Beth and I were looking for a quick overnight camping trip away from home, to take advantage of the wonderful weather we were experiencing. The monsoon had broke about 2 weeks earlier and a 'cool' front from the north came in to produce cool temperatures (90s in the deserts, 70s in the high country) coupled with absolutely bone-dry conditions. The kind of weather that produces a deep blue sky and the ability to make out detail on hills 50 miles off on the horizon. In other words, the most amazing conditions known to man, and a great reason why we live here! We paid our dues this summer, so now it's time for us to get some nice weather.

Our plan for this weekend was to make a drive into the Sierra Ancha Mountains of northeast Gila County. This is a remote section of the state, with just a few paved and dirt roads reaching into mountains. The town of Young is a popular destination, accessible only via 20+ miles of dirt road from the north or over 30 miles of dirt road from the south. Young is a neat, rustic community of about 500 people, mostly ranchers, with some basic tourist services (lodges, cafes). I have a suspicion that many people use Young as an excuse to drive the roads and tour the backcountry, not so much as to get to Young itself. But don't get me wrong: Young is a neat place, and we enjoyed our visit from a year ago. For this weekend, we looked at visiting the highpoint of the Anchas, Aztec Peak, plus the nearby Workman Creek Falls as well as a night out in the wilderness. So off we went!

We left Chandler about 8 a.m. Saturday, getting into Globe about 9:30. After some gas and supply stops we drove up AZ-188 for about 10-12 miles to the turn off to AZ-288, the road to Young. Immediately a sign reads "Young 47". I'm 38; I must be very young! The highway is paved for about the first 8 miles. It makes a long descent to cross the Salt River at an old truss bridge, passes through a tiny settlement called, I think, "Rock House", then up into the mountains. The pavement ends just as the road starts some long switchbacks, but the road is well maintained and wide. It does get some traffic and does get a bit washboarded, but we were able to keep up a good 25-45 mph pace for most of the drive. Even though the road is dirt, it still is called AZ-288 (and stays that way all the way into Young, where it turns into Tonto National Forest Road 512). There were a few short stretches where the road was still paved, which begs the question why isn't the entire road paved, or left dirt? Why just 'parts'? Aw, who cares. After about 25 miles along 288 we came to the turn-off to Workman Creek Falls, Forest Road 487, at milepost 284. We drove up the road about 3 miles, coming to a locked gate across the road. This was unexpected; we'd planned to drive more of the way up and walk the last bit, but obviously the gate forced our hand. We got lucky as there was a camping area nearby (called "Falls"). We pulled in and took a spot, and set up camp. It was about noon and we took this opportunity to simply relax and enjoy the pleasurable temperatures. Our camp was no more than 30 feet from a bubbling creek. Huge pines towered over us and gave us much shade.

Unfortunately, Beth was not feeling up for the hike. We rested for a couple hours to see if her malaise would shake, but it would not and she opted against going up to the peak. She was well set-up at camp and I decided to make a go for the top, leaving camp at 2 p.m. sharp. I walked up the road past the gate and immediately met up with about a dozen hikers, mostly boy scouts and their leaders. They were coming down from a day atop the summit, participating in some sort of heliographic experiment, signalling troops on other peaks using mirrors and the sun. They said it went well. Soon after passing them I came upon the Workman Creek waterfalls. I wasn't expecting much but I was very pleasantly surprised by the size of the falls - a sheer drop of at least 80-100 feet into the creek below! And the water was flowing, which was another pleasant surprise. Some gauging stations are just up creek, and the road parallels the creek for a bit. About a half-mile past the falls, and nearly a mile from the gate, the road's gradient lessened a bit; I had gained about 700 feet, roughly half of the vertical to the top, with still two miles to go. Here, I found a trailhead for Trail 151, "Abbey's Trail". This was unexpected and not on my map. A parking area is nearby, obviously not in use. Not sure if this went to the top, I decided to explore it. I walked in about 500 yards, up and over a soft rise, then down into a scape of burned forest and many downed snags. I did get a glimpse of the rounded summit, peeking through the trees, its lookout tower plainly obvious. However, the trail seemed to be heading away from the top and I lacked confidence in its direction, so I egressed back to the road and decided to play it safe. Past the trailhead, the road continues generally southeasterly and eventually reaches a springy marsh area, where the road crosses and goes due south for a tiny bit, this time coming upon another trailhead, this time the Carr Trail, which I think heads south toward a peak (Carr Peak?). Obviously not what I wanted; I continued along the road.

Past the Carr Trailhead the road makes a steady bend eastward and gains very gently to the range crest, gaining maybe a hundred feet in about a half mile. The forest open up and even features a meadow of sorts, although very heavily carpeted with thick brush and tall grasses. I passed another trailhead, the Moody Trailhead, high up near the range crest. A quadrunner was parked here, but I didn't see anybody around. The road then bent northeasterly toward the summit, following the crest exactly. Shortly past the Moody Trailhead I saw a new-looking cabin about a stone's throw in the woods. It looked sort of pre-fab, like a kit, and obviously brand new. This part of the forest had been damaged by the 2003 Coon Creek Fire - parts were black and dead, other parts were a mix. I wondered whose cabin it could be. On I went. Within minutes the trail started to climb again, up the backside of the peak amid thicker forest cover. A sign at a junction read "Aztec L.O. 1", but it seemed like maybe just a half0mile to the top. Even so, it was a long sweeping switchback to gain the top, which I did at 3:45, less than two hours after starting from camp. The top has been graded flat and a large lookout stands on it. I climbed its stairs to below the platform (which was closed), and sat a spell, enjoying the views and a stiff breeze. In the dry conditions, I could make out peaks for literally a hundred miles. Utterly beautiful! I stayed for 15 minutes, then started back.

The hike down took exactly one hour, and I was back at camp at 5 p.m. as the sun was setting behind the ridges near camp. Beth was comfily encased in blankets and reading a book; we soon built a massive fire and had a dinner of cheese, packaged salmon and french bread. We had a good night's sleep in the bed of my truck. The next day we drove on up to Young, taking a side tour to visit a confluence at North 34, West 111. Then it was a scenic drive back onto pavement, and on home!