Trail #31, The Highline

I’m very behind on writing about anything backpacking related. Prior to this trip I’ve finished the AZT and completed a couple trips in the Canyon that inspired even bigger adventures to come. I will write about those trips eventually, but for now completing the Highline is the trip I’m most excited to share (and also the freshest in my mind).

Normally I do not have time to backpack in the summer. My work on a fire crew usually occupies all of my time with hardly any off time in large enough blocks to plan and complete a trip. This year, however, we got what I call our “summer break from summer camp.” With national fire activity in a lull and an early start to monsoons in the southwest, we received five days off unavailable, meaning no chance of being called to a fire. Five whole days to do whatever we want.

I was almost in a panic of what to do with my time. It’s too hot to go super far into the Canyon. I didn’t want to drive very far. I didn’t want to go into any nearby canyons with afternoon rains.

The Highline Trail is a national recreation trail, sitting at about 6,000 feet of elevation, below the Mogollon Rim on the Tonto National Forest. The trail was made in 1870 to allow children among different homesteads to have a path to Pine, AZ to attend school (USDA). Living at Blue Ridge Ranger Station on a bordering forest and only about 40 minutes from one of it’s trailheads, this seemed the perfect trip for my sudden five days of nothing to do.

I got the idea for the Highline the previous year when a friend asked if I hiked any of the trail. I hiked part of it on the AZT from Washington Park to the Pine Trailhead (about eighteen miles), leaving about thirty-seven miles headed east to the 260 Trailhead. I planned to hike the entire trail in fall of 2021, but got sidetracked with other adventures. Fifty-five miles and just over 8,500 feet of elevation gain seemed reasonable to complete in about two and a half days.

My biggest worry was finding enough water. I knew the east fork of the Verde flows year round and there’d be a creek by the hatchery, but other than that I didn’t have a lot of experience with the area. Numerous creeks are listed on the map, but in Arizona that doesn’t mean one will find water. About five miles into my trip I met a backpacker finishing the Highline with a water report of “every creek with a name has flowing water.” With ten creeks flowing well, water was no longer a concern.

I left from Pine Trailhead and traveled east along the AZT. The first half of the trail is more exposed with a large portion of it traveling through the Dude Fire scar, which occurred in 1990. The trail follows contours of sandstone and offers stunning panoramic views of the Rim to the east and west. Other than the one backpacker and a few day hikers enjoying the east fork of the Verde at Washington Park, I had the trail all to myself.

My first night I had a little trouble finding a good campsite, as most of the vegetation is thick manzanita. Eventually I found a spot at about twenty-four miles with some pine cover and called it a night.

Day two was my favorite day of the trip. I crossed six creeks, complete with a small waterfall, wildflowers, and blackberries (many weren’t ripe yet, so I figured I’d leave them for the bears to enjoy). The middle of the trail is a little rough with hip high grass covering the trail in some parts and some very rocky sections. A couple times I found myself on game paths wandering away from the trail. The trail crosses the start of Hells Gate Canyon. A steep drop and climb lead to some backtracking to return to the correct path. The trail passes near a hatchery at Tonto Creek and from there travels through a more wooded area. The afternoon featured a steeper than expected climb out of Horton Creek. Other notable parts of the day include a few groups of elk and one rattlesnake that only rattled after I walked by.

My final morning I had only seven miles to reach the 260 Trailhead. I took my time and reached the trailhead by about ten in the morning. I saw a few bear tracks from several days prior, but unfortunately the bears itself was long gone.

While I’d made arrangements for a friend to pick me up, I also wanted to try hitchhiking back to Pine Trailhead. It’s about a twenty-five minute drive west to Payson/ AZ-87 and then a twenty minute drive up to Pine. Standing on the side of AZ-260 was probably more dangerous than actually hitchhiking with semi trucks and other vehicles flying by at who knows what speeds.

I was unsuccessful for about an hour until two delightful women picked me up. Mel and Lynn were up from Phoenix enjoying the cooler weather. Originally just going to Payson, they were kind of enough to drive me all the way to Pine, so I wouldn’t need to hitchhike a second time.

This trip, while short, reminded me that nerves will never go away right before a trip. For awhile I had the mindset that the last of my solo trips would be completing the AZT because my nerves right before those trips reached an all time high.

I definitely tried to come up with excuses to not go on this trip. I originally planned to go with my friend Drew (you’ll hear more about him on the AZT and in the Canyon, as well as trips to come), but he made plans to visit his family on his days off. The second day of my trip had the potential for thunderstorms and the Mogollon Rim can receive a large amount of lightning. I was worried about hitchhiking, as I hadn’t done it since hiking the PCT (and most of that was done with my hiking partner). And I was just worried about being by myself, even though it was only a two night trip.

If there’s anything I’m learning, it’s that nerves right before something usually means it’s a good challenge for me to attempt. My original hiking partner, Charles, said something to me when I first started the AZT and struggling beyond belief that rings in my head whenever I find something difficult: “This trail seems tough, but we don’t thru hike because it’s easy right?” For the longest time I believed the nerves would eventually disappear, but I’m realizing that’s not the case. I am finding though that my confidence in myself to take the nerves in stride is growing and that’s all I could ever ask for. So here’s to nerves, taking challenges head on, learning to trust in myself, and that the best things to do in life generally start out with the most uncertainty.

Next up should be AZT adventures (and trust me, there’s a lot of self doubt and nerves in those stories)!