[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by RichinRidgewood

Beautiful. It wont take much convincing for my wife and I to take a trip out there.

This is why I post this! Sometimes I get my inspiration from other T4R members also.

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 27:

Start point: Globe AZ
End point: Mesa AZ

Distance driven: 210 km
Distance hiked: 2.3 km

What a superb day we had in this enchanting setting and in good company with @MAST4R , his two boys and his dog who came to join us to travel the Walnut Canyon Road a little southwest of Globe. As it is a fairly remote place, it was better to do this road accompanied in case something unexpected arose.

As the meeting time was relatively late to allow time to join us, we decided to make a loop further south and travel the Copper Corridor East / West Scenic Road, circulating in the mountains with steep cliffs and several copper mines. We passed through several villages that had seen better days when the mines had to be more active.






Then, we arrived at the start of Walnut Canyon Road and drove it until we reached the meeting point fixed with MAST4R. At the beginning, the road is very easy. After a while, it becomes more rugged and circulates in dry washes.




Further on, we had to open some cattle fences. Then we reached a group of fourteen Toyota vehicles (a 4Runner, 1 Tacoma, and twelve FJ Cruisers) stopped on the road. The drivers were busy moving a large rock that had rolled down the slope overnight and completely blocked the way. Never my wife and I would have been able to move it ourselves. Thanks guys (we later spoke to @zzmikey , the owner of the leading 4Runner).




Having reached the meeting point, we left this group continuing the same loop as us, but in reverse. So we knew we would meet them again later.




While waiting for our companion to join us, we savoured the superb landscape and the beauties of nature. Battleaxe Mountain immediately stood by our side.






When he arrived, we hit the road again. At every turn, the road always revealed better views as we lost altitude as we got closer to the Gila River.








We then reached the Gila River, one of the four rivers irrigating southern Arizona. We found the group of fourteen vehicles there. They left shortly after and we were able to take advantage of the place for a well-deserved break.




We then took the road again and started the ascent to reach the start of the loop. This rise is notable for the damage caused by precipitation and deep ruts made the passage more difficult but how much more exciting.














After leaving the loop, we made one last stop in White Canyon, a little off Walnut Canyon Road. The falling sun made the cliffs shine. It was a dream place to loosen up your legs a bit and relax after this sometimes trying climb.




We then completed Walnut Canyon Road and took the paved road towards Mesa in the eastern suburbs of Phoenix. In the coming days, we will have several hikes in the Superstition Wilderness area.

Thanks so much to MAST4R for coming with us do this incredible road. It was a fun day on an incredible road.
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[MAST4R]

That was a great day, indeed! I would not call it better or worse than Engesser as they were both great, but in a different way.

Thanks for having us join you.

EDIT: I am curious why both Wells and Jeep The USA prefer the loop in the opposite direction, as the big Toyota group drove it as well.

The fun of driving up the more rutted and rockier sections aside, the views were spectacular precisely in the direction we drove it.

[cmilviper]

Awesome pictures.....Look's like another awesome day!

I've got to hit these areas of AZ!

[MAST4R]

Originally Posted by cmilviper

Awesome pictures.....Look's like another awesome day!

I've got to hit these areas of AZ!

Yes, your suspension will be right at home around here

[cmilviper]

Originally Posted by MAST4R

Yes, your suspension will be right at home around here

Yes sir...It would be a good time, and a lot of great scenery!

I'll let you know when I'm planning to be in that area, and hopefully we could hook up & wheel a little bit as well!

[Ray Dunakin]

Great pics! I would like to give Arizona another try someday.

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by cmilviper

Awesome pictures.....Look's like another awesome day!

I've got to hit these areas of AZ!

Thanks! Yes it was another awesome day, one after the other. The weather is so great here at this time of the year.

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 28:

Start point: Mesa AZ
End point: Mesa AZ

Distance driven: 104 km
Distance hiked: 9.3 km

We spent the whole day hiking in the Superstition Wilderness sector of the Tonto National Forest. The Boulder Canyon Trail starts on the Apache Trail. Today was also our shortest day on the road with only 104 km.

