Guidebook

---

Segment 3: White Canyon Wilderness   26.3 miles

Guidebook Home
Open this page for printing
Submit feedback for this segment

Segment Length	from PHX	to ABQ	Segment Status	Season
26.3 mi.	46		unfinalized but accessible; trail construction ongoing	fall, winter, spring
Resources
OVERVIEW MAP ELEVATION PROFILE G.E.T. Topo Maps 6-9 Town Guide: Superior Water Chart Image Gallery: Album 2				Additional maps: Tonto National Forest (USFS) Mesa 1:100K Quad (BLM) visit PLIC website Land managing agency: Tonto N.F. Globe Ranger District (928) 402-6200 BLM Tucson Field Office (520) 258-7200

SEGMENT OVERVIEW

Relatively small and little-known, yet big on solitude and Sonoran desert charm, the BLM White Canyon Wilderness is the centerpiece of this adventurous segment. Expect to be surprised and impressed with the Superstition-esque landscapes preserved in this parcel of wildland, but your inspiration here must first be earned. For the hiking is rugged and often primitive, with a healthy dose of elevation gain and loss, and the incomplete trail route is likely to test your navigational skills.

One day - perhaps within the next half-decade - our GET route will likely follow completed Arizona Trail tread throughout. For now, it uses the Arizona Trail's current de facto route on foot trail and 4WD roads from Picketpost Trailhead southward through the Wilderness area, then seeks out recently completed trail tread near the Gila River, a spectacular and well-constructed stretch which now persists for some 6 miles. This new trail work largely eliminates a confusing bit of rugged, cross-country travel that was formerly required of hikers, now rendering the entire segment much more practical and enjoyable to follow, though care is still required to keep to the route wherever foot trail remains unbuilt. A 2 mile walk alongside a railroad grade serving the nearby Ray copper mine leads to segment's end near the tiny village of Kelvin (basically no services - see below). Or you can follow flagging and survey stakes (but no constructed tread as of early '09) above the railroad grade, the next likely section of trail to be completed in this area.

Potable water - of which the long-journeying Gila here is generally not - is scarce in Segment 3, but thankfully there is one excellent, perennial source at an artesian well approximately halfway along. (As well, Wilson's Trailer Court in Kelvin, half a mile north of the route, offers water from an outside spigot as a courtesy to hikers.)

ROUTE DETAILS

Picketpost Trailhead lacks water, and the nearest certain source is nearly 15 miles away in the middle of this segment. (See comments at the end of Chapter 2 for information on potential off-route sources within range of Picketpost Trailhead.)

Two hiking routes proceed south from the parking area. Facing south, the right-most option is the "old" AZT route, which follows a jeep road beyond the locked gate here, paralleling Alamo Canyon's wash. The left-most option is the new, permanent AZT route on singletrack trail, now signed and open, and is preferable to the old route in terms of scenery and aesthetics. Progress on the new trail is ongoing, and is part of a large-scale corridor realignment for the Arizona Trail; when this new trail is completed, perhaps by 2012, the GET will most likely use it in its entirety (although prospects for finding water may remain better along portions of the old route, specifically at the Walnut Canyon artesian well, which the new route will bypass).

Begin from the trailhead following the new AZT route (the left-most option; waypoint 03010) The trail dips to cross several branches of Alamo Canyon's wash, then begins a meandering contour along the bajada separating the wash and Picketpost Mountain. A remnant volcanic feature, Picketpost is comprised of thick deposits of tuff, or solidified ash. At 0.5 of a mile, the trail crosses an old jeep track. (The jeep track heads southeast toward a small mining adit and the start of a class 3 hiking route to Picketpost Mountain's summit, an adventurous side trip.) Arizona Trail tread continues to contour through several side drainages amidst lush Sonoran desert vegetation. Eventually the trail returns to the main wash, parallels it briefly, climbs somewhat away again, then returns. Here, at 2.4 (waypoint 03065) recently constructed trail heads sharply left. (A former "detour route" in use during trail construction once continued up Alamo Canyon's wash, passing a cement stock trough near defunct Alamo Windmill in 1.7 miles, as shown on the map. The trough sometimes holds water, with occasional pools in the drainage nearby, and is a worthwhile side-hike if you need water at this point, with camping prospects en route.)

