AZT 2019 Day 15: Campsite near water tank (mile 251.5) to wash road near the Gila River (mile 275.0)

23.5 miles

I started the morning with a small climb out of the little canyon I had camped in and up to a series of saddles. They were full of saguaros and the views were amazing.

Morning views.

More views.

As I was taking video of one of the views. I heard, “Snapper!” I look down and see Sierra bounding up the trail like she had all the energy in the world. She was in a good mood too. We chatted for a little while before hiking on at our separate paces.

Soon I hit a saddle that had views down into Copper Basin. I saw a winding strip of green vegetation that I assumed must be the Gila River. I also saw houses belonging to the town of Kearny and a huge mining complex dominating the landscape across the way.

First view of the Gila River. 

I headed down steeply, towards the river. The saguaros seemed to get more numerous and there were still wildflowers blooming. Part way down, I saw my second rattlesnake of the trail.

Descending to the Gila River.

Angry rattlesnake. 

Wildflowers on the trail.

The rattlesnake I saw last night had partly coiled while backing away. This one was more ornary, coiling and holding its ground. I didn't even think I was that close to it. I backed away to a distance at which most rattlesnakes I've previously encountered would slither away. This one still held its ground.

So, I sat and waited. I could still partially see it, coiled. It was coiled, but no longer rattling. After a few seconds, I saw some movement and watched the tail slither away from the trail. As I walked past it, it rattled again from the bushes/grass but it was far enough away that I felt safe walking past it.

I eventually reached the bottom of the descent, and saw 2 bridges. The top on was for cars and the bottom was for pedestrians. I walked across the pedestrian bridge and got a good look at the Gila River. It was beautiful, but muddy. I cringed at the thought of having to filter water from it later in the day.

View of the top bridge from the descent.

The Gila River.

At the moment, I was headed for clean drinking water. It had been hot for a couple hours now. Just past the bridge, I found a drinking water spigot in the shade, complete with two chairs to sit on. At first I claimed both chairs and propped my swollen feet on the one I was not sitting on while eating lunch.

Water and shade!

Eventually two mountain bikers stopped by to refill their reservoirs, so I shared the chairs. They were both part of the 750 mile mountain bike race on the AZT. I had been passed by many mountain bikers for the last two day.

After I had chatted with them for a little bit, I kept hiking. I followed the north bank of the river in a westerly direction the rest of the day. Most of the time the trail was way above the river, nestled in the saguaros. It made for great views, but hot hiking. I had to take many breaks and I was feeling the effects of the heat like exhaustion and lack of appetite.

View of the Gila River looking east.

Railroad bridge over the Gila River.

Further downstream .

I was passed by several more of the bike race participants in this section. I was surprised at how nice they were. Even though they were in a “race,” most stopped their bikes for some brief small talk when passing me. I was impressed with the distance they went too. One man I talked to started his day in a section I had gone through yesterday and planned to end at a place I would hit the day after tomorrow.

Towards the end of the day I dragged my exhausted body down to the Gila River to refill my water supply. The Gila River, despite being a large water supply with a strong flow, presented some problems. First, it was filter cloggingly silty. Second, it likely contained waste from the mining operation upstream. If there was any agriculture up there, there may have been pesticides as well. In addition to my filter, I used a mesh screen and and additional nylon barrier to keep as much out as possible.

The Gila River at the end of day.

After that, I dragged my heavy backpack to a campsite near a wash road. It was close enough to the river that I could hear it, so I hoped it would soothe me to sleep for a good night's resy.