Reavis Ranch

Introduction

My trip to Reavis Ranch in the Superstition Wilderness got off to a rough start. Having received the Osprey Xenith pack during the week, I was really looking forward to testing it on the trail, but it wasn't meant to be. After I filled the pack with gear, I found that I could not get a comfortable fit. I paced around the house for an hour making adjustments and feeling it out, but to no avail. I think the torso size may be off, even though it's a medium just like my regular pack. Needless to say, at the last minute I switched packs, not wanting to risk hiking 20 miles in a pack that is causing me pain in the "try on" phase.

My other problem didn't really present itself until I was on the trail. Last Tuesday on a day-hike, one of the insoles in my Merrell Moab's ripped somehow. Procrastinating during the week, I didn't buy a replacement pair of insoles until the last minute. Consequently, within a quarter mile on day one, I got a blister. Considering I have never had a blister in this pair of shoes, I recognized immediately that it was being caused by the new insoles, that may or may not have needed a break-in period. At first, I opted to just cover my heels in mole-skin and keep the insoles, thinking that as I walked the insoles would form to my foot better... Big mistake. By the half-mile mark I was limping from the pain on my heels. I finally took out the insoles, but it was too late, I already had a nickle-sized blister on my right heel. But my feet felt much better without the insoles, so I covered the blister in fresh mole skin and pressed on.

The Hike

Reavis Ranch Trail

Reavis Ranch Trail 109 heads south from a beautiful trail-head overlooking Apache Lake. The hike starts out in typical desert fashion with plenty of sand, rock, and cacti, but quickly changes. This area of the Superstitions is so unlike the Superstitions I'm used too. Its less rocky, less rugged, and filled with plant life I would normally associate with being further north. The gentle grade slowly climbs over grass covered hillsides that offer excellent views of the Superstition mountains and beyond. In fact, I would say the first 3/4 of the 10 mile hike into Reavis Ranch is basically one long ridge walk. There wasn't much shade up there, but the wind did a great job of making the hot day bearable. 

Engelmann's Hedgehog

Although not as dramatic as my Cave Creek trip, everywhere I looked wildflowers were blooming. I saw poppies, scarlet gilia, cactus flowers and many more. And the insect life was busy too. I saw butterflies, caterpillars, beetles, and a ton of ants. In fact I haven't seen so many ants before. I swear there were at least 20 colonies on that stretch of trail.

The Superstitions

 We reached a pass about halfway in, and on the other side, the mountains were covered in trees! I almost felt like I was back in Washington, especially when we reached Reavis Ranch, where I actually pitched my tent among some pines. It wasn't just pine trees either. There was an entire apple orchard down there, and the trees were all in bloom. It was very beautiful.

Apple Blossom

 We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the breeze and exploring Reavis Ranch. Elisha Reavis was a pioneer who built a ranch down here in the late 1800's, where he grew vegetables and fruit. He apparently lived a solitary life, spending his days gardening and hunting. All that's left now is the ruins of his ranch and his apple orchard that still produces fruit. Researching for this blog I found an old obituary. It just illustrates what I love about Arizona... The history! Here is an excerpt.

Elisha M. Reavis 1827-1896 "Hermit of Superstition Mountains" Found dead

from the Star by the Arizon Sentinal, Yuma, Az. May 16, 1896

"Old Man Reavis, the Hermit of the Superstitions" is dead. His body, Half eaten by coyotes, was found last Thursday near his hut in the superstition Mountains, twelve miles north of the Silver King Mine. Whether death was natural or violent is only a matter of conjecture; also the time when it might have occurred, for the hunger of the wolves had not left enough evidence upon which to base an opinion. Of all men as widely known, there was none in Arizona whom so little was known as "Old Man Reavis". Much has been written about him by the few who have visited in his mountain home but it was generally produced by the imagination of the writers. It is said that the old recluse was driven into exile by a disappointment in love, but he never said so and nobody else has been found who could have known the facts..."

That night we saw lots of mule deer in the grass near our camp. I took some photos, but they were just too far away to come out any good. We did spot a short-horned lizard on the way out Sunday. It's actually the second one I've seen since moving to Arizona, and like the first one, it didn't move a muscle, thinking it was camouflaged. They are the neatest little lizards, covered in spines along its back like a dinosaur, but totally calm and relaxed and seemingly pretty docile.

Short-horned lizard

It was a great trip. Other than my feet (which actually took quite a pounding on the rocky trail without insoles), I felt like I could go another 20 miles when we reached the car on Sunday. I'm just chomping at the bit to do a longer trip. I've been looking into The Highline Trail below the Mogollon Rim, and I think its something I'm going to try to accomplish sometime this year... possibly June? The trail is about 53 miles long end-to-end and I would like to thru-hike it in one shot. Anyway, I'll let you know once I'm in the planning stages. Thanks for reading.

The Superstitions

* Reference for the Elisha Reavis obit: http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/reavisrevis/ElishaMarcusReavis.html

Bloody Basin

Someone told me last weekend that Arizona had more public lands (percentage wise) than all the states in the lower 48. Although that isn't true (Nevada takes the #1 spot), Arizona does rank in the top 10. Seeing the urban sprawl stretching to the horizons while flying over Phoenix, I never would have guessed there would be so much to explore out here, but there is.

Mesa

 One of those places is called Bloody Basin, in the Tonto National Forest. I don't know if its called Bloody Basin because the Indian wars that were fought here, or the red tinged soil, but it is a really cool place to explore. One could probably spend a lifetime exploring here. But the catch is that water is really scarce.

Jimbo 

My friend and long time Arizonian James (aka Jimbo) took me out there for a day trip on Saturday. He is an outdoor lover like me, and has introduced me to a lot of cool places since I moved down to the desert.

