January 2, 2023, Zero Day, Drive Superior, Arizona to Primitive Camping Hwy 88.
Had my usual hiking breakfast of Logan Bread and coffee. It was a slow and lazy start to the day.
My plan was to circumnavigate the base of Picket Post Mt then drive to the Primitive Camping location on Hwy 88 adjacent to my trailhead.
“What do we mean when we say primitive? Primitive camping, also commonly referred to as backcountry camping or dispersed camping, forgoes reservation campsites in favor of more remote areas without amenities such as bathrooms, running water or first aid supplies.”
So I guess there really is no difference.
After breakfast I packed up and said goodbye to my room for the past two days and headed back up to Queen Creek to take more photos. I discovered at the bottom of the view point there were anchors for a climbing route that would have the climber right above the creek!
As soon as I had parked at Picket Post Mt trailhead it started to hail! The temperature was about 46 F. I was quite glad I was not camping.
I was not able to do the hike I planned. With all the rain we had received the day before a usually dry stream bed was a roaring creek. I could have crossed easily but really did not feel like getting my shoes wet on a day hike before going backpacking so I abandoned my plan to circumnavigate Picket Post Mt. With no hiking option I decided to head over to the primitive camping area off of Hwy 88, also known as Apache Trail, where I was planning to spend the night. So far none of my plans had worked but I was hoping my luck would change.
The camping area was a bare sand pit that had a small lake in a depression due to all the recent rain. There was quite the menagerie of people taking advantage of the free camping:
- An old couple with a new camper van and doggie
- Young couple in a converted school bus
- multiple cars and trailers
- a couple of trucks with 5th wheel travel trailers
- Then there was me an my tent 🙂
I thought I needed park passes to hike in the Tonto National Forest so I went in search of passes which I purchased from a gas station. I had emailed the Tonto National Forest but I had not heard back from them so I did err on the side of caution by purchasing the passes. It turns out that it was not necessary.
Excerpt from the email I received later from the Tonto National Forest Service after I had purchased my park passes.
Good morning,
Thank you for contacting Tonto National Forest in regards to a permit for parking/camping. Tonto National Forest does not require a permit for backpacking in the Superstition Wilderness.
Peralta Trailhead is a Forest trailhead and no pass or permit is required there. Overnight parking is permitted, and visitors should be aware that they are leaving their vehicles at their own risk.
Carney Springs Trailhead is on Arizona State Trust Land, and a permit is needed there to recreate. Please visit https://land.az.gov/applications-permits or contact the Arizona Land Department at 602-542-4631 for more information.
My home cellular carrier is only 3G, maybe that is why it is so cheap, so I am unable to get a USA travel plan since the USA has discontinued supporting 3G. I could purchase a prepaid SIM card for traveling but I decided against doing that on this trip as I had been planning on spending most of my time hiking and figured I could snag wifi when needed. With all my replanning this was a time when I really needed some wifi. I headed off in search of a Starbucks which I knew would have available wifi.
After checking my emails and touching base with Laura I headed back to my campsite. There was a friendly young couple sitting outside the Starbucks with two very sweet bull terriers. They looked like they were living on the street so I gave them the $20 in cash that I had. I did contemplate as I walked away the contrast between their challenges of trying to survive with my challenge of finding a place to hike for a few days.
My plan for my hike starting tomorrow is to park at First Water TH because the dirt road leading the beginning of the trail is not suitable for rental cars. This will add an extra 4 km to my hike. I spent a few minutes adjusting my plans due to the extra distance. I think I am now on Plan C. I decided to skip the east loop of my proposed hike and target Battleship MT, Miners Needle and Weavers Needle. Overhead I have some blue sky but there is a dark cloud and it is just 45 F outside. After doing my planning in the car I almost lost my ID and bank cards. The cards must have fallen out of my pocket and fell down beside the seat. I did not immediately notice and was mildly panicked when I noticed everything missing. Luckily for me I found everything in the car quickly. It was too early for dinner so I went for a little walk.
As I walked around the campground I spoke to a few of the people staying there. The old couple in the Mercedes Camper Van were from Colorado. They had a lovely border collie with them. They loved the dispersed camping but hated the garbage at some of the sites. They had come to Arizona to go downhill skiing with their kids. I had no idea that it was possible to downhill ski in Arizona. The location they were going to was near Tuscon called Mt Lemmon Ski Valley. I also talked to an older local guy who was fixing a guitar and looking after a friend who was staying at the campground who had broken her arm. He worked at the copper mine near Superior and told me that they had found gold at the mine and the gold was worth enough to pay all the wages of the employees and operations of the mine. The guy also told me that the rain we had receive was the most rain in the Phoenix area since 1906, a fact that I later confirmed.
I was having trouble sending a Spot Message. I was parked under some power lines. After a short walk into the desert the message sent. There was some fabulous light so I wandered around the desert and took photos before dinner.
One issue with hiking at this time of year is even though I was quite far south there is only 10 hrs of sunlight. As it was getting dark quickly I decided it was time to make dinner. At least after dinner I would have the comfortable seats in the car to sit on while I read before heading into the tent.