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Big Lake Car Camping Trip
White Mountains
June 13-16, 2008
by Chuck Parsons
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Anxious hikers at the trailhead,
including one chomping-at-the-bit Labrador retriever.
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From left to right: Sandy, Sheila (either with three legs or with Glenn behind her),
Doug, Mike & Zeke, Debbie, Ray, and Barry (with Chuck behind the camera lens)
pose for a quick group picture around the West Fork of the Black River trailhead sign.
We are about to start the first hike on our second annual car camping trip to the
Big Lake area in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona.
The weather on this mid-June day couldn’t be more perfect, with clear sunny
skies and a temperature of 78 degrees.
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The abundant snowfall of this past winter and spring in the White Mountains has
helped to restore a long-parched land and its vast forest cover.
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Fields of Flowers
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Wildflowers, such as this colorful field of wild Mountain Iris, have benefited as
well and carpet large tracks of mountain meadows with a spectacular display that
hasn’t been seen in recent memory because of Arizona’s prolonged drought period.
The drought isn’t over yet, but this will surely help to loosen its vice-like
grip over the land.
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Iris Close-Up
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Signs of Big Bruin
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This fallen aspen shows tell-tale signs of a recent visit by a brown bear.
Bears frequently use trees and rocks as nature’s files to help sharpen their
huge four-inch claws.
Downed trees like this aspen lay across the West Fork Trail by the dozens on this
hike, especially along the first mile or so of trail.
We determine that it’s probably heavy wet snow, high winds, dead or dying trees
weakened by invading armies of pine bark beetles, or some combination of these
factors that brought down all of these trees.
We are forced to make our way over,
under, or around these fallen giants of the forest blocking the trail.
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Numerous budding pine cones from pine and spruce trees lining the trail are another
positive sign of a recovering forest after the trees have soaked up generous amounts
of moisture this spring from heavy blankets of melting snow.
Many areas of the White Mountains saw near-record amounts of snowfall over the winter
and spring months, including another 18-24 inches over the Memorial Day weekend, one
of the latest spring snowfalls on record.
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new generation of pine cones
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Taking a break in the shade.
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Ray, Debbie, Glenn, Doug, and Barry stop for a short rest break in the shade along
the West Fork Trail.
Although we are hiking at an elevation of about 8,700 feet, as the day progresses
the temperature is also rising and now stands at about 83°.
However, we are only too aware that the Phoenix metro area is currently sizzling
under 110° temperatures, so far be it from us to complain.
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No siree — we are perfectly happy and content hiking in this mountain paradise
with temps in the mid-80s.
Anyone ready to head back to Phoenix now? Didn’t think so.
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Ray offers a helping hand to Sheila and Barry, with Chuck waiting his turn in the
background, as we wade almost knee-deep across the icy waters of the West Fork of
the Black River.
The river crossing marks the junction of the West Fork and Thompson Trails.
This time last year when we crossed the West Fork, strategically placed rocks and
small boulders in the riverbed allowed us to easily step across without getting wet.
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Fording the West Fork
(Picture taken by Sandy D.)
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With the large snow pack from this past winter and spring, snow is still melting in
the higher elevations of the White Mountains, and all rivers and streams are flowing
faster and deeper than normal with the resulting runoff.
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Zeke, the happy lab
(Picture taken by Mike A.)
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Zeke is grinning ear to ear, as he races across large grassy meadows alongside the
West Fork and leaps and bounds through the cold waters.
He is truly in his element here and having the time of his life at one of the most
scenic spots along the entire trail.
If you were a dog, where else would you possibly want to be?
We stop here and find a nice shady area in the trees for a lunch break, as we watch
Zeke play and frolic in the water.
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The West Fork of the Black River, swollen by the still-melting snows in the high
country, follows a meandering course through pristine alpine meadows, deep valleys,
and rugged mountain terrain with thick conifer forests of Douglas fir, ponderosa pine,
and Colorado blue spruce as it continues on its journey to the confluence with the
East Fork of the Black River about five miles north of Hannigan Meadow.
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West Fork of the Black River
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Where these two forks merge, the Black River begins its fifty-mile journey through the
White Mountains, dropping 2,000 feet in elevation before merging with the White River.
This confluence then marks the beginning of the Salt River.
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Cataracts along the West Fork
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Doe Elk and Fawn (picture taken by Mike A.)
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On the drive to the trailhead we discover this doe and her fawn crossing a meadow
after some early-morning grazing.
Alpine meadows throughout the White Mountains are now lush with nutritious green
grasses, giving rise to a new generation of deer and elk in the mountains.
Abundant rain and snow benefit all wildlife, from the very top of the food chain
all the way down to the rodents and insects at the bottom rung.
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Although we don’t see a lot of deer and elk, we certainly come across plenty of
their calling cards along the trail.
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LookÑup in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman?
What the heck is Ray doing with a bazooka, anyway?
Trying to shoot down Superman?
Turns out this is no ordinary bazooka.
