G.E.T. Guidebook

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Segment 3: White Canyon Wilderness   26.7 miles

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Segment Length	from PHX	to ABQ	Segment Status	Season
26.7 mi.	46		unfinalized but accessible; trail construction ongoing	fall, winter, spring
Resources
OVERVIEW MAP ELEVATION PROFILE 4 G.E.T. Topo Maps 6-9 4 Town Guide: Superior 4 Water Chart 4 Image Gallery: Album 2				Additional maps: Tonto National Forest (USFS) Mesa 1:100K Quad (BLM) visit PLIC website Land managing agency: Tonto N.F. Globe Ranger District (928) 402-6200 BLM Tucson Field Office (520) 258-7200

SEGMENT OVERVIEW

Relatively small and little-known, yet big on solitude and Sonoran desert charm, the BLM White Canyon Wilderness is the centerpiece of this adventurous segment. Expect to be surprised and impressed with the Superstition-esque landscapes preserved in this parcel of wildland, but your inspiration here must first be earned. For the hiking is rugged and primitive, with a healthy dose of elevation gain and loss, and the incomplete trail route is likely to test your navigational skills.

One day - perhaps within the next half-decade - our GET route will likely follow completed Arizona Trail tread throughout. For now, it uses the Arizona Trail's current de facto route on foot trail and 4WD roads from Picketpost Trailhead southward through the Wilderness area, then offers several options for travel toward the Gila River and segment's end. Sometimes deep and swift, the Gila in its fertile oasis of green can be a river best admired at length. A fording option does exist as a shortcut into Segment 4, but the route possibilities detailed here lead instead to a bridged crossing of the river near the community of Kelvin, beyond which constructed Arizona Trail resumes. Be sure to review the Route Details below prior to heading out, as the options for travel are well worth considering in the planning stages of your hike. Potable water, which the long-journeying Gila here is generally not, is scarce in Segment 3, but thankfully there is one excellent, perennial source at an artesian well approximately halfway along.

ROUTE DETAILS

Picketpost Trailhead lacks water, and the nearest certain source is nearly 15 miles away in the middle of this segment. (See comments at the end of Chapter 2 for information on potential off-route sources within range of Picketpost Trailhead.)

Two hiking routes proceed south from the parking area, both signed as the Arizona Trail. Facing south, the right-most option is the "old" AZT route, which follows a jeep road beyond the locked gate here, paralleling Alamo Canyon's wash. The left-most option is the new, permanent AZT route on singletrack trail, and is preferable to the old route in terms of scenery and aesthetics. Progress on the new trail is ongoing, and is part of a large-scale corridor realignment for the Arizona Trail; when this new trail is completed, perhaps by 2012, the GET will most likely use it in its entirety.

Begin from the trailhead following the new AZT route (the left-most option; waypoint 03010) The trail dips to cross several branches of Alamo Canyon's wash, then begins a meandering contour along the bajada separating the wash and Picketpost Mountain. A remnant volcanic feature, Picketpost is comprised of thick deposits of tuff, or solidified ash. At 0.5 of a mile, the trail crosses an old jeep track. (The jeep track heads southeast toward a small mining adit and the start of a class 3 hiking route to Picketpost Mountain's summit, an adventurous side trip.) Arizona Trail tread continues to contour through several side drainages amidst lush Sonoran desert vegetation. Eventually the trail returns to the main wash, parallels it briefly, climbs somewhat away again, then returns. Here, at 2.4 (waypoint 03065) as of spring 2008 brand new constructed trail headed left and was officially open for use. (A former "detour route" in use during trail construction continued up Alamo Canyon's wash, passing a cement stock trough near defunct Alamo Windmill in 1.7 miles, as shown on the map. The trough sometimes holds water, with occasional pools in the drainage nearby.)

Proceed southeast, following the trail up alongside a fork of Alamo Canyon. At 3.2, the trail bends south, climbing and contouring along a minor ridge. Dipping to cross a drainage at 4.2, a well-engineered climb then rounds a hillside flank. Here the trail resumes its southern tack on a secluded contour. A meandering descent finally leads to dirt Forest Route 4 and the end of recent trail construction at 7.1 (waypoint 03135). Trough Springs is located north along this road, a short ways up the first drainage the road crosses, and is a possible source. (The nature of the spring had not been verified as of this writing.)