Proceed southeast, following the trail up alongside a fork of Alamo Canyon. At 3.2, the trail bends south, climbing and contouring along a minor ridge. Dipping to cross a drainage at 4.2, a well-engineered climb then rounds a hillside flank. Here the trail resumes its southern tack on a secluded contour. Upon gaining a minor saddle, the trail traverses and switchbacks around the heads of several east-draining washes; in wetter times, a large pool or two are sometimes visible upon approaching the drainage at 6.0, located within 100 yards or so below the trail crossing (and likewise for the next drainage crossing south - but don't count on either!). A meandering descent finally leads to dirt, 4WD Forest Route 4 at 7.1 (waypoint 03140). To reach unreliable Trough Springs (waypoint 03130) head north along this road a short ways to the first drainage crossing and turn left down the rocky wash. Small pools are occasionally found near the road, or continue to a junction of drainages and head left up the other one in search of the often-dry spring - here again, just pools among the rocks.

From 7.1, a recently-built singletrack section continues east, directly across FR 4. It follows alongside a wash initially, then just before a drainge fork the trail crosses the wash to remain on its eastern side. At 8.5 the trail climbs out of the canyon bottom, contours south, then gains a scenic pass, before descending into another prominent drainage at 10.0. (The seep nearby to the west shown on the topo map is unreliable, though you may find a few small wet spots in the drainage here and there following recent rain.)

Constructed singletrack continues across the wash but don't take it. (As of spring 2010 the trail dead-ended in about a mile at the Tonto National Forest boundary. This section of trail won't function as a thru-route until fully constructed around the White Canyon Wilderness, still some time in the future.) For now, we rejoin the interim AZT/GET route by turning left (east) down the wash. Reach a cairned junction with a larger wash at 10.1 (waypoint 03180) and turn right. (Westbound hikers look carefully for the cairn where you leave the larger wash to the left. A tenth of a mile later, turn right onto recently constructed Arizona Trail singletrack.)

In 100 ft, by an Arizona Trail sign, turn left out of the wash onto foot trail. The primitive, little-used trail contours east among lush desert vegetation, dipping awkwardly into several brushy gullies, then climbs to a viewful saddle at 11.2. A good dry camp could be made here. Pass through a gate on the saddle and descend to the boundary of BLM White Canyon Wilderness, here leaving the Tonto National Forest. Grand views extend down the colorful canyon to the south, its striated walls looking very much like sandstone but composed primarily of welded volcanic tuff. The trail soon becomes vague as it approaches a brushy flat at 11.6. (waypoint 03200) (Westbounders: from the flat, note the prominent "Hole in the Rock" feature just north, toward which the trail climbs, passing immediately to the left of the outcrop.)

From the flat, follow cairns south into the canyon, first over bedrock a short distance, then on rough trail which traverses gradually downhill along the canyon's east side. Cross the canyon's wash at 12.3, then back again in a short ways. The trail now becomes an overgrown 2-track road. Follow it around the base of the prominent escarpment dividing our unnamed canyon and the Wilderness area's namesake White Canyon, then as it turns south, descending to a junction at the wilderness boundary at 14.0. (waypoint 03230) Turn left here onto a more improved dirt road. (Westbound: leave this road to the right at a carsonite post, heading over a low berm intended to deter motorized vehicles.) Reach a T-intersection at 14.2, and turn right. (A left would lead into White Canyon itself, offering perennial water in its secluded upper reaches.)

A sharp right off the main road at 14.8 leads a short distance to an artesian well in Walnut Canyon (waypoint 03240). Here a metal spigot pours forth year-round with fine-tasting, if tepid, water. Camping is possible in this impressive setting, but consider moving away from the road in the event of any late-night vehicle arrivals. (A small camp spot is located a short ways down Walnut Canyon from the well.)

