This adventure was like no other, with each twist and turn offering a blend of excitement and apprehension that kept me on my toes. The day began with a buzz of anticipation as I made my way to the visitor center to finalize my route. However, what greeted me was unexpected chaos; the parking lot teemed with vehicles and people, a stark contrast to its usual emptiness. The reason for this flurry of activity became apparent – an active Search and Rescue mission was underway, with the visitor center serving as the nerve center. Amidst the hustle, I had the surreal experience of meeting Marc Levaesque, the leader of the operation and author of a book I’d been immersed in during my backcountry adventures. I couldn’t contain my excitement as I fan girled over meeting him, sharing how his book had been my constant companion in the wilderness.
First Stormy Day to Miller Cabin
As I embarked on the trail, a looming thunderstorm added an edge to the already charged atmosphere. Despite the weather’s ominous tone, I pressed on, eventually setting up camp outside an old fish and wildlife cabin at Miller Springs. Yet, the presence of these desolate structures, locked and abandoned, sent shivers down my spine. Their eerie silence evoked memories of mystery novels, fueling my imagination with tales of hidden dangers lurking in the wilderness.
I imagined poor girls, kidnapped and locked up in the abandoned cabin. The smart, lady police detective follows a line of clues to a not-so-nice guy somehow linked to the cabins. She makes the connection in the middle of the night and goes to investigate all on her own…
Anyway, I still camped there even though I was more freaked out there than I was next to a pile of bear poop. If I listened really hard, I could imagine noises from people moving around inside. But I guess it was probably just echoes from the wind, I guess…
The day finally turned sunny at camp, and I explored the area. There was a huge pool with red-ish multi-colored sitting water. There was also a small spring with murky and still water. I drank the spring water but also dropped some chemicals in it after filtering it. Even though I believe you always need to drop chemicals in it to guarantee you won’t get sick, I usually felt safe just filtering the water out there.
As night fell, I found myself grappling with lingering fears stirred by the ominous cabin and the encroaching storm. Yet, as dawn broke, I breathed a sigh of relief, unscathed by imagined perils.
Getting lost on Switchbacks and an Emergency Shelter
The next day I hiked down the Miller Springs trail to Turkey Creek. I somehow got turned around on the switchbacks. I was following what I thought was the trail until it just kept seeming less and less trail-like. They were very gradual switchbacks so I looked just down the hill and just up the hill for a more logical footpath. It looked like maybe some trail down from me, so I climbed down and quickly realized this was definitely not a trail, so I climbed back up to the original spot and further up from there to search for trail. This was trail! I followed in the direction I was going right into a dead end of unpassable obstacles. I looked to see where my GPS dot put me on my OnX map on my phone and I was not even on trail, so I turned around and followed the current path in the opposite direction, in the direction I had been coming from. Somehow, walking on this foot path which I was not originally on, in the opposite direction I ended up back on the OnX trail after walking a few minutes down the trail. At this point, the switchbacks became very steep, but the trail stayed obvious, and I did not lose it again.
When I got down to Turkey Creek, it was dry at the intersection with Miller Springs trail, as most seasonal water still was at this point because of the dry fire season that was still easing out. The trail was buggy with annoying flying things in my ears. I swore they were just hovering right outside of my ears. Bzzzz Bzzzz Bzzzz
The trail was hard to keep as it went in and out of the dry creek bed, but it was also hard to get lost since it followed the creek bed. Sometimes I gave up and just walked in the dry creek bed. After a bit, small pools of clear, flowing water started to appear. I was so excited that I was going to be able to report back about the water situation here, as it was unsure if there would be water. The water pooled and made little waterfalls along the creek, it was beautiful! I filled up my water in these beautiful flowing pools, but I did not stay to play in them because I would be near Granite Peak again and really wanted to summit it this time. The skies had been pretty dark but by the time I reached the turn for the peak, it seemed to have cleared up a bit and I had not heard thunder for about 30 minutes. After a quick snack, I stashed my backpack near the trailhead and packed essentials in my fanny pack.As I clipped on my fanny pack to head out, thunder! Nooo!! But it was only a 1.2-mile trail and this was my second attempt, so I decided to still try. I could always turn around. I had been hiking on the edge of a thunderstorm for most of the trip so far anyway. But this was a peak and I would be leaving my shelter behind, so it’s different, I know. As I started up and rounded my first corner, the whole sky was ominous. I had only gone about 1/3 of a mile and even though I desperately wanted to bag that peak, I knew the smart thing to do was turn around so I did.
The terrain near the trailhead where I dropped my pack was flat but it was still a ways from my planned camp back at Little Springs. I debated waiting out the storm at the Granite Peak trailhead or seeing how far I could get before the storm made it overhead. The storm was not quite to me yet, but it looked like it was here to stay the night when it arrived. Because I would likely be stuck in my tent the remainder of the night, I decided to see how much further I could make it. I was hiking at a good clip. I was near the area where I had a hard time keeping trail the first time I came to Granite Peak, and breezed right through with no trouble. I recognized the area but didn’t take the time to analyze what I missed in my navigation last time, I just kept racing the storm to camp. I had my cheap reusable $1.50 poncho on and covering my backpack too. It was raining and I was getting wet, but there was still a safe pause between the thunder and lightning. I decided to stop at whatever happened first: I find a suitable camp spot next to a pretty pool of water, I get to Little Springs camp, or there is lightning close. And the latter was what happened first. Lightning was almost right overhead, so I found the flattest spot in eyesight and threw my backpack down. I pulled my foam pad out of my bag to stand on while I STOPA. “S”top – I calmed down, feeling safe for the moment on my pad and knowing the lightning was still a little ways off. “T”hink – all my essentials were in dry bags and I had a rain cover on my bag. “O”bserve – my tent was in the bottom of my bag and can be accessed from a zipper on the bottom – which would keep the rest of my things dry if I fetch it. “P”lan – I will set up my ground cover and rainfly using my tent poles, then I will sit on my foam pad, undercover, not touching the tent/poles.
