Amazing, Spectacular Arizona Trail, Day 68: Tortilla Mountains North

AZT Passage 15: Tortilla Mountains
Arizona Trail Day 68
Trans-Arizona/Utah Day 76

Welcome back to Aspen’s Tracks, thruhiking the Arizona Trail southbound from Utah to Mexico. Today’s route covers backpacking the stretch of Passage 15, the Tortilla Mountains, between my prior campsite near the Gila River past the Kelvin-Riverside Trailhead marking the official start of Passage 15 and on to my next campsite overlooking the town of Kearny where I resupplied yesterday. You can find today’s hiking logistics below the photo documentation and trail journal of the route.

If you missed my last entry covering the leg through the prior segment of the Gila River Canyons, that can be found here. The next entry will cover the continued journey through the central portion of the Tortilla Mountains. If you enjoy these accounts, please do subscribe to follow along to make sure that you don’t miss out on here or any future accounts to come!

(Note: the photos herein are smaller and at 50% quality, however, full quality ones are available to those interested, please contact me separately if so. This change was made to speed page loading but if you would prefer the full quality images please leave a comment to let me know).

In the land of Arizona
Through desert heat or snow
Winds a trail for folks to follow
From Utah to Old Mexico

It’s the Arizona Trail
A pathway through the great Southwest
A diverse track through wood and stone
Your spirit it will test

Some will push and pedal
And some will hike or run
Others will ride their horse or mule
What else could be more fun?

Oh, sure you’ll sweat and blister
You’ll feel the miles each day
You’ll shiver at the loneliness
Your feet and seat will pay

But you’ll see moonlight on the borderlands
You’ll see stars on the Mogollon
You’ll feel the warmth of winter sun
And be thrilled straight through to bone

The aches and pains will fade away
You’ll feel renewed and whole
You’ll never be the same again
With Arizona in your soul

Along the Arizona Trail
A reverence and peace you’ll know
Through deserts, canyons, and mountains
From Utah to Old Mexico

“The Arizona Trail,” Dale R Shewalter

Arizona Trail: Kelvin-Riverside Bridge-The Big Hill

Carlos gave me a lift back to the Kelvin trailhead today, and then I pack up and head across the Gila. It’s already midafternoon, but I should be able to get at least a few miles in. If I can at least make it to an overlook of Kearny, I’ll be happy.

The trail uses the older bridge at the site to cross the river, affording a really nice view along the river, then wrapping underneath the modern bridge to begin a brief desert traverse through scrubland and saguaros, then winds through washes and drainages toward the Big Hill.

Arizona Trail: The Big Hill-Kearny Overlook

Sunset occurs partway up the Big Hill; it’s another rare night with crepuscular rays visible. Climbing up the hill, I’m also experimenting with light painting the saguaros, and do this a few times for photos before finishing up for the day at a saddle overlooking Kearny and providing what should be a great sunrise viewpoint tomorrow morning. Unfortunately most of these early light paintings didn’t turn out very well, so I haven’t included them here, but future ones hopefully will. The sunset ones, on the other hand, well, those were pretty hard to botch.

Passage 15 Logistics

	Passage 15 (Tortilla Mountains)
AZTA Page and Map	Passage 15 (Tortilla Mountains) Passage 15 Map Passage 15 Elevation Profile
Weather	Passage 15 Weather
Trail Surface	Dirt Singletrack
Length (Mi)	28.1
Season	September-May
Potential Water Sources	Rainwater Collector (mi 289.1 NB, 499.3 SB) Full sources & Current Status: Arizona Trail Water Sources
Trailheads	North: Kelvin-Riverside Trailhead South: Freeman Road Trailhead
Trailhead Access	North: Vehicular access; via paved road South: Vehicular access via dirt road
Wilderness	No
Possible resupply points	Kearny (preferred, requires hitch or roadwalk) Hayden Winkelman
ATA-Rated Difficulty	Moderate
Potential campsites	Terrain is pretty dry and rugged. Lots of cacti. Beautiful campsite overlooking Kearny near summit of the Big Hill, and at Kelvin-Riverside trailhead toward the north end of the passage.
Ecosystems Traversed	Arizona Upland, mostly
Highlights	Rugged canyon scenery Ripsey Wash & saguaro forest The Big Hill & views from summit Views of Sky Islands to south on southern stretches Views of Superstitions, Four Peaks & Gila River Canyons to north on northern stretches Desert flora & fauna diversity Solitude
Dog friendly?	Yes
Bike friendly?	Yes
Hazards	One of the driest passage on trail. Extreme Heat in summer Flash flooding during monsoon (July-September)

Passage 15 Ecology*

	Arizona Upland	Riparian
Common Trees/Shrubs	* Fairy duster * Blue and littleleaf palo verde * Fremont wolfberry * Graythorn * Ocotillo * Red barberry * Scrub-live oak * Snapdragon-penstemon * Turpentine bush * Velvet mesquite * Whitethron acacia	* Fremont Cottonwood * Tamarisk/salt cedar (invasive) * Goodding’s willow
Common herbaceous plants	* California flannelbush [rare in Arizona, Superstition Mountains included] * Bluedicks * Brittlebush * California poppies * Creamcups * Desert chicory * Desert rockpea * Desert windflower * Fringed red maids * Globemallows * Lupines * Sego-lily
Common succulents	* Arizona pencil cholla * Banana yucca * Soaptree yucca * Buckhorn cholla * Cane cholla * Chainfruit * Hedgehog cactus * Pencil cholla * Pincushion cactus * Prickly pears * Saguaro * Teddybear cholla