My Trails

Nice!

The campground is full again tonight. I walked the road earlier and talked with a couple that persuaded the camp host to open a site that has been too muddy until this weekend. Several vehicles have driven through looking for a campsite. It surprised me that so many people would be out camping after the big holiday last weekend, but with temperatures in Phoenix crawling into triple digits, I don’t blame people for driving up here. It has been perfect weather with highs in the low 70’s.

Yesterday I hiked a trail that loops back into the woods and joins part of the General Crook Trail for a couple miles. It was a nice hike through tall pines and isolated meadows. The camp host told me that several people have spotted a large black bear back in that area, and she cautioned me to be aware and make noise. I have done a lot of hiking in bear country so I didn’t think much of it until tonight. As I was sitting outside Minnie, a couple walked by and told me they just saw a large black bear on the same trail just behind the campground. I doubt if he will come into the camp tonight looking for food – it seems everyone has a couple big dogs.

It’s nice that I can hear some kids playing nearby. I remember the fun I had when I was young and we would go camping, exploring the woods and playing out our imagination. Every kid should have the chance to live with nature for a few days.

I made a couple of improvements to Minnie while I was parked at Daryl’s last week. The tailpipe had been crushed by the previous owner and I was hoping my engine light was the result of the blocked exhaust. Daryl helped me cut and replace the damaged section and we reset the code hoping it would stay off. Sadly, it came back on. But the engine seems to have a little more power so the fix was not completely in vain.

I also installed a “T” in my propane line that allows me to use a propane tank for extended capacity. I hooked it up today to test it out. I thought maybe I would get air in the lines when I switched over but I never noticed a sputter.

The last day I stayed at Daryls I walked down a side street and noticed a child bicycle trailer that someone was throwing away. I wish I would have taken a picture to show you what it looked like, but I think you have all seen those enclosed tent-like trailers people pull there small children around in. I am always thinking of ways that I can carry more stuff for short distance with my motorcycle, so I pulled it home and dismantled everything except the bottom frame. It is made so that the tongue folds flat and the wheels come off, turning the whole trailer into a compact unit. I can carry it on my roof easily.

It rained almost all night long. Most of the time it was just a gentle tapping on Minnie’s roof, but occasionally a loud, fearful drumming would wake me from a sound sleep and put me in a worrisome state. Even though my ceiling is better insulated than my van was, it is still by no means soundproof, and the raindrops seemed to rouse me from deep slumber into semi-consciousness several times throughout the night. It probably doesn’t help my rest on a rainy night because I sleep just two feet from the ceiling where all the sound is amplified. But I think what bothers my sleep the most is the dreams I have of gremlins poking holes in the fiberglass above me and I wake to find water dripping on my bed.

When I rose this morning there were no leaks that I could find but it was definitely cold. I peered outside to see the landscape was white from a blanket of snow. I was glad that I chose to stay at a lower altitude this weekend and find a camp close to Payson. What would it be like two thousand feet higher up on the Mogollon Rim?

Yesterday, I explored a forest road north of town that follows along the base of the Mogollon Rim. It’s all part of the Tonto National Forest and traverses some nice areas of forest, hills and canyons. There were many day use areas for fishing along the Verde River, exploring ancient ruins, or walking to an old waterwheel, but I didn’t stop because it was raining off and on. There were also many dispersed campsites along the 25 miles of dirt road, but I didn’t stop to stay at any of them as I was on more of an exploration trip than looking for a camp. The road eventually came out on Rt. 260 just two miles above my first and present camp. I will definitely go back and see more of this area when the weather gets better.

While doing some shopping in town I bought a new propane tank. I’m planning on using it as a backup to my built in tank and as supplementary heating with my catalytic heater. The furnace in the coach works great but not nearly as efficient as the catalytic heater. It has been nice to have a little heat today.

LED’s from Walmart

Only two for now

For three days I have been camping in the Coconino National Forest, about 5 miles north of Strawberry, AZ. Without a current MVUM and no experience with dispersed camping sites along Rt 260, it was just luck that I turned on Forest Road 144 and found many beautiful campsites within a mile of the main road. I love camping in the high forests with their tall trees and cool temperatures. The thick forest along with plenty of space between campsites provides the camper lots of isolation and privacy. The only drawback to many national forests is that I seldom have a cell signal and this place was no exception.

