Elevation: 9,560 feet - 10,877 feet
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/asnf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=45293&actid=50
The cold got me up. The Honda said it was 25F outside; my cell phone said it was 35F. Whatever the outside temperature, it was cold enough to extend my windshield's crack by another six inches.
I was at the McDonald's as soon as it opened at 5am, joining camouflaged hunters for breakfast. I had my non-fat hazelnut cappucino and a sauage-egg-cheese McMuffin. The dogs each got their own sausage-egg-cheese McMuffin and both dogs seemed to enjoy the treat.
It's an hour's drive south back on US180/191 from Springerville to the trailhead north of Alpine. I wanted to begin the hike when it had warmed up enough. I found the trailhead off FR8056 with no problem, driving the 4.5 miles on the wide dirt road with ease. Full-sized pick-ups were scattered around the many dispersed campgrounds along the way. I was the first car in the parking area.
I waited in the Honda for another hour before taking on the cold. My phone was showing Mountain time from New Mexico 13 miles to the East, but it was really 8:30am when I started my hike. This extra hour annoyed me for my entire stay in the area.
The only thing I remember from the hike in 2008 were the aspen along the way, Tool Box Meadow and its wide, open grass with views, the gradual incline to the fire look-out tower, and a shaded creek near the top. The aspen are still there, and the younger trees were in full fall colors. There were no flowers in bloom; the last of the red thistle had gone to seed. The higher I hiked, the more intense the fire burn became, destroying an entire fir forest now taken over by the aspen. Winds weren't too intense this morning, although it was cold. The cold air made up for the cloudless sky above. The trail, an old logging trail, makes a gradual linear ascent to the fire tower with a turn to the west near the top, which now is visible from near the start due to the trees in between being burned, opening up the views. The higher I climbed, the more obvious the volcanic rock became. I find this trail easier to hike than Carr Peak despite the many smaller rocks near the peak!
The fire tower is now closed to curious hikers, due to the fire damage. I found a shaded spot near a solar panel on the peak where I fed the dogs their lunch and enjoyed the view to the north and east. What beautiful country this is, even after the devastating 2011 fire. I could see two small lakes to the south, the Gila Mountains in New Mexico to the east. I stayed at the peak just long enough for the dogs to have their water and food.
The fire and flood has not changed the route of the main trail, but I remember side trails off the peak, and a small drainage creek near the peak that I didn't see today. The trail now is an out-and-back mostly straight route to the look-out. Everything else has been washed away or buried by burn debris, including the trail to Bead Springs Meadow and the Government trail. I saw no remnants of either trail.
I met the first hikers on my descent. An elderly couple and their rat terrier stopped to tell me about how apocalyptic the burn area was for several years, black stumps of former mature firs now dotting the terrain. But the forest is coming back with a younger generation of aspen, firs, and Ponderosa pine and all we can do is be grateful for the new growth. Another group of five with their dog then passed me up the trail, and near the end I had to make way for a group of equestrians and their three dogs as they made their way through the aspens. The hike had taken me just a little over 3.5 hours and the day was still young. My car was no longer the only vehicle in the parking area.
It was now warm enough to take off my thick sweater. Black angus cows were grazing off the forest road as I drove back to the highway. I stopped for a perimeter walk around Hulsey Reservoir, adding 0.6 miles to today's distance and letting the dogs cool their paws in the clear water. I was feeling good, but my thighs felt the elevation today.
Back in town an hour later, I started feeling tired, but I still did another two miles along the town's River walk, which is really the Becker Lake Wildlife area off US60 outside of Eagar.
https://www.visitarizona.com/uniquely-az/parks-and-monuments/becker-lake-wildlife-area
The Becker boys were early immigrants to the area. The trail follows the Little Colorado River, which resembles more of a ditch than a river, as it meanders through a riparian area full of beaver dams and willow bundles and recycled Christmas trees to help with the water flow. This walk would be ideal for early morning walks for birders and photographers. Fishing and hunting (yikes!) are also allowed. There are wooden and metal benches to sit on and watch the wildlife near the ditch. The trails is crushed gravel and level. Alltrails.com said no dogs were allowed here so I kept them in the car under the shade of a cottonwood, but I saw the trailhead sign that said dogs were to be kept on leash. They appreciated the rest period and I quickly walked the two miles, read up on the benefits of beaver dams, and then drove back into town. Those extra two miles had now tired me out.
Now where to? I had done the hikes I wanted to do. The dogs and I were tired. I didn't feel like drinking beer in a bar again. An early night to sleep sounded great to me. Overnight temperatures were even to be ten degrees warmer than yesterday. I drove around the area to see the town during daylight, but didn't see anything worth exploring now. The western sky was browned out by a wildfire, perhaps a prescribed fire near Phoenix?
I ended up going back to Avery's, but this time to rent an RV spot for the night. My dinner was McDonald's left overs. I was out shortly after sun set. I was that tired, and so were the dogs. I didn't have any energy to sit at a bar drinking beer for a second night. There were more cars in the parking lot again, but I heard not a noise. I didn't even hear any traffic off US60.
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