Mogollon Monsoon Madness

 I have some big goals on the horizon, so I'm starting to ramp up training but also trying to get outside more with either big day rides or overnight bikepacking trips becoming more regular. Summer can be tougher here in AZ. Can't really do anything in the lower elevations, and getting up higher definitely increases the risk of dealing with big bouts of rain and the consequences of that. Whatever, I had the time already requested and approved, so I pulled out the first of my planned rides up on the rim. The plan was to ride a big chunk of the rim road and tie into the AZT/Cabin Loops area and then tie back into the AZT to get past the blue ridge HAB and onto jeep roads to Clint's Well for resupply then back to the truck. The full route was about 80 miles but I was going to split it into two easy-ish days.

I really want to get used to all the gear I will be carrying in April, 2023. I packed the full tent as well, even though that may or may not all go with me depending on weather forecast in future rides. I am really trying to optimize and have a thoughtful process for packing - being efficient is something I can really get better at. 

Enough blabbering, here's how it went down.

Day 1

I left home after doing some chores in the AM and arrived at the intersection of HWY 87 and FR300. Parked in a familiar spot, and was off to a start after a few minutes of getting all my gear squared away. While I did observe some pretty serious rainfall near Sedona on my way up the 260, the day started off downright perfect. That would definitely change later...

Easy warmup spin on perfect dirt. 

The sun was constantly moving behind clouds offering some relief from the sun. It wasn't hot, but much more comfortable when it got blocked a bit. 

Spotted a couple of elk down a side road. Gotta look around while you are riding out here or you will miss stuff like this...

I think I always get a picture here - one of the first big views right on the side of the road. 

Sunscreen always slathered on without much regard for how good I look lmao. 

Dramatic lighting from the clouds. Can't really see it, but it's dropping rain over parts below.

I made it to the AZT split in fairly short order. Time for some goodness...

Nice to see the graffiti has been cleaned up on this.

Always cool to be up here. These cabins are so neat. 

This section is fun and engaging - a bit more challenging on a loaded bikepacking rig and it was definitely not dry up here which added to the challenge. Slick rocks and roots can catch a rider off guard pretty easily. And the slick rocks are a much different animal than when they a dry. Powering up rocky bits was often futile and it was just easier to walk sometimes. No biggy. 

Water slowly flowing on the trail surface from earlier rain. This section of trail handles the rain very well.

Terrain reminds you that you are indeed on the AZT

So good to see the forest in good shape up here. 

Water was definitely not scarce on this ride. 

Tall ferns encroaching on the trail. Even though it wasn't raining, my legs and arms were getting plenty of moisture when I rubbed against them. #waybetterthancatclaw.

Saw some gigantic and vibrantly colored mushrooms all over the place. 

I passed the split off for the AZT and continued on towards the Cabin Loop trail.

I did the slight out and back to the Fred Haught cabin. There was really no trail on the ground for a good portion of this. Just follow the line on the gps...

Turning around, I completed the OAB and returned back to the trail. The trail was steep and rubbly for a bit which led to a bit of a HAB. It flattened out fairly quickly.

Hmm, clouds don't look to happy in the direction I am going. I heard some rumbles of thunder. I had my rain gear, but I was looking for good places to hunker down if the skies opened up.

I hit FR 95 which I knew was in bad shape, but there was supposedly a path burned in to hike up the other side. 

I hiked down to the bottom and there was plenty of water flowing here. I didn't really see much on the ground giving me a clue to go up to the left or the right. I picked to the left because it looked a bit more accessible. I picked wrong. 

I traversed on the top of the large drainage pipe to stay dry and thought I saw a path going up to the left, but it looked badly eroded. I gave it my best shot, but I got myself into a position where I just couldn't safely get my bike up. The ground was unstable and the only way I could have gone any further would have been to tie my bike off with some webbing or rope and pull it up from the top. I didn't have either of those so I carefully made my way back down. It was starting to rain and the intensity was increasing which had me a bit nervous. The bottom was clearly a danger zone for a flash flood but I couldn't sit here anymore. I got to the bottom, but now had to wade through knee deep water to get to the other side. I was gonna give it one more shot going to the right side, but I had to get over there first. Once I did, I didn't see anything on the ground, but just decided to go until I couldn't. A path revealed itself and the traverse to the top was easy. Crisis averted.

Ahh! A path! Steep but totally doable. 

Feeling much more relaxed being up on top of the washout area.

I continued up the road while the rain continued to strengthen and I also proceeded to miss the turn off for the trail before my GPS beeped "off course" to me. I donned my rain gear but I knew that Pinchot cabin was a short way up the road. It has been a few years since I have been there, but I was hoping that I would find shelter under one of the eaves.

It's coming down now, but shelter is right there.

The doors/windows are boarded up, but all I needed was a roof. One side of the roof was bad, but there was a good section that presented a square foot or two of dry ground and shelter. Time to bust out a couple small McD's breakfast burritos. 

