Jason and I hadn't been out backpacking in over a year and I said that as soon as the San Diego 1/2 Marathon was over--we were going backpacking!!
We had decided to do the Cabin Loop on the Rim north of Payson. We packed up our backpacks on Friday night after work, got to bed early and were up at the crack of dawn. We got a later start then planned but doesn't that always happen? Darn kids these days, never on time for anything :) We had breakfast at the Beeline Cafe in Payson before heading up the Rim!We drove on a few Forest Roads and had our first wildlife sighting. MOO!!
It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and a nice breeze. We picked a perfect weekend to be out here. Soon we were at the 'trailhead' or a sign by the side of the road. We parked next to a truck & horse trailer, said good-bye to the truck and set out for our hike!
Apparently closing the gate is no longer a concern!
We parked on the road where the Fred Haught trail crosses and headed toward Pinchot Cabin. It would be the first of four cabins we would see on this trip. I think the forest service built these cabins to be used by the fire service before they had lookout towers. I think some of them might also have been for the loggers. Jason studied up while I took pictures--pretty basic inside!
This is the campsite at the Pinchot Cabin. We probably will be back here someday to camp when we finish the loop.
We start the official Cabin Loop...
The first trail we do is called the U-Bar trail. Depending on what reference you read, it is anywhere from 6.5 miles (Coconino National Forest site) to 7.8 miles (Hike Arizona site). We found it to be closer to the 8 mile estimate. We start into the forest...
We had loaded GPS coordinates into our GPS that had a track of the trail and made it easy to find and follow the route. About two miles in, Jason was ahead of me and I saw this odd cairn next to the trail with a piece of wood sticking up out of it (left picture). I proceeded a few more steps and noticed a trail that went to my right with a few cairns on it. It didn't make sense since Jason was on the obvious trail (middle picture). I called out for him to check the GPS...and sure enough, the trail did go to the right (right picture). Bonus points for the wife...I get a freebie to complain later on...not that I ever complain.
These are some of the signs along the way that help mark the trail but they are not consistently along the trail.
There was a wildlife tree along the trail. I don't know what that means but the tree had a plaque on it, so I had to take a picture!
These are blazes in the trees that we followed along the trail. I decided to keep track of my steps in between blazes. Some were as close as 20 steps before the next one, others were like 120--average was like 75-80. I figured I missed on when I got up to 120!
About 3 miles in, we came to Barbershop Canyon.
The view was nice from here. Apparently right before the bottom is a rock inscribed by the trail builder from 1920 but I missed it. There is a small campsite here. I wanted to jump in the water but we were only 3 miles in and had to keep moving!
Jason found something for everyone out here. While waiting in the shade for me, he looked up to see a Tree Stand...guess they hunt out here!
Next on our hike is Dane Cabin and the fresh water spring. It has a pipe set up and it was a nice refreshing drink after hiking 6.5 miles. Later on in the day, we regretted not staying here for the night with the cold, fresh water but at the time, we had too much time left to call it a day!
We then come to the following signs...looks like we are at the end of the U-Bar trail. We debate about taking the side hike to the beginning of the Barbershop Trail and to see Buck Springs Cabin. We agree that Dane Spring was 1.5 miles back so why not take the mile total look and see the cabin!
We are now on the second trail on the Cabin Loop...
Jason waiting patiently for me to take pictures...
We hiked the '1/2 mile' over to Buck Springs Cabin. Apparently the University of Montana has an ongoing study/project going on here. Their camp was quite large!
The Buck Springs Cabins is actually two fire station cabins. The metal sign indicated that the Buck Spring Fire Guard Station is still used by the Forest Service in the summer to house a fire crew to protect this remote area. The wood sign provided a lot more valuable information...or not. It just stated that the one cabin was built sometime prior to 1938 and used by fire guards for many years. Preserved for historical significance, use is prohibited. So, I am guessing they don't use them anymore?
If you do happen to trespass and I see you...I might just turn you in for the $25 to $100 reward! I found these rewards to be very low and wonder how long ago the warning sign was placed.
We headed back on the '1/2 mile' trail to the find our packs just as we left them. I love the cow chair--it's so ugly, no one will ever steal it. That and my fish pillow, I am styling!
Well, since I didn't believe the sign, I took pictures as my proof: the damn signs LIE!!! The "1/2 mile" to Buck Springs turned into close to 1 mile!!
Ok, I am over my outrage at the lying signs. We continue to hike along and have great scenery. Yes, this is Arizona!!
We started to have the first hint that something wasn't right with our camera when we started getting pictures like this. The camera is not adjusted to the light.
We came across some Big-Ass things...first a Big-Ass Cairn that went up to my waist...and then a Big-Ass Firepit that I could have laid down in.
Then there was the discussion...I thought these were his and her toilets...Jason said no, they were showers. This campsite was semi-roughing in my opinion. They have propane-heated showers?? Come on, camping is suppose to be all about being dirty and stinky :)
We were ready to be done hiking...we were probably at mile 12 for the day when we came across this couple from Vegas that was hiking the opposite direction. They told us the next canyon didn't have water but the one after that did. So we were happy to hear that! Only 2 more ups and 2 more downs in canyons. We came to Barbershop Canyon again and there was a stream here but I had read that Barbershop Spring had a better campsite so we pushed on a little more.
Then came the best site of the day....camp
Some views from camp...
Some filthy feet--look at those toes!...the tent (which really was level, the camera was just tilted)
Jason was making the campfire while I got things sorted out.
The best thing about a long day of hiking...eating!! We took dehydrated food for dinner...lightweight, easy to make, no mess. I had Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Jason had Noodles & Chicken. Overall, they are really good meals, although they could use some extra seasonings.
The second best thing about backpacking...the alcohol and the campfire. I bought a new item--the PlatyPreserve. It is for Wine and it keeps it tasting like wine should. We sat around the campfire, drinking and talking until the late, late hour of 8pm and then shortly after dark, we were off the bed!!
We hiked a total of 14 miles and it was 7 hours from Truck to Camp. That included our photo stops, snack breaks and everything. We will see how many miles we manage tomorrow! Hope we sleep good!!
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