White Mountain/Big Lake Car Camping Trip
Three Spectacular Days in Alpine Country
Trip Report: June 13-16, 2008
Trip Report: June 15-17, 2007
Getting tired of baking in the desert, with endless 100+ degree days and not a cloud in sight for relief? Longing for a quick escape to cool days and crisp nights in the high country, with air so pure and so clean you want to bottle it and bring it back home with you? Care to hike along a sparkling clear mountain stream meandering through flower-filled alpine meadows and lush forests? Want to sleep under a night sky so dark and so clear that you feel as if you could reach up and pluck a bright diamond right out of the sky? If you answered yes to any of the above, then this is a trip you may want to consider.
Welcome to the Arizona Trailblazers second annual car camping trip to the Big Lake area in the beautiful White Mountains of eastern Arizona, where hot, dusty days and bone dry deserts quickly become a distant memory. The high alpine country in this part of the White Mountains is just about the coolest retreat from the heat to be found anywhere in Arizona. Because of limited space, paid-up hiking club members will be given first priority on this trip.
You can sign up as a new member by going to our website (www.azhikers.org) and downloading a membership application form (click on “Club Membership” in the home page). You can then bring this with you to the campground, along with your membership fee of $25 for individuals and $35 for couples or families, and turn it in to the hike leader. Existing members can pay their annual dues to the hike leader. Your Arizona Trailblazers membership will be good for one year from the date of payment.
The Drive:
Take Highway 60 east through Superior, Globe, and the spectacular Salt River Canyon to Show Low. From Show Low take Highway 260 southeast to Pinetop-Lakeside and McNary. For those of you not familiar with this area, when you reach the Hon Dah Junction about five miles from Pinetop-Lakeside – you can’t miss the huge resort/casino. Make sure that you stay on Highway 260 and head east towards McNary and the Sunrise Ski Resort and not south on 73 to Whiteriver. Continue heading east on 260 past the turnoffs for Highways 273 and 373.
Several miles west of Eagar, watch for the turnoff onto Highway 261. Take 261 south past Mexican Hay Lake and continue on all the way to Crescent Lake. Make a left turn at the junction next to the lake and continue heading south towards Big Lake. The road becomes FR 113 shortly after you leave Crescent Lake, but is paved all the way into the Big Lake area. Continue for a short distance until you reach the junction with FR 115. Make a right turn here and watch for the signs to Rainbow Campground. There are also three other campgrounds in the Big Lake area – Cutthroat, Grayling, and Brook Char. You guessed it: they are all named after different trout species. Check the campground map posted near the entrance, before proceeding to Loop “C” – Group Site #80. From the east valley, estimate about five hours of driving time, with the detour.
The Campground:
We will be staying in Group Site # 80 at the Rainbow Campground adjacent to Big Lake (see map below). I have reserved this group site for a total cost of $189 (see the cost breakdown below). Rainbow Campground is a fully developed campground with drinking water, showers, flush toilets, and several tables and grills for our use at the group site. Shower tokens are available from the camp host for $3 each. The group site allows up to a maximum of 16 people and 10 tents. Unfortunately, we are limited to only four vehicles at the campsite, which has a convenient pull through parking strip. There is limited parking space for extra vehicles by the campground showers for a cost of $6 per vehicle per night, to be collected by the campground host, but space availability is not guaranteed.
Because of the vehicle restrictions, we will need to carpool as much as possible to accommodate the maximum number of people on this trip. If we have four people driving four separate vehicles with no passengers, we have already maxed out on the number of vehicles we can park at the campsite, which makes it unfair to others who wish to join us. I will bring as much firewood as I can carry and one bag of charcoal. If anyone has any extra firewood or charcoal, please let me know and bring it along.
Since the campground sits at an elevation of 9,200 feet, the nights will be crisp and cool, and it will be good to relax around a nice warm campfire, as we wind down after a long day of hiking. We will also be at the campground for three nights on this trip, so we will need extra firewood. In the event that fire restrictions are in place by June and campfires are not allowed, I will notify everyone who has signed up for the trip. However, I don’t anticipate that being a problem at this point with the amount of snowfall the White Mountains have received so far this winter.
$189.00 — hike leader’s total expenses to be collected at the campground from all participants.
$6.00 — cost per night per vehicle for vehicles in excess of four that will be parked in the overflow area (to be collected by the campground host at the campground).
The Hikes:
Friday — For those of us arriving at the campsite on Friday afternoon, there are several options available for nearby short hikes. After we get set up at the campground and have lunch, we can check out Big Lake, the Visitor Center, and the Big Lake Nature Trail to get a feel for the area and the terrain.
Saturday — Our hike for Saturday will be the Thompson Trail and the West Fork Black River trail. Both of these trails come together at the West Fork of the Black River, with a combined distance of about 6.5 miles end to end. We will do this hike as a car shuttle with vehicles parked at both ends. We will all start from the West Fork Trailhead, which is closest to the campground, and hike out to the Thompson Trailhead, where we will shuttle back to the first trailhead and the campground.
The West Fork Trail begins at an elevation of 8,925 feet, gradually descending through thick stands of Douglas-fir, blue spruce, ponderosa pine, and quacking aspen, transcending lush, expansive meadows along the way, with spectacular viewpoints of the Black River watershed and its vast stands of thick forest. The trail crosses one last meadow, before ending at the West Fork of the Black River, where we connect with the Thompson Trail. We will drop a total of 400 feet in elevation over the course of three miles, before reaching the river at 8,525 feet.
The Thompson Trail closely parallels the sparkling West Fork of the Black River for almost its entire length of 3.5 miles, passing through beautiful flower-filled meadows and steep, heavily timbered canyons. We will gain about 300 feet of elevation along the way, as we exit at the Thompson Trailhead at an elevation of 8,825 feet.
Sunday — Sunday’s hike will be the Indian Springs Trail, an easy 7.5-mile loop trail through the heavily forested highlands and expansive meadows surrounding Big Lake. The elevation along the trail will range from 8,800 to 9,100 feet. About a half-mile from the trailhead, we will take a short spur trail to the Big Lake Lookout, which offers a stunning panoramic view of the surrounding area. Further down the trail Spillman Spring offers an interesting look at an ancient water delivery system that used hollowed-out logs to move water. About halfway through the loop the trail follows the Old Apache Railroad bed, laid in the 1940’s to move timber during the booming logging years of the 40’s through the early 70’s.
Monday — Monday will be an optional day for hiking. Some may wish to pack up and leave camp after breakfast and are free to do so. All of us must be out of the campground by 1:00 PM. For those of us who have not had quite enough hiking and want to take full advantage of the hiking opportunities on this trip, there are several options available to us, which will be discussed on Monday morning for those interested.
Additional Information:
The week of the White Mountain trip, I will send out a checklist with additional information to all participants who have signed up for this venture. Come out and join us for the newest car camping experience the Arizona Trailblazers has on its schedule. If you sign up for this trip, please let me know if you have extra room for a passenger or two, so that we can limit the number of vehicles and share on fuel expenses.