Day one starts with the obligatory trail-head picture. The weather was in the 40s and partly cloudy. We finally got on the trail around 7:45 am. We followed Dutchman trail for about 2.2 miles until the intersection of Coffee flats trail.
The weather in all of Arizona had been more than unusually wetter and colder. Thus all the normally dry creek beds were all flowing with lots of water. No worries about conserving and finding water on this trip. Something we were not expecting is doing lots of rock hopping across creeks as the trail winds back and forth across creeks.
With all the rain, the desert was very green and lush. Within a couple of weeks the desert will be in full bloom. The whole lower desert area was full of giant Saguaros. After another 4 miles through Randolph Canyon we were at the intersection of Coffee Flat trail and Red Tanks trail.
Red Tanks trail was very rugged that had not seen the trail maintenance crew yet this year. Lots of up and downs. After 4.5 miles we made it to the junction with Upper Labarge Canyon and it was time to find a camping spot. We saw some nice site, but surprisingly they were taken. We took the Hoolie Bacon trail for about 1 mile and found a really nice spot with a nice fire pit and plenty of wood in the area. After setting up camp, eating dinner we sat by the fire for a little while. What a nice treat. We went to bed at hikers midnight of 8:30 pm.
Journeys with Jeff and Ellen 