The ground around the cabin was completely flooded. It rained for a solid hour.

My original plan was to ride a counter clockwise loop around the perimeter cabin loop trails and then cross the washout on FR 95 and head back to the AZT split. Given all the rain, and how much water was already down in that area when I crossed just a short while ago, I didn't think I wanted to chance going through the washout as there was certainly much more water flowing there now. I made the call to just follow the Houston Bros trail all the way down to FR 300. It was a really pretty area, but it was definitely rugged. Multiple steep drops in and out of drainages ensued. It was good HAB practice. Very Canelo Hills-ish but with may more trees and water lol.

Trail was super rideable until after crossing FR 139

Still good riding. Some campers set up here and had an easy up and everything. 

Dense vegetation in the drainages that were numerous. 

Plenty of moisture = lots of mushrooms

Stopped here to filter a bit of water. Discovered a pinhole leak in my Ketadyn filter flask. I could still filter but had to be careful that the water coming out of the pinhole wasn't going into my mouth or bladder. Ugh. I haven't used that thing that much and have taken care of it.

I quenched my thirst at the creek, then got my fill of chunky HAB leaving it. 

I finally made it to FR 300, and I knew my plan was going to be to go back to the AZT and actually stick on it this time, heading towards blue ridge. I figured I would be able to get to and up the HAB after the AZT split and then get camp set up before it was too dark.

This sign indicates a short but steep grunt is up ahead. Definitely a HAB with bikepacking gear. 

I found a nice spot, and got the tent set up and pulled out my reward for the way: A legit breakfast burrito from Fredericos that I picked up near my house this morning. It was now dark but I found a nice tree stump to sit on and enjoyed my food and the quiet peace of the forest. Then I opened the sprite I had been carrying around all day and it exploded all over me. Nice. #facepalm

I hopped in the tent and settled in to some podcasts. I had my pack right outside under the vestibule of my tent. I started to doze off a bit when I heard something scamper towards the tent. Smallish so I yelled at it and I didn't hear anything. I continued listening to the podcast and dozing off again when the same thing occurred. This time I brought it my pack and my helmet (afraid whatever it was was going to chew on my helmet straps). Only my shoes remained outside. I dozed off again and didn't hear anything else...

Until around 3AM when something woke me out of a dead sleep. I can't really explain it. It was loud like an elk bugle but way lower in pitch than what I am accustomed to hearing. It was odd and had my heart beating a bit. My first time hearing something like that - no clue what it was - wish I would have recorded it on my phone as I am sure someone could identify it. Whatever. Crashed back out and woke up around 6AM and laid in the tent for a bit until I realized I had quite a few miles today and a high potential of storms. Better get going...

Day 2

Absolutely perfect morning. 

The first bit of AZT leaving camp was gorgeous and in good shape. That would change. Rapidly.

The AZT transitioned to a forest road and also transitioned to more clay/volcanic dirt. Cue the death mud. Great. This changes things.

Bottom of the blue ridge HAB. This is looking WEST. Very rarely is water this far up. 

Looking east. This water is flowing down to blue ridge reservoir.

I actually got a PR on the HAB out of there which made me happy especially since the conditions were very poor. Slick mud and rocks made it more difficult than normal. I was hoping that once I reached the top the conditions would improve. They wouldn't. 

Conditions were still bad after topping out on the HAB. I picked up a proper stick to scrape mud off my bike. If you know, you know. 

Wait a second... have we escaped the worst of it?

Fingers crossed that maybe things would stay rideable. 

Shortly after, it went to shit again. I was approaching FR 751, which would let me escape to HWY 87, but I really, really didn't want to do that. It is shoulderless and not a very fun place to be on a bike. I decided to see if by some miracle the AZT north of the road would be in better shape...

Nope! Under an inch or two of water. 

Really no alternative but to bail to 87. Great.

The road was for the most part rideable.

I got to the junction of the 87 and decided to clean up the bike a bit for some road riding. I hopped on hoping for minimal traffic since it was still a bit early in the day. I was going to try to see if the forest roads north of 87 would be rideable. The first option came up quick. No dice. 

Back on the 87 I continued to push towards Clint's Well. There was a little bit of traffic, but everyone was super courteous and gave plenty of space. Right before Clint's Well, it turns down hill and also has a nice shoulder which brings down the blood pressure a bit. 

The clouds were starting to look mean, so I didn't even stop at CW. I thought I had enough water to get back but even if I didn't, there was no shortage of options for filtering. I was really betting on the forest roads being less muddy west of CW and I was right. It was nice to see good dirt. There was only one section that was kinda iffy.

Somehow, it is raining on me here. 

Rain gear on, but idgaf because there is no death mud. Bring it!

Of course shortly after this, the rain stopped for good and I had to take it off again. Just one final climb and quick descent would get me back to the truck. 

All in all, it was a really great adventure. Less miles than I had planned on, but definitely more epic. I'll take that any day...