This trail begins near Canyon Lake and climbs the hills. The view is unobstructed throughout all this section.






After a long climb without a break to reach a ridge, the path becomes more level and runs along the sides of the mountains. We then begin to see in the distance characteristic formations like Geronimo Head, Battleship Mountain, Black Top Mesa, and Weavers Needles in the distance. In the valley, La Barge Creek flows calmly




Behind us, the lake started to appear very small as we moved away and after another ridge, it disappeared from our sight to reappear further.










We then reached two viewpoints offering an exceptional views of the region around Boulder Canyon.






The rocks of this region are obviously of volcanic origin. We can even see the border between layers from ashes aside others from lava. The place has already been much less serene than today.




The return offered much more favorable sunshine while the sun was now behind us.




We are still undecided for our activities for tomorrow, when the temperature should rise in the coming days. We will have to get up earlier to try to hike when the temperature is cooler. Unless we go offroading...
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[MAST4R]

Yeah, that is such a gorgeous area. Looks like a good hike, too.

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by MAST4R

Yeah, that is such a gorgeous area. Looks like a good hike, too.

Yes it was a great hike. The views are gorgeous.

Originally, we had planned to continue down to reach the creek but when we arrived at the last viewpoint before going down, we were a bit hesitant! After speaking with someone at that place, we decided not to continue further and came back. It was a good decision because we came back to the 4Runner a bit tired since we didn't do much hiking in the last week.

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 29:

Start point: Mesa AZ
End point: Mesa AZ

Distance driven: 180 km
Distance hiked: 0.6 km

...and yes, we went offroading! We spent the whole day driving off-road trails near Florence AZ. We had a great day, but it ends with a little bitter taste.

After reaching Florence, we drove the Price Road gravel road to join Box Canyon Road, the main destination of the day, which appeared in the distance like a small crack in the mountains.




Box Canyon is a very spectacular narrow canyon hollowed out by a stream flowing in mountains made up of fairly colorful volcanic rocks. The stream was barely flowing today and greatly helped to limit the dust.












Generally, Box Canyon consists of an easy gravel road carried by the stream but some obstacles require a little more attention. However, all of them still offer an easy line to overcome them.




Further, we reached the Mineral Mountain Road continuing north. This road has a big obstacle called Waterfall. Having watched videos on YouTube before the trip, we had already decided not to try to cross it. The following photo was taken while I was halfway up.




The Wells book indicated a bypass for the Waterfall. Now the bitter taste comes from the significant damage that side-by-side vehicles generate on these roads. The detour suggested by the book (by the east) presented a steep slope made completely unusable for vehicles other than these side-by-side. We had identified another detour (by the west) but after climbing some steep sections, the last one was also so damaged that it too was then impassable. The view was still magnificent.




And to conclude, at the turn of a fairly pronounced curve, while we were looking for another passage to the north, we met an idiot driving a side-by-side at an irresponsible speed. We just had time to brake to avoid it. If my speed had been similar to his, we would have certainly had a collision, and my 4Runner being much heavier than his vehicle, I know who would have had more damage. You moron ... I hate these side-by-side.

As we only encountered another vehicle which was not a side-by-side, we believe that all the tracks in the region suffered the same damage. This makes us rather hesitant to go through others. Sadly.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts, we finally managed to find an exit and return to the main road north of Waterfall. The place is a maze of intersecting roads. A chance that we are preparing very well for this kind of trip. We had topographic maps, a satellite view, and our exact position thanks to our tablet and the GPS receiver.




Continuing on Mineral Mountain Road, we reached the Granny's Pass where several memorials have been erected in memory of loved ones who have disappeared. The majority of these were dedicated to off-road enthusiasts.




Further on, we made a short detour to see the petroglyphs in Cottonwood Canyon.






Finally, we hiked another short adjacent trail, that of Reymert Mine Road. The mine was closed in 1950, fairly recently compared to others we have visited in the area.