New singletrack trail will eventually continue east of FR 4. The description that follows, for now, is the interim route of the Arizona Trail (and GET) via dirt roads toward the boundary of the White Canyon Wilderness. Turn right (south) on FR 4, which climbs to a junction at 7.9 (waypoint 03140). Take the left fork onto a rougher dirt road, which soon winds around to the left. Ignore a track at right that heads over to an abandoned structure. Ahead, take the left fork by a cairn at 8.1, soon descending. Take the right fork at 8.2.

Enter a steep-sided gully, avoiding the road that climbs right (waypoint 03150). Just ahead, a wash joins from the right. Continue east, following cairns to a wider wash at 8.8 (waypoint 03160). Turn right (south) here onto a rough 2-track. The road is mercilessly steep as it climbs toward a saddle and gate at 9.4 - where interesting views extend north toward the Superstitions - then descends thrillingly eastward into a drainage. Reach a cairned junction with a larger wash at 10.1 and turn right. (Westbound hikers look carefully for the cairn where you leave the larger wash to the left.)

In 100 ft, by an Arizona Trail sign, turn left out of the wash onto foot trail. The primitive, little-used trail contours east among lush desert vegetation, dipping awkwardly into several gullies, then climbs to a viewful saddle at 11.2. A good dry camp could be made here. Pass through a gate on the saddle and descend to the boundary of White Canyon Wilderness, here leaving the Tonto National Forest. Grand views extend down the colorful canyon to the south, its striated walls looking very much like sandstone but composed primarily of welded tuff. The trail soon becomes vague as it approaches a brushy flat at 11.6. (waypoint 03200) (Westbounders: from the flat, note the prominent "Hole in the Rock" feature just north, toward which the trail climbs, passing immediately to the left of the outcrop.)

From the flat, follow cairns south into the canyon, first over bedrock a short distance, then on rough trail which traverses gradually downhill along the canyon's east side. Cross the canyon's wash at 12.3, then back again in a short ways. The trail now becomes an overgrown 2-track road. Follow it around the base of the prominent escarpment dividing our unnamed canyon and the Wilderness area's namesake White Canyon, then as it turns south, descending to a junction at the wilderness boundary at 14.0. (waypoint 03230) Turn left here onto improved 4WD road. (Westbound: leave this road to the right at a carsonite post, heading over a low berm intended to deter motorized vehicles.) Reach a T-intersection at 14.2, and turn right. (A left would lead into White Canyon itself, offering perennial water in its secluded upper reaches.)

A sharp right off the main road at 14.8 leads a short distance to an artesian well in Walnut Canyon (waypoint 03240). Here a metal spigot pours forth year-round with fine-tasting water. Camping is possible in this impressive setting, but consider moving away from the road to avoid any late-night vehicles or car campers. (A small camp spot is located a short ways down Walnut Canyon from the well.)

From 14.8, eastbound hikers have two options for travel, each of which ends at the same place - the end of Segment 3 at a vehicle bridge over the Gila River at Kelvin.

Option 1: Main GET route. The red line on the current map set is, in essence, an interim route of the Arizona Trail pending completion of the trail. This route follows a combination of some new trail, along with 4WD roads, washes, with occasional cross-country navigation as marked by flagging tape. Strong navigational skills are recommended for this route, which makes frequents turns and surface changes in a remote Sonoran desert environment. Total distance from MP 14.8 to segment's end: 11.9.

Option 2: Battle Ax Road & Hwy 177 roadwalk. For those disinterested in routefinding, an option to bypass the remainder of the main route to the Gila follows dirt 2WD Battle Ax Rd east to 2-lane Hwy 177, then south via the paved highway to Kelvin. The downside here, besides the front-country roadwalk, is the collosal Ray Pit copper mine which the highway parallels for several miles. To follow this route, first continue east in the wash, following 2-track roads over to Battle Ax Rd, as indicated on the map. Total distance from MP 14.8 to segment's end: 11.0.

To follow the main GET route (option 1) from the artesian well in Walnut Canyon at 14.8, proceed south, bushwhacking alongside the drainage of Walnut Canyon, soon passing a potential shady campsite on the left. The well often flows for a distance, with possible pools ahead in the drainage, which becomes rockbound, more open and impressive. Near 15.1 a use trail climbs out of the wash at right, circumventing an awkward pour-over, then returns to the drainage within 100 yards. A narrow 4WD track crosses the wash at 15.6. Head left (east) here on the road, which turns south along a bench above the main drainage. A roadside campsite might prove appropriate for hikers, and offers fine views. The rocky 4WD now climbs roughly with switchbacks to a height-of-land junction at 16.3, where we follow it (the most prominent road) left. Passing over another height-of-land the road commences a steep descent among lush Sonoran vegetation to a wide sandy wash at 17.3. A left in the wash goes to "Section 30" spring in a mile, a few potential pools in a side drainage. Our route instead turns right, following the wash south.

