Arizona trail: Superior to Kelvin and back

    It started out as a trip to Patagonia, but ended up as a trip to Superior.  Superior was closer, and that was good enough for me.  Derek seemed inclined to agree.  We researched the rideability of the section right up to the end because we couldn't get solid information on whether the trail had been rerouted to go around the wilderness that used to cut the section in half for cyclists.  Stopping at the BLM field office in Phoenix, we talked to a guy who had ridden the section on a dirtbike to survey it.  He said it was open.  Well I guess we would have ridden it anyway, but it was nice to know that it was fine before we left.

  We  arrived in the evening, parked the van on a forest service road, and surveyed the remains of bottles, televisions, dolls, and saguaros that had been shot to shreds.  

   The next day, we left the van at Los Hermanos after eating a righteous $5 breakfast, and set off up Telegraph canyon road.  It was steep and rocky, and once we met up with the Arizona Trail, we realized that the dirt roads in the area were really gnarly compared to the trail.  From then on, we stuck to the trail and were rewarded with buff singletrack all the way to the Gila river.  I hope to do that section again because it was epic and lovely.
  We ended up making a shorter loop that took us to Kelvin on the trail, then up the 177 back to Superior.  We thought that going back on road would make things easier, but as it turns out, that section of road has some really long sections of exposed 10% grade, and it was pretty damned tough riding.   We made it back though, and got to have beers and food back at Los Hermanos before driving off to find some quiet bit of forest road for the night.  We pretty much found that, except for a few interruptions by highschool girls who drove by a number of times, stopping now and then to throw up noisily.
  For now, here are a ton of photos.  Wahoo!  Let's ride bikes!

Bullet holes in a saguaro

The Shining ground.

On the AZT

I love the lens flare these days.

Cholla with a bird's nest.

The bike setup.

Ocotillo by a rail bridge over the Gila.

We saw this shot, and had to replicate something like it.

My version of "the shot".

Evening over the Gila.

Gila and the tracks.

Lots of saguaros out there!

Derek on one of the long, steep climbs near the Gila.

The moon over the Ray Mine near Kelvin.

I have continued to be stoked on these tires, and they were great on the loose over hard surface that was this section of AZT.

Saguaro over the Gila.

One dead saguaro, one live.

One of the very righteous Mexican places in Globe, where we stopped on our way out.