Tomorrow we will definitely be dedicated to hiking a trail, wifey said!
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 30:

Start point: Mesa AZ
End point: Mesa AZ

Distance driven: 160 km
Distance hiked: 10.2 km

... and yes, we went hiking! Our first activity of the day was a spectacular hike on the Peralta Trail in the Superstition Wilderness area of ​​Tonto National Forest. This hiking trail goes up a valley bordered on each side by cliffs formed by needles pointing towards the sky. The rocks are made up of ancient ashes and lava, and were cut by the runoff of water.








The erosion of layers of different compositions has created several caves that probably served as a refuge in the past.




After reaching the Fremont Saddle, a very common destination, we chatted with other hikers. To our surprise, a quail (a bird we nicknamed glou-glou in reference to the film of Asterix and the Indians) was walking around them. This quail had had a memorable day because while they were preparing for the hike in the parking lot, it came around them. Then she followed them to Fremont Saddle, a distance of more than 4 km !!! And when they started their return, she followed them again. Of note, each time we saw them, they fled before I was able to photograph them.




We then continued towards our final destination, the Lone Pine located at the end of a nearby ridge, a little further than Fremont Saddle. This pine is really the only one of its kind in the area.




From this point, Weaver's Needle rises majestically in the valley with countless long ridges. The place was simply awesome. We stayed there a long time to admire the show and taste this moment.






We returned by the same path. The sun being higher in the sky, the valley presented better colors than when going.








Even after joining our vehicle and hitting the road, the mountain was still very photogenic.




We then went to Tonto NF Mesa District Office to obtain a permit to circulate in Bulldog Canyon, which we should explore in the coming days. We drove a small section of another road in this area. It was quite rough and our progress was very slow. As it was getting late, we didn't go through it all.






Finally, after reaching the outskirts of the hotel, we saw a coyote walking around very close and seeming little distracted by our presence. He was much more focused on prey hiding in the vegetation trying to catch it by jumping towards them.




Tomorrow we should return to Bulldog Canyon and hike another trail in the area, which is really amazing.
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[JohnTheLuck]

Day 31:

Start point: Mesa AZ
End point: Mesa AZ

Distance driven: 155 km
Distance hiked: 9.6 km

Today, we once again shared our time between offroading and hiking trails in Tonto National Forest.

Our first activity of the day was the Bulldog Canyon Road off-road trail. We thought that this route would be somehow a shortcut to avoid the city and its morning congestion. Instead of an easy gravelly maintained road like many in the National Forests, this one was rather rocky and quite slow. It still crossed beautiful colorful hills.








Then we went to Butcher Jones Recreation Site, the starting point of a hike that we originally planned hiking. When we got to the starting point, we found that the landscapes would not be what we expected. So we let it go.

To reflect on the rest of the day's activities and have a snack / dinner, we went to the nearby Saguaro Del Norte Recreation Site. This place is very focused on nautical activities. Several floating platforms are made available to fishermen.








We then remembered a hike suggested by a volunteer present yesterday morning at the start of our trail. We went to the First Water parking lot to hike the Hackberry Springs Loop. This trail follows a stream crossing a canyon formed of volcanic rock. Water has sculpted canals and flows through a long series of small ponds.








After the canyon, the path winds between the hills and goes up towards a plateau.




This plateau is very green and gave us the impression of being on a ranch. In the distance we immediately recognized Weaver's Needle seen more closely during our hike yesterday. This rock formation has long been used as a landmark for travellers of the time.




The trail eventually joins with Second Water Trail, which is part of a long loop of more than 18 km that my wife hoped to cover in a single day, but we decided not to attempt it.




Forecasts are not so great for the next few days. Tomorrow, we should meet with some friends we met during previous tips.
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[MAST4R]

We are also staying put this weekend; I have work to do.

Great pics, as always. Bulldog Canyon is rated easy in the last book but used to be rated difficult on account of one hill that tends to deteriorate without maintenance.