I did the usual activities while camped among the Ponderosa. One day I hiked to the top of a hill above my camp to see if I could get a signal. I didn’t get one but it was a fun walk anyway. On another day I rode my motorcycle a few miles on back roads exploring the area. There were dozens of campsites and many side roads branching off in all directions, making me a little nervous that I would get lost in my return trip, or even worse, have another flat tire and be stranded miles from home.

It rained quite hard last night and I awoke with fear my bed would be wet. I was relieved to find that nothing or no one had wet the bed, so the caulk I put around the front window seems to have done the trick. Above 7000’ the afternoons have been pleasantly mild but the nights drop into the low 40’s. I sometimes delay getting up until the sun shines through Minnies windows and radiates warmth to the interior. I sleep in a light Walmart sleeping bag and sometimes it is not enough. Today, I bought another summer bag to throw on top for a little added warmth on cold nights. I have thought about using sheets and blankets and quilts on the bed but it would be too hard to crawl up there and make the bed in the morning. Sleeping bags are so much easier to smooth out. I always sleep in pajamas or sweats to keep the bags clean as long as possible and plan to use a light blanket if it ever gets warm at night.

Today, I moved to another boondocking spot about 10 miles east of Payson, AZ on Rt. 260. I found the spot on the Days End publication that I pirated from Richard a few years ago. It is on a forest road above the trailhead named Hells Gate. I have good cell signal and the lower elevation should make the nights a little warmer. There is also a water source ¼ mile from my camp that I could use for bathing and flushing. I will probably be here through the weekend and then decide whether to go back into Phoenix or up on the Rim for a few days.

Verde River near my camp

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there.

I decided to do laundry today, and as it turned out it was a good decision. The attendant said that the Laundromat on Sunday mornings is usually packed with almost every washer in use. There were only a couple other people there because everyone was out to breakfast with mom.

I will have been here 3 weeks tomorrow. Except for water all my tanks have held out well. I’m debating running back into the Valley for a few days to buy and install a propane “T” that will let me use a portable tank I can have filled without moving Minnie to the station. The other thing I need is a pump to transfer water from my portable can to my tank. It is no fun to lift a seven-gallon can up high enough to drain it into the fill hole.

Water Transfer

The plan is to leave tomorrow. There is no plan for where I will go. I will probably head towards Payson, AZ and spend a few nights in the Coconino or Sitgreaves National Forest up on the Mogollon Rim. The weather is starting to turn warmer and the itch to travel is upon me.

My tarp doesn’t cover much of Minnie

Should I go or should I stay? The question weighs heavily on my mind. I’m not liking the temperatures my fellow campers and I have endured here in Cottonwood for the last couple of days, but a check of the weather app says much cooler temps on the way for next week. I was thinking of going up on the Mogollon Rim next week but may have to rethink. Some places are forecast to be in the low 60’s with nighttime temps below freezing.

My 14-day stay limit will be up on Monday. I don’t think anyone is checking or cares for that matter. The only problem will be my tanks. My holding tanks are fine, and if I had to I could dump a little wash water out here in the desert and no one would even know, but fresh water is becoming a problem. I have checked all over in Cottonwood for potable water to replenish my supply but so far struck out. There is a place 15 miles east of here that has dump and water, and if I have to drive there and refill, I probably will keep going to some other place.

Yesterday I walked down the road that runs by this campground all the way to the Verde River. It was probably only a couple miles there, but the road was steep and I got a good workout coming back up. I have met several other campers while wandering around the campground. There are three ladies about my age that are living and traveling in vans. They are all tied loosely to the vandweller group known as Rubber Tramps and led by their guru Bob Wells. I like some of the things Bob says but told them he sometimes goes off the deep end with his antiestablishment philosophy and rhetoric. They agreed with me wholeheartedly and said they often tell him to tone it down.

That’s about it. Everything is working OK. I have more electricity than I know what to do with. Food is cold. Generator and toaster makes me waffles most mornings. Saving my money. Lots of sentence fragments for the grammar police.