It’s a high-tech, super-deluxe,
whiz-bang, belch-fire spud gun.
What the heck is a spud gun, you ask?
It shoots spuds, of course.
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Ray and the Magic Spud Gun (picture taken by Sandy D.)
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Ray claims that he can shoot an ordinary garden variety spud almost into sub-orbit,
and when his spud flinger is switched into hyper-velocity mode the spud is then
capable of penetrating an armored tank.
Sounds a bit far-fetched to me, but he sounds pretty danged serious about it.
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Relaxing by the fire after a hard day of hiking
(picture taken by Sandy D.)
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Glenn unwinds and relaxes by the campfire after a long day of hiking the West Fork and
Thompson Trails. Tomorrow will bring an even longer hike on the Indian Springs Trail.
We brought along plenty of firewood for this trip and had a nice campfire going every night.
One of the best things about camping is gathering around the campfire at night for warmth
and companionship, lively conversation, a bit of revelry, and soaking up a few suds after
a long day of hiking in the mountains.
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Mike and Zeke, Sandy, Karen, and Glenn (with Chuck behind the lens as usual) stand
in front of the weathered hollowed-out logs that serve as watering troughs at
Spillman Spring on the Indian Springs Trail.
Indian Springs is a 7.5-mile loop trail through the heavily forested highlands and
expansive meadows surrounding Big Lake.
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A new day and a new trail.
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We will also be hiking the half-mile spur trail up to the Big Lake Lookout tower for
a better view of the surrounding area which will make the total hiking distance 8.5
miles, a couple more miles than Saturday’s hike.
But it’s a brand new day in paradise, and we’re up for the challenge.
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“Hello! Is anyone home up there in the tower?” No answer. We trudge up a
long series of steps to the base of the tower, finding to our dismay that the entrance
to the bottom of the stairway leading to the top of the tower is securely padlocked.
Strange.
Why wouldn’t the tower have a 24/7 lookout watching for signs of smoke
and fire in the forest by the middle of June, we wonder?
Probably because of the heavy snow pack the White Mountains received this winter, which
ensured plenty of ground moisture and little chance of fire until the dry lightening
storms of late JuneÑearly July start to hit.
Disappointed, we head back down the steep half-mile spur trail that brought us to the
tower and rejoin the main Indian Springs Trail.
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Big Lake Lookout Tower
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Meadows and Forests
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Big puffy cumulus clouds begin to move in over the thick forests and rolling meadows
of the White Mountains, providing temporary relief from the broiling overhead sun.
Despite our 9,000 foot elevation, the thermometer dangling from my camera bag is
showing an unseasonably warm 90 degrees along the open, sunny areas of the trail.
Fortunately for us, most of the Indian Springs Trail runs through heavily-forested
areas that provide plenty of shade on this warm June day in the White Mountains.
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A circle of tightly clustered Aspen trees provides an interesting prospective looking
straight up into the overhead canopy, as they conceal all but a small bright blue circle
of the Arizona sky.
Sandy, Glenn, and I were walking along near this area when we suddenly heard a loud
crashing noise and looked up just in time to see a long-dead ponderosa pine falling
down less than 100 feet away on the other side of the trail.
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Surrounded by Aspen
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Unfortunately, this is
becoming a more common occurrence throughout Arizona’s vast pine forests as
increasing numbers of pine trees, especially the stately ponderosa, continue to fall
victim to marauding armies of voracious pine-bark beetles.
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Taking a shade break.
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Mike, Zeke, Karen, and Sandy take a long rest break under the cool welcoming shade of
a tall ponderosa pine at the edge of a large open meadow. We are finally getting closer
to the end of the trail, but as the day wears on into early afternoon and the sun
continues to bear down on us along this long open stretch of trail, the heat is
gradually wearing us down. We are forced to take longer and longer breaks in the shade
to cool down and drink plenty of water.
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Zeke isn’t complaining one bit, since his jet-black coat is the perfect heat
magnet in the hot sun.
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It’s Monday morning at Rainbow Campground, and a large tent with eight legs
is walking down the road.
Now that’s a sight you certainly don’t see every day.
We get a few surprised looks as we re-locate Karen’s new tent to another
campsite across the road from our large group site.
She wants to stay another day for some additional hiking, while the rest of us
are packing up and getting ready to head back home.
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Moving Day (picture taken by Sandy D.)
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Unfortunately the camp host will not let her stay in the large group site by
herself, which is why her tent suddenly grew legs and walked off.
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Sunset over Big Lake (picture taken by Barry A.)
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The setting sun slowly dips below a long forested ridge behind Big Lake in
this beautiful silhouette shot taken by Barry.
This sunset marks the end of another great day in the White Mountains, as well
as the end of our four-day retreat from the desert heat to one of the most
beautiful and spectacular places in this state of seemingly endless beautiful
and spectacular places.
In addition to the great memories, great pictures, and renewed friendships we
will take away with us, we can always look forward to a future return to Big Lake
and the White Mountains.
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