After setting up, I got my stuff situated and took a much-needed break while the storm roared overhead. Clashing and sparking up the sky. I did not normally eat in my tent, but I made an exception. I only had dried fruit and nuts though and was very careful about crumbs. I did not want to attract bears to my tent.
I felt conflicted because part of me hated when it stormed and I missed out on fun adventures like bagging Granite Peak, but I also loved the adventure of racing the storm and enjoyed the light and sound show that Nature provided. I was at peace hanging out in my tent in the middle of the storm. I changed to my warm and dry camp clothes and listened to National Park After Dark, one of my favorite podcasts and ways to freak myself out for fun in the wilderness.
This was a nice episode about how to not fear wolves, a creature that shared the same wilderness with me. I thought about camping like this, with just the ground cover and rainfly – but then I started thinking about scorpions and rattlesnakes, and I started to get chilly even though I had my warm clothes on.
So, I put my tent up by hooking it to one pole leg at a time and moving my stuff in the tent as it went up to make room for the rest of the tent floor. I was able to put my tent up without taking the rainfly down this way and stayed dry. The lightning and thunder cooled it for the night, but a drizzle remained.
An Even More Beautiful Day and Night in McKenna Park
However, the morning was dry, so I hung my stuff around camp to let it dry out and got a late start to hiking. When I repacked my bag, I did it in a way that made it even easier to set up my storm shelter when needed. I wrapped my ground cover and rain fly around my tent poles and put them in the outside pocket of my backpack.
I had a pretty long day planned that included some new miles that were not recommended so I had no idea what lay ahead. I was contemplating cutting some of the miles off and rejoining my planned route with a shortcut. I planned to make a call at the trailhead junction based on current time and speed.
However, I completely missed the planned turn and ended up on the shortcut anyway. I did not realize I did this for a bit, so I decided that sometimes things are meant to be and I kept to the shortcut, plus I fondly remembered this trail and bear sighting from a previous trip. Every so often I gave a call out, “Hello”, “Good morning!” “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood today!” Just in case my friend was still around, I wanted to let her know I was there.
My route was different from my previous one when I got to McKenna Park. I stayed on Turkey Creek trail and it was amazing!! A herd of deer followed me, walking parallel to me but a couple hundred feet away. I was dazzled by this but kept my head forward and kept moving to be respectful of these beauties.
I heard canine noises too. I had heard of a wolf sighting here, but I assumed these were coyote noises. I took a detour to check Rawmeat for water. The name gave me the ickies and before I found water, I found old bones in the dry creek bed. However, it did not take much longer wondering west to find some flowing water. I took a break here to fill my water and dry the remaining moisture from my belongings as the sun was out and powerful at that moment. I also took the opportunity to take my shoes off and hang out in my flip-flops. Sometimes just a five-minute no-shoes break can be a game-changer to tired and yucky sweat-soaked feet. Feeling rejuvenated, I headed back towards the heart of Mckenna Park, excited for more. The sky started to look doom and gloom again, so I checked the weather with my inReach.
The chance of rain had gone from 10% to 50% since the last time I checked. I wasn’t worried because I was prepared to set up camp fast and literally everything around me was beautiful and camp-able so I could throw down at any time. I decided to keep hiking until either rain or lightning started. I did not want to take the time to put on my backpack rain cover or poncho. And the day was already getting late and it was starting to get chilly i.e. despite not wanting to protect myself from the rain, I really did not want to get rained on.
Due to my practice run the night before, I was able to throw camp up in like 30 seconds. I had a beautiful camp and the weather stayed calm enough for me to have a quick meal away from the tent and stash my canister. I knew this was a wildlife hotspot and I wanted to be safe and not have food smells near my bed for the night.
There were small rock outcroppings and I made up stories about mountain lions making home there. I was always trying to freak myself out more than necessary for some reason.
It started to sprinkle but the night was relatively calm when I fell asleep. But I woke up in the middle of the night to a roaring storm and the wind was so strong, it sounded like I could get swept away. I had to re-stake the tent where it had blown up, then I situated myself snugly on my foam pad and went back to sleep to Nature’s soothing sleep sounds.
The Return through Ring Canyon
My last day in the wilderness was enjoyable with a mix of different experiences. I had a slow and fun time hiking into and out of Ring Canyon to check for water and then a straightforward and easy 10-mile hike once I was out. It was again bittersweet leaving my wilderness home. As I navigated the rugged terrain of the Gila Wilderness, I discovered a newfound sense of resilience and resourcefulness, lessons that would stay with me long after the journey had ended.
Backpacking Essentials1
Cheap Flip Flops – lessons learned after getting a splinter my first night backpacking
Bear Canister – much easier than throwing a food bag in a tree
Shaker Bottle – I had cold instant coffee mixed with protein powder every morning because I went stoveless. I did not hate it!
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