At 18.4 (waypoint 03247) ignore a road that leaves the wash at right (west). Then at 18.5 pick up a fenceline 2-track that exits the wash at left (east). (Or to visit the Gila River continue down the wash another 0.1 of a mile to the river's north bank.) The fenceline track is the future Arizona Trail alignment here. At the second minor drainage crossing, at 18.8 (waypoint 03250), as of spring 2008 newly staked and flagged foot trail headed northeast, soon passing a large cairn. The trail meanders along a scenic south-facing slope above the river, which soon enters a "narrows" that may have been created by the river's downcutting into a rising granite intrusion. In any case, the terrain soon becomes exceptionally bouldery, yet the trail has been built to a very high standard, a pleasure to walk. A short section of trail across a drainage at 19.5 was incomplete but followable, with good tread resuming eastbound.

The trail crosses a wide wash via cairns at 21.9. Look carefully for the resumption of tread up the opposite side, which here again was incomplete, with flagging. Ahead, new trail ended for good at 22.4 (waypoint 03260), with flags and stakes leading over to a powerline service 2-track road at 22.7 (waypoint 03270). Our route follows the 2-track south, and - until new trail is constructed - turns left (east) off the 2-track at 22.8 (waypoint 03350), heading cross-country up a steep little side canyon to a north-south ridge. Continuing east down the other side, interim flagging was confusing to follow, but the goal will be clear: to reach the broad north-south drainage to the east (23.0, approx waypoint 03360).

Barring any new trail, head south, cross-country in the sandy, braided wash, possibly aided by orange flagging here and ahead. At 23.4, (waypoint 03370) turn left into a side drainage, and follow its wash northeast to 23.6, (waypoint 03380) where it begins to box up. Exit to the left, climbing 20 ft to a low ridge. From here, a game path heads east-northeast across the heads of two little drainages to a minor saddle at 23.8 (waypoint 03390). Continue downhill a few feet into a wash, and follow it around toward the south. The drainage widens as it heads into the open.

Navigate to a fence near the mouth of the drainage at 24.3 (GPS: 33 06.346  111 00.448). When the Gila is running low, such as in autumn, you may be able to ford it about 0.1 mile downstream from here, joining Ripsey Wash on the other side. (Most of the time, though, the river and its steep and muddy banks are best left alone.) The flagged route instead turns east along the north side of the barbed wire fence, and follows a cow path to a north-south fenceline at 24.4 (waypoint 03400). Turn left and follow the fence 100 ft. north to a corner. Here again you may find indications of new Arizona Trail tread or surveying. Barring that, turn right and follow the fenceline east. A vague trail picks up here, soon trending away from the fence. Follow it as it contours along a rocky slope, then descends into the Gila's riparian zone to reach a gate at 24.7 (GPS: 33 06.353 N  111 00.096 W). Pass through the gate, and turn right, finding a way through mesquite and tamarisk scrub - and passing some shady camping opportunities - to a railroad bridge across the silty and generally unpotable Gila River, at 24.8 (waypoint 03410).

From the east end of the railroad bridge, the current, interim route of the Arizona Trail heads east along the grade of the Copper Basin Railroad, 1.7 miles to the Kelvin-Riverside bridge over the Gila. Be very careful walking near the tracks, which serve an active rail line to and from the Ray Mine northeast of Kelvin. At 26.3, leave the tracks before the narrow trestle bridge and bushwhack a short ways north to a dirt road. Turn right (east) onto this road, which soon crosses a side drainage, then ends at a junction with paved Florence-Kelvin Highway at 26.7, just north of the Kelvin-Riverside Bridge (waypoint 04010, elev. 1781'). The tiny community of Kelvin is spread out along the "highway" immediately north of here. There are no services in Kelvin, but the owners of Wilson's Trailer Court - half a mile north on the road - do allow hikers to obtain water from a spigot by a chain link fence along the side of their house. (No loitering please.) The next likely water on route is about 8 miles ahead at a spring-fed trough in Ripsey Wash, reached in Segment 4.

Whichever route you opted to follow, congratulations on completing this challenging segment, still a work in progress. Westbound hikers, good luck!

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Segment 44