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  Topic Name: Mogollon Rim S24O solo on: July 27, 2015, 12:59:13 PM
lamontagne


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« on: July 27, 2015, 12:59:13 PM »

Last Saturday started out fairly normal, as normal can be with the wife and kids still out of town anyway. Slept in, cleaned the pool, did some laundry, so on. About mid-day started getting antsy and thinking about going for a ride. Opened the front door and the 111° heat blast ended any notion of that.
3 weeks prior I rode my first bikepacking trip, a 30 mile round trip on the Cabin Loop system up on the Mogollon Rim North of Payson, AZ. It was a great trip and I learned a lot about gear selection and how to ride a loaded bike. I also learned I was in dire need of losing weight and improving my endurance.
So at 2pm decided to do a solo S24O on the Rim! grabbed my gear, loaded up up the bike and I figured REI was on my way out town to pick up that thing that I "really" needed. Landed at the trailhead at 5pm and headed out. Due to the severly late hour, the starting point of this trip would be much closer than normal. About 7 miles to the camp site.
Just to make things extra fun, the Forest service had recently laid a bed of freshly crushed granite and quartz on the bit of forest road 139 to the trail head. Those 2 flats set me back about 30 minutes, could have been much longer had it not been for the bottle of Stans I keep with me. Pulled the valve cores both times, added a half bottle to each tire, shot of CO2 to fill and rode on!
Arrived at the Aspen Spings cabin with about 45 minutes of daylight light left and set up camp


I love camping here.


This fireplace is all that remains of the original cabin used by the Houston Brothers, ranchers in the late 1800's. They would drive thier livestock up here in the summer to escape the heat. Later the forest service would use the cabin and the nearby Pinchot cabin (built by Gifford Pinchot, father of the US Forest Service) as fire watch points.


Mmmmm...cold beer and a warm fire!


Two of the big lessons learned from my first trip were addressed well this time. I am definitley not a hammock sleeper, and I vastly overestimated the warmth of my "light" sleeping bag. This time I brought my MSR Hubba tent that has seen many nights in and around the Grand Canyon (plus it actually weighs less than half of what the hammock and its kit weighed!) and I pulled my Nemo bag (Nocturn 15° long) for its first trip. It is easier to vent a warm bag than to get warm in a cold bag. The other thing I thought I needed to address was my cooking system. I have using a JetBoil since...they first came out.  After seeing my riding partner on the first trip pull out his ultralight Nesbit stove, I wanted somthing lighter too. So I bought a Ti pot and small stove on the way out for this trip. 14 minutes to boil 16oz of water is not worth the weight savings to me, it will be back to the JetBoil from now on.


I enjoyed my oatmeal and coffee none the less.


Seems Mr. Murphy was determined make this day interesting too. While loading my Camelback, I put just enough pressure, in the just the right spot, to pinch open the bite valve between the bag and the tree.....bye bye water.


And becasue Mr. Murphy was truly exercising his Law, the batteries in my Steripen lasted exactly 45 seconds. Hot water is better than no water, so a boiling away I go....remember the 14 minutes to boil 16oz? Now do it 5 times.
Random pics while boiling...





Finally! All loaded and ready to go! My route back is a little longer, using a differnet FS road to exit on. Estimated 10 miles to the truck.



Now this is singletrack!




Tree blazes used to mark the trails here. Some of these blazes are more than 100 years old.  This trail system was used by Apache's who ambushed the 3rd and 6th Cavalry Regiments in 1882. It didn't go so well for either of them, with both sides suffering wounds and losses.


Interesting concept...


Old growth forest




Shortly after this point I hit the FS road. It was getting into the afternoon and starting to heat up, so I put the camera way and my head down to grind it back to the truck to head home. Total time away...24 hours exactly! I am hooked now. Need to start working on getting in better shape for longer rides!  headbang




 
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  Topic Name: Mogollon Rim S24O solo Reply #1 on: July 28, 2015, 10:17:09 AM
evdog


Location: San Diego
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« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2015, 10:17:09 AM »

Nice job getting out! 

If you're not happy with the stove setup you could try making one of these.  It's free, weighs nothing, and boils 2 cups of water in 6-7mins.  There are a million youtube vids.  I've also replaced my Steripen with a Sawyer Mini filter.  Never had problems with it on a trip, but I have had enough issues with batteries for other devices I didn't want to rely on them for drinking water. 

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  Topic Name: Mogollon Rim S24O solo Reply #2 on: July 29, 2015, 03:02:00 PM
126driver


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« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2015, 03:02:00 PM »

Nice ride.  I need to get out there and do this one.  Where would I find a gpx file?  Or don't need one?
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  Topic Name: Mogollon Rim S24O solo Reply #3 on: July 29, 2015, 05:15:02 PM
AZTtripper
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Location: Tucson, AZ
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« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2015, 05:15:02 PM »

Great area, look up Cabin Loop you'll find some tracks out there.
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