From 14.8, the goal is to rejoin recently completed Arizona Trail tread south near the Gila River beyond 18.5, which you'll accomplish via a combination of cross-country drainage travel and 4WD roads. From the artesian well, proceed south, bushwhacking in or alongside the drainage of Walnut Canyon, soon passing a potential shady campsite on the left. The well often flows for a distance, with possible pools ahead in the drainage, which becomes rockbound, more open and impressive. Near 15.1 a use trail climbs out of the wash at right, circumventing an awkward pour-over, then returns to the drainage within 100 yards. A narrow 4WD track crosses the wash at 15.6. Head left (east) here on the road, which soon turns south along a bench above the main drainage. A roadside campsite might prove appropriate for hikers, and offers fine views. The rocky 4WD now climbs roughly with switchbacks to a height-of-land junction at 16.3, where we follow it (the most prominent road) left. Passing over another height-of-land the road commences a steep descent among lush Sonoran desert vegetation to a wide sandy wash at 17.3. A left in the wash goes to "Section 30" spring in a mile, a few potential pools in a side drainage. Our route instead turns right, following the wash south.

At 18.4 (waypoint 03247) ignore a road that leaves the wash at right (west). Then at 18.5 pick up a fenceline 2-track that exits the wash at left (east). (Or to visit the Gila River continue down the wash another 0.1 of a mile to the river's north bank.) The fenceline track is the new Arizona Trail alignment here. At the second minor drainage crossing, at 18.8 (waypoint 03250), foot trail leaves the fenceline at left, heading northeast, soon passing a large cairn. The trail meanders along a scenic south-facing slope above the river, which soon enters a "narrows" that may have been created by the river's downcutting into a rising granite intrusion. In any case, the terrain soon becomes exceptionally bouldery, yet the trail has been built to a very high standard, a pleasure to walk.

The trail crosses several steep side drainages of The Spine (as shown on the map), generally on a well-graded contour. It then crosses a wide sandy wash via cairns at 21.9. (The tree-lined banks of the Gila River lie 150 yards south in this wash, perhaps the only good shade for several miles in either direction.) The trail then contours over to a powerline service 2-track road, reaching it at 22.7 (waypoint 03270) and turning right onto it just briefly before climbing away at left, again as singletrack. As of spring '09 the trail from here to 24.4 was brand new and easy to follow. After gaining the crest of a minor ridge, the trail descends eastward to cross a prominent wash at 23.1 (waypoint 03350), then turns southeast, undulating in and out of minor drainages amidst lush Sonoran desert vegetation. At 24.1 (waypoint 03400), the trail reaches the northwest side of a fence corner and turns east. The terrain soon steepens as the contouring trail nears the Gila River, paralleling its north bank above it, then descending into the flood plain, where the fence line comes in again. Follow the narrow, mesquite-lined corridor east to another fence corner, passing through a gate, where constructed trail ended (spring '09). From here you can follow flagging and stakes without trail tread 3.1 miles east, then another 0.6 mi. to segment's end at Florence-Kelvin Road. Otherwise, continue with the flags for 100 yards or less, then turn right (south) to follow the interim route of the GET as mapped. Find a way through the mesquite and tamarisk - and passing some shady camping opportunities - to a railroad bridge across the silty and generally unpotable Gila River, at 24.5 (waypoint 03410).

From the east end of the railroad trestle, the mapped route heads east along the grade of the Copper Basin Railroad, 1.7 miles to the Kelvin-Riverside bridge over the Gila. Be very careful walking near the tracks, which serve an active rail line to and from the Ray copper mine complex northeast of Kelvin. At 26.0, leave the tracks before the narrow trestle bridge and bushwhack a short ways north to a dirt road. Turn right (east) onto this road, which soon crosses a side drainage (Mineral Creek's wash), then ends at a junction with paved Florence-Kelvin Road at 26.3, just north of the Kelvin-Riverside Bridge (waypoint 04010, elev. 1781'). The tiny community of Kelvin is spread out along this 2-lane paved road immediately north of here. There are no services in Kelvin, but the owners of Wilson's Trailer Court - half a mile north - do allow hikers to obtain water from a spigot by a chain link fence along the side of their house. (No loitering please.) If the spigot is off for some reason, you might try at the nearby highway department building/yard, which reportedly has a water spigot accessible outside. The next potential water on route is about 8 miles ahead at a spring-fed trough in Ripsey Wash, reached in Segment 4.

Segment 2

Segment 4