Sunday, Feb 2nd 2025, 0710-1740
Saturn tank to wash near mm56 , section 1
23.5 miles.
The silence overnight was mind blowing. There have been few places I have been with such an utter lack of sound. I heard a few cow moos and planes flying over, but that was it. I really felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. So much for being afraid of migrant or drug running activities in the area. Other than really old discarded items like backpacks and water bottles, there was no evidence of recent activity nor did I hear anything suspicious.
I packed in the dark and was just hitting the road as it got light. I walked dirt roads for a few hours, all the way to the base of Waterman peak. Oddly, I ran into 3 people total this day and they were all walkers, not 4WD folks, as I would have guessed. The first was a quail hunter, who seemed like a kind old soul, full of wisdom. He was very pleasant to talk to, which is always an interesting notion, making small talk with a man holding a gun in the middle of nowhere… something you just get used to in the US, I guess.
I started up the mountain on a steep, rocky mining road, which led past an interesting guzzler with a steel roof. There was water in the tank but I didn’t pull any to drink, as I still had plenty. My hiking superpower is being able to go very long distances on very little water, and to do it pretty fast so that I can get to the next better source. I was only carrying less than 2 liters, but didn’t want to add weight during the climb.
It was just starting to get hot as I started the last bit of the mountain, which was all cross-country to the ridge. The cholla were thick, so I had to take it slow. The route then started going down, but I didn’t climb all the way up not to reach the very top of the peak. So I dropped my pack and scrambled up the last bit. It was a fun scramble, nothing technical but some little bits of exposure to keep me on my toes. I found a registry in a nalgene bottle at the top and noted that I was the first desert winter thru hiker to sign in this year. Waterman Peak 3830′. Ok, so not as exciting as my list of 14ers, but I still felt pretty proud
I hung out for a bit and did some peakfinding. There were fantastic views all around, especially looking back over the route I’d traveled for the past 5 days. It was cool to see all the way back to Mt Lemmon and Wasson peak in SNP. I also spied Table Top mountain in the distance to the northwest, which I’d be skirting around in section 2. You can see days into your past and future in the desert. It’s like time travel.
There was a trail leading down, which is where I ran into walker #2, along with his 2 adorable doodles. Finally I got a petting in on the DWTH! Well, besides Josh’s cat, who was petting me when I stayed with him. This gave me my dog and human fix for the day. I followed a road leading from the trailhead, which was breaking from the suggested route, but I needed some easy stuff after my peak bagging. The notes warned of a busy road with mining traffic, but it was a Sunday and dead quiet. The nearby Silverbell open pit copper mine certainly dominated the landscape, but wasn’t even the largest I’d seen in Arizona. It’s incredible what we do to the earth in the name of progress…like taking apart whole mountains so that we can get new cell phones every 2 years. Bravo mankind.
I took a long break at a cow trough, filling all my bottles. The water tasted slightly alkaline, which would later prove to be the case. In another few miles was a guzzler, with much better tasting water. I collected a lot for a dry campsite, miles ahead. I pushed up my milage with the intent of getting into town a day early, but mostly because of the scant water situation at the end of this section.
More fun cross country followed, and I enjoyed the challenge despite my heavy load. At the very end of the day, I ran into yet another hiker, randomly in a wash. He actually had trekking poles, so was the real deal. But he didn’t say anything other than hi because I was wearing my serial killer sun mask and I’m sure I was the weirdest thing he’d seen all day. Poor guy, he may never go hiking in that area again…too many freaks!
The wash led past Ragged Top mountain, which was very picturesque. And the wash itself was super cool, with nice sand and even some smooth rock sections, more like a Utah canyon. It was like being back on the Hayduke. I really wanted to camp there but was pushing my miles, so I went a bit further and found another smaller wash. It wasn’t as cool, but provided a really nice soft surface out of sight from anything, with a small tree overhead. God, I just love a good wash camp!