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Hiking the Alamo Canyon Passage

Posted on February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 by rondungan
Alamo Canyon Passage of the Arizona Trail. / Ron Dungan

A few things grab your attention when you hike the Alamo Passage of the Arizona Trail. The first is Picketpost Mountain – how it rises out of the Sonoran scrub and commands the view for about four miles as you move north to south.

Telegraph Fire

The next thing that will grab your attention is damage from the Telegraph Fire. The fire started somewhere in here and destroyed a lot of desert before racing toward Miami, where it torched several homes.

You may also notice, if you backpack this passage, that it’s awful dry out there. The Arizona Trail Association calls this one of the driest passages on the entire trail, so dry that it built a rain cache where passage 17 and 16 meet. I did find a little water when I made the hike on a cool January day, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Boyce Thompson

Torched saguaros. / Ron Dungan

More of a butte than a mountain, Picketpost served as a signal station for U.S. troops in the late 19th century. William Boyce Thompson supposedly said it was “the most beautiful mountain he had ever seen.” He may have been serious, because he built a home near the foot of the volcanic rock pile and established an arboretum for desert plants from around the world, which remains to this day.

The passage, also known as passage 17, starts about a mile north of Highway 60, near Superior, then passes west of Picketpost along Alamo Canyon and continues south, through the Telegraph Fire burn scar.

The burn scar

Once you pass Picketpost, the trail passes over a few hills as you zigzag in and out of drainages, and every time you think the mountain is out of view you’ll come to a rise, look north, and there it is, the Superstitions in the blue distance. Occasionally the cliffs of Apache Leap come into view if you look east.

After about seven and half miles you’ll come to Forest Road 4. From here the hike rounds a bend and follows a drainage for a couple of miles, where the Telegraph Fire appears to have reached some of its early glory. Charred trees fill the bottoms and saguaros slump on the hillsides, broiled and skinned alive. The trail climbs out of the drainage and rises to its highest points. You’ll walk along a ridgeline, round a rocky outcrop and for the next mile or two you’ll drop, cross a drainage and climb again, until at last you come to a fence marking the end of the passage.

You’ll find a few campsites along this stretch, but not much firewood.

Night comes to the desert. / Ron Dungan

The next fire

The Alamo Passage is not the physical beat-down that some passages are known for, but if you carry all your water, which is highly recommended, it will be challenging enough. And although the fire damage looks alarming, a carpet of grass has papered over some of the damage, so it looks nice. The bad news is that much of this grass is invasive, which means the fuel for the next fire could already be there.

The Nitty gritty:

Access: The Alamo Canyon Passages is about 60 miles east of Phoenix on U.S. 60. Look for the turnoff for Picketpost Mountain Trailhead.

Maps: USGS: Teapot Mountain, Mineral Mountain and Picketpost Mountain. Tonto National Forest.

Best time to go: Fall, winter, spring.

Disclaimer: Please read. Have fun.

Stories

You can now hang out in northern Arizona and snag a permit for The Wave without waiting in line. / Ron Dungan

The Wave is one of the most famous red rock features in the Southwest, but permits to the popular hiking area on the Utah-Arizona border are hard to come by.

Visitors will soon have a more convenient option to getting one.

It’s possible to get a permit to visit The Wave through a lottery, months in advance.

The other option was to wake up early and stand in a long line. But in mid-March, the line is going away, and visitors will be able to get permits on their phones.

The advanced reservation system will remain in place, but a new system will allow visitors in the Four Corners area to reserve a spot through an app, says David Hercher of the Bureau of Land Management.

“But the beauty of it is, that, you apply, and then you go on about your business. I mean, you want to go to Four Corners? Go to Four Corners. You’ll get a notification if you’ve actually been awarded a permit,” Hercher said. 

Because service is spotty in northern Arizona, he recommends downloading the app before you travel.

Flagstaff mushers are making some changes - my story on Here and Now.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/01/17/arizona-dog-sledders-climate

Brewing day at The Shop Beer Co. / Ron Dungan

How craft brewers adjusted during the pandemic.

https://kjzz.org/content/1631717/arizona-craft-beer-finds-its-way-during-pandemic

A meadow along Canyon Creek, Tonto National Forest.

Western wildfires story for Colorado station KUNC.

https://www.kunc.org/2020-10-22/as-western-fires-burn-focus-narrows-on-forest-management-but-its-easier-said-than-done

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, southern Arizona.

The secret, probably illegal burial of Edward Abbey.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/best-reads/2015/04/17/edward-abbey-last-act-defiance/25930091/

El Camino del Diablo, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, southern Arizona.

The Border, a history.

https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/story/us-mexico-border-history/510833001/

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