be just as spectacular. We ate Mountainhouse ChiliMac for dinner and found it to be quite tasty and filling.
Our first equipment failure came at about 2:00 am. Even though it was about 40 degrees in our tent, we were both sweating. We wondered if our 15 degree two person sleeping bag was a bad choice. We finally determined that it was due to a cheap sleeping bag liner that we had purchased. The liner is like a sheet, and was supposed to reduce the need to wash your sleeping bag. Sounded like a good idea, but we found out that our liner was like sleeping in a plastic bag. No air could escape. Once we threw out the liner we found we slept fine with just IceBreaker undergarments worn while in the sleeping bag.
Day 2 - The next morning gave us a wonderful sunrise, and after a delicious Mountainhouse breakfast of biscuits and gravy, we broke camp and began hiking a new trail. We hiked for four hours down the new trail and found no sign of additional water sources. Rather that continue hiking and risk running low on water, we decided to hike our way back to the water we found the day before, reload, and make camp in the area. We knew it would take at least half of a day to hike back to the trail head from that water source. A good plan for day three.
Several hours later we found ourselves at the original water source. We also found that we were each not smelling so nice, so with the help of our microfiber towels we each got as a lot closer to clean.
We refilled all of our water bottles, and ourselves, then set off to find a suitable camping area. We found the perfect site near the bottom of the canyon and set up camp. Our camp set up time was impressive, within 5 minutes we were done. This location provided another wonderful view and a spectacular sunset.
The next morning we woke up and broke camp early. Beginning our hike back to the trail head in the cool morning temps would be refreshing, and take some of the sting out of the steep inclines.
After about an hour the sun rose, warming the surrounding rocks quickly. Four hours later, we found ourselves somewhat tired, however, smiling at the trailhead. It was a successful, and enjoyable 3 days in the Superstition Mountains.
Note: We were impressed with most of our equipment (minus sleeping bag liner) which performed as expected and advertised. The next day we were each a little sore, but certainly had no debilitating injuries, or afflictions as a cause for concern.
Our pre hike provided us with what we were looking for, more confidence in ourselves, and our equipment.
Next stop - March 19 and our start of the PCT!
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