AZT Oracle to Picketpost Water Sources ?

[jaymtb]

Hi,
Does anyone have any recent experience/knowledge of water sources in this stretch, location, whether running/available/not dry, quality,  is area  of water campable etc.   I've heard the Gila R. is polluted with heavy metals from mining?

Thanks, Jay

[AZTtripper]

http://www.fredgaudetphotography.com/aztrail/watercurrent.pdf

On 3/10/13 there were 20+ bottles at the Cache, a slow drip in Rypsey (I wouldn't bother), the ADOT yard is open M-Th if you can make their hours, or the trailer court.

Making it to the Cache is pretty reasonable and from there to the Gila is also reasonable.

They say you can filter the Gila but why bother if you can just go to Kelvin.

Actually this new 100 gallon tank at 17.2 from Freeman sounds like it might be a good one to check out. Says it's only 20 feet off of the trail.

Anybody else have any recent intel?

[cheeseunit]

Was just there 3 weekends ago with friends.Didnt know about ther 1 on freeman or would have checked it out.PLENTY of water sources along the way,including friendly people in kearny (?) just passed the kelvin bridge.Great route for a single overnite too!

[AZTtripper]

Kearny is 11 miles south of Kelvin.

The little town just north of the bridge is Kelvin. Glad to hear the people are cool with trail users coming in.

Trough spring looked dry at the concrete, old trough, but there's supposed to be a new one that I didn't see.

[cheeseunit]

Yeah , one older gentleman who lives there actually told us stories of the riders coming through there. Let us fill up our camelbacks and offered us apples , cans of soda.Told him I'd see him in April , repay the kind gesture

[Stevland]

2 weekends ago we rode the Ripsey loop. Found a couple tanks before hitting Ripsey that were acceptable. The bikepackers we met up with confirmed the trailer park is on.
I plan on checking the tank 7.5 from PP this weekend while I'm out there.     

[schillingsworth]

Actually this new 100 gallon tank at 17.2 from Freeman sounds like it might be a good one to check out. Says it's only 20 feet off of the trail.

Anybody else have any recent intel?

Isn't this one of two Bathtub Springs? I believe this is the one they are referncing:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TMxGC9Hs4JZHcZuNq3KTiNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

It was full as of the beginning of March. The trail dips in/out of the wash a few times, keep an eye on the canyon wall to the right looking for a small side canyon. You'll then see 3 metal posts a few feet off the trail to the right, stop here, cross the wash and you'll find the tank.

[jaymtb]

Hi,
I did the ride in ~3 fairly full days starting March 20.  Thought it would be good to go out for a bit of a huff to  make the transition from Colorado winter to summer riding season.

There was a cache of h20 at Oracle T.H.   The first 5 miles were a bit rocky, up and down in/out of washes, then better trail after the gasline crossing.  Mountainview tank had good water.  Generally it was a beautiful route along ridges.  Then there was more rocky stuff dropping down to Camp Grant Wash.  Climbing, back up, Beehive tank had water, but pretty green.  It is pumped with a generator- the windmill not used.  I went on up to Antelope (dirt) tank which was dry, but a pumped tank  clearly visible on the hill nearby had water, being piped to a trough below.   

At Freeman Rd TH there was plenty of h20 in a cache there, also.   The  Boulders section was fast and flowy.  After hitting the Ripsey section the trail drops down into arroyos with some scratchy grown-in stuff.  The Bathtub spring trough had water, controlled by a valve without a handle up higher.  The three fenceposts mentioned above and the GPS map location made it easy to find in an arroyo below and  to right (going N.) of trail. 

Going up Ripsey was a bit slow at the start in wash sand, but higher up the trail got better.   The upper ridge ride went quickly with beautiful views.  Kelvin has water.  The new trail starts up a road just over the Kelvin bridge, then climbs on beautiful new single track as it follows the Gila with more climbing and dropping.   I carried up 7 liters of h20 about a mile out of  Kelvin to a level campable bench.  I did not see the seeps in the arroyo just as the trail leaves the Gila and heads north.   However, an AZT staffer I met said they are still there.  He also said the Gila had been tested and the heavy metals were not present, though it would require settling.   I picked up clear water in an arroyo crossing near a dirt tank ~ 1 mile north of the ranch gate on the AZT map at a ridgetop.  That lasted into Picketpost.

That's a quick rundown.   The machine-made trail along and out of the Gila was a pleasure to ride.  The scenery there is just stunning.  It gets rougher and slower in the several miles approaching Picketpost.

Overall my ODO showed ~95 miles and ~ 13K of altitude gain for the whole deal, probably including a bit of JRA.  The first two days I saw no one except for a guy checking the antelope tank.  The Kelvin to Picketpost section had several hikers.  Generally I got by carrying 3 + liters for the days of riding, picking up more to camp.  I was using an MSR gravity bag filter that had been stripped down,  with a fitting to go into platy bottles.  I further treated some water with 2 drops of fresh Clorox/liter.

I would not have wanted to carry more gear, beyond just bikepacking  bags, given the rougher sections.  Running Stans tubeless setup no doubt  saved some sticker flats.   Some sections had narrow off-camber tread, where stout side knobs helped a lot.   Having a 20-36 bottom gear on a 29er was good on longer climbs, carrying gear, being 66,  and not  having the same oomph of the younger daze. 

Thanks to all in the community who offered advice here.   Congrats and thanks to AZT for building some beautiful newer -and more bike friendly trail.

Cheers,
Jay

[chongoman]

I saw this note, Probably from Chip, who was ITTing the AZT300 last week, at the tank near the corral just beyond Bloodsucker Wash.
On 4/6 and the two cache cabinets at the Freeman road trail head were well stocked.