We decided on an off trail excursion. Doesn't look too bad from this view, but let me tell you, when you get down there a midst all those prickly plants, it can be poke city. There is a bush of some kind that grows here that had barbed hooks on it which embed in your clothes and skin when you get too close.

As remote as this place is, the roads back here are remarkably well maintained. But even with the nice roads, we only saw perhaps 5 other people all day.

Turret Peak

That peak in the center is called Turret Peak. In 1873, US Army scouts sneaked up on some Apaches that were hiding there, killed 57 of them, and captured the rest. The ambush basically broke the back of the Apache resistance. I love how rich in history Arizona is, despite how sad it can be. It really adds a new dimension to my outdoor experiences.

References:

http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/cave_creek/History.aspx

http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/udall/congrept/87th/620914.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turret_Peak

The Lost Dutchman

So much for backpacking this weekend. We had planned a trip into what is supposed to be one of the most beautiful destinations in all of Arizona, the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness. But it was not to to be. The weather turned foul. In Phoenix we had wind and rain, and when I checked the forecast for Sedona and Flagstaff (the nearest towns to Sycamore Canyon) I saw rain and snow, and temps down into the 20's. Normally that wouldn't have been a deal breaker, but Sarah just does not have the gear for that kind of weather. She's a desert rat. She gets cold when the temps drop below 90. I've been meaning to buy her rain gear and a better sleeping bag, but so far she just hasn't needed it. The weather down here is always so nice and warm and predictable.

Lost Dutchman State Park

We needed a "plan B". I've wanted to check out Lost Dutchman State Park since I arrived in Arizona. I think it's the name that intrigued me, and the legend behind the name. Supposedly, back in the old west, some guy discovered a gold mine in this section of the aptly named Superstition Mountains, but before he could reveal the location of the mine he was murdered. So actually its not the Dutchman who is lost, its his gold mine. Or at least that is one popular version of the legend. Apparently there are many versions of the lost goldmine legend.

The Superstitions

 Ever since the late 1800's, people have been coming to this area looking for the lost goldmine. Of course no one ever finds it, and some even get lost and die in the desert. It's easy to see how someone could die in the Superstitions. It's rough, rugged, dry, and totally unforgiving. How early settlers survived here I have no idea.

Sarah breaking the rules

Sarah was in a very ornery mood. I was having a great time, but she called the trail "stupid" and complained that she felt like a mule following it. She wanted to trek cross country, and I couldn't dissuade her. Nothing I said changed her mind, and neither did the signs that read "Hikers Do Not Leave The Trail".  I gave her an impassioned speech on Leave No Trace ethics, and when I finished she looked at me like I was a complete sissy. "Rules are meant to be broken" she said, as she jumped off the trail. I reluctantly followed. I kept thinking about those people that died from exposure looking for the lost goldmine.

Desert Tarantula

I was totally ecstatic when I spotted a big Desert Tarantula. The first tarantula I've ever seen in the wild. Even though I've seen them in captivity a lot, and am perfectly aware of just how big they get, I was still taken aback by it's size. It looked straight out of a horror movie. I took probably 50 photos of it. Funny thing is, in 4 months of desert living and hiking, I have yet to see a rattlesnake. 

Overall it was a really great desert day hike, but I feel like I really need to get out for a weekend. Hell, I need to get out for a month, or maybe six. I've got the backpacking bug, and I cant shake it.

Retrospect

One statement I've heard people make over and over through the years is “no regrets”, and when I've heard it I've always wondered to myself if the speaker truly meant it. In fact I've always believed that having no regrets was an impossibility, and that anyone claiming to was full of shit...

I think it's because I am incessantly reflecting on my life, not just the events of last week or last year, but from ten or even twenty years ago. But I'm not just reflecting, I'm analyzing and criticizing, and wondering if the choices I made or the road I took was right. There are choices I've made as a teenager that still haunt me, and that's just the beginning. I review the consequences of my decisions and I wonder what would have become of me If I made the opposite choice. Which path then would I have walked? Which roads will I have traveled? How would “things” have turned out?

And when I think back on these choices they seemed so inconsequential when I made them and in some cases I think invisible, as if I did not realize I was making a choice at all. It took time for me to discover that even something as small as a word can change everything. To realize that one moment of false bravado, or pride, or weakness, or selfishness, can alter the course forever.

The times when I hurt people are the worst. Even now I can feel how I must have made someone else feel when my words cut them, or my actions betrayed them, or my inaction let them down.

I found myself asking: What should I have done? What should I have said? How should I have reacted?

I think the answer to those questions is that there is no answer. I tell people all the time to leave the past in the past and yet I cannot seem to live by my own words because I am struggling to find answers where none exist. I'm like a dog going round and round in the living room chasing my tail but never catching it.

When people from my past ask me why I made a certain decision, even though I may have asked myself the same question a thousand times, the only sincere response I can give is to shrug my shoulders and say “I don't know”. Sure I can give reasons. I can play self-psychologist and offer explanations as to why I behaved the way I did, but it's like grasping at straws. It's like buying a scratch ticket but not knowing if you've won because no matter how many times you read the instructions you still don’t understand the rules.

I want to say that I have no regrets, and that every choice I've made and everything I've done has made me the person I am today, but only the latter is true and I'm okay with that. It took me time to realize that having regrets is not a weakness or some flaw in my character, as some people make it out to be. In fact having regret and admitting regret is quite the opposite. It shows strength of character. The hard part is knowing when and how to let go. The hard part is leaving the past in the past and just accepting the choices you've made, because no matter how much you may wish it, they can't be changed.

I regret that my face was this fat when this picture was taken.