MRT 2021 Day 15, April 19, Monday • Start S5 mile 1.5, just past gate • End S5 mile 26 + 0.4 to campground • Miles walked: 24.5
The MRT stays on the extensive White Mountain Trailsystem today, mostly on built single-track paths, Expect a series of trail names, that you do not need to pay much attention to, but help me remember what I hiked.
After a brief cross-country zig-zag, the route goes on Timber Mesa Trail on a ridge to the east of Show Low, with some views.
A large marsh area is to the east of town, unusual for AZ. On this trail I meet a member of TRACKS, the organization who builds and maintains the White Mountain Trailsystem.
MRT 2021 Day 14, April 18, Sunday • Start S4 mile 51.2 of 77.7 • End S5 mile 1.5, just past gate on fed land • Miles walked: 28
The town of Show Low is close, and I need to get some more food to get to the next town. Can I get to town soon enough to do quick shopping, find wifi, and then get out again onto Forest Service land where I am allowed to camp? It will be close. Walking fast today…
Quickly finishing General Crook Trail, the route goes along Juniper Ridge Trail, marked the same way on bits of old road and one-track, often no visible tread.
Gaining the ridge, a locked fire lookout tower is a good start to the day.
MRT 2021 Day 13, April 17, Saturday • Start S4 mile 24.1 • End S4 mile 51.2 • Miles walked: 27.1
The route here is on the General Cook Trail (General George Crook National Recreation Trail), though it is on dirt road for a good portion of its length. (Remind me to look up who General Crook is. ) It goes towards Show Low, and was probably designed with water sources in mind, it is a reasonably choice for the MRT. The trail here is marked with metal chevrons nailed to trees.
Water sources are getting less reliable, and further apart, in this section. One interesting wildlife waterer used a concrete rain catch basin to guide water to a lower storage tank, with steps for wildlife.
Wild horses still can be found grazing along the route, at least for the first half of the day.
I see John W again! He stopped a few hours to hang around with a large group of AZT hikers in Pine, so I had been ahead of him a little.
We pass each other several times today.
The General Crook could improve trail marking at times, especially in old burns and at road intersections. The route does go south through Cottonwood Wash, a pleasant flat shallow canyon with grass and scattered trees.
Toward the end of the day the route, now on trail, becomes less flat, and passes up and down several ridges. The route here, the General Cook Connector, has been aggressively signed by a local trail group out of Show Low.
