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The story of how I saved money, quit my job, sold my possessions,
and set off to endlessly travel by bike around the world.
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I write, self publish and sell
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June 2003 to June 2004
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March 2002 to April 2003
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Equipment Pages Index
Introduction
How Much to Bring and Weight
Some
Advice About Advice
A Note to Perspective Sponsors and Gear Suppliers
(See
more about Sponsorship)
START
HERE for Touring Bikes and Commuting Bicycles
Custom Touring Bicycles and Bike Upgrade Buyers Guide
Bicycle Touring Frames
The
Steel Repair Myth.
Steel
and Aluminum Derailleur Hanger Repair.
Bicycle Touring Wheels
Phil Wood: The Best Bicycle Hubs
Panniers / Bike Bags
Cargo Trailers Vs Panniers
Tires for Bike Tours..
Bicycle Touring Saddles.
Women's Specific Bike Touring Saddles
Brooks Leather Touring Bicycle Saddle Care and Conditioning
Bike Computer
Touring Handlebars, Bar Ends, Adjustable Stems, and Padded Grips.
Kickstands
Sealed Cartridge Headsets
How to prevent flat tires
Bike Route Trails and Maps
Camping
Buying Camping Equipment
Tent and Ground
Cloth
Sleeping
Bag
Sleeping
Pad
Camp Stove
Pots and Pans
Water
Filter
First
Aide Kits
Solar Power for Camp
Clothing
Bike Touring Shorts
Electrical
Short-wave
Radio
Computer
Internet
mp3
Bicycle touring lights
Books
Packing list
Pictures of Equipment Failures
Shopping
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Backpacking
(Trekking) Camping in the Chiricahua Mountains Wilderness Area Arizona and Map Information
(May 1 - May 6, 2002)
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| We are not just cyclist and some places a bicycle just can not go.
We stored our bikes and picked up our backpacks at the post office and hiked
instead of pedaled into one of the most wonderful side trips to date. The
Chiricahua
Wilderness was our first excursion off the bikes We had always dreamed of backpacking in the Chiricahua
Mountains for years while we lived in Prescott. These mountains are in the far
southeastern corner of Arizona and it is a seven hour drive from Prescott so we usually
went somewhere closer to home. We knew that this area was on our way to Mexico and,
after calling the local Ranger, we learned that that the nearest town, Portal AZ, had a
post office in which we could have our backpacks and boots sent general delivery.
Another convincing element was the fact that if we had our backpacking stuff sent to
Portal AZ, used them, and then send them on to Tim's parents we would be set up to have
them sent out to our next backpacking destination - probably Puebla Mexico to climb 18,000
ft volcanoes.
You can tell by just looking at a state road map of Arizona that
the Chiricahua Mountains are remote, high altitude, and have lots of trails. The
high Chiricahua Mountains look more like parts of Colorado rather than the low desert
which surrounds these mountains and is what you would typically associate with southern
Arizona. In fact, most of the mountains in this area are pretty high and are
surrounded by low desert. These areas of Colorado like mountains are called
"Sky Islands" because they have water, high alpine vegetation, animals, and are
surrounded by a sea of desert.
The Apache lived in these sky islands and used the rugged terrain to hide from US
troops chasing them. This type of terrain does not stop at the Mexican border but
rather extends far into Northern Mexico. The Apache roamed freely around this area
long before outsiders made an imaginary line on the map. Once the border were
established the Apache used it to their advantage. If they were raiding and killing
people in Mexico eventually the Mexican Army would start chasing them. They would
cross the border, which the Mexican army could not, and start raiding and killing in the
US until they got driven south by the US Army who were not allowed to cross the border
into Mexico. This worked for them until the two countries signed a treaty allowing
each others army to cross the border if the were pursuing "hostiles".
We picked up four boxes in Portal that were sent to us General Delivery. If you
are not familiar with the General Delivery system I will explain. You have the box
to letter address to:
Your Name
General Delivery
Town and Zip code
It will be sent to the main post office of that city. You walk in and tell the
postal clerk that you want to pick your general delivery and you show a picture ID.
It costs nothing to receive and regular price to send. This system is used in most
countries and we plan on receiving our backpacking gear in various countries about twice a
year.
The Ranger warned us about the drought that was gripping the Southwest and how some
springs could be dry. In addition to the dry conditions there was a problem of the
trails being blocked by downed trees. A large fire in this area that burned in 1994
had killed all of the trees in the places it reached before fire fighters stopped it..
Fortunately, our trail crossed these burned areas but in a few places. The
places it did cross the burned areas were very slow hiking. Because of the downed
logs it would take a full hour to cover a mere quarter mile. It would have been hard
enough to cross these areas without backpacks but with packs loaded with six days of food
it would be nearly impossible. The Rangers advice was to shorten our daily mileage
to match these conditions. It would be tough but the beauty and history of this area
were great rewards for this effort.
After picking up our stuff and discussing our route with the Forest Ranger the plan was
to hitch hike to the trailhead. This may have taken some time because their is so
little traffic in this area but the few people driving around are very friendly so we
figured it would not take but a couple of cars going by before we got picked up. We
never even got to put our thumbs out because a very nice couple, who were camped near us,
offered to drive us up but before that happened we met a local with a house in Portal who
offered to drive us up and store our bikes and some equipment. We stored our stuff
at his house and accepted the ride up. That worked out because the couple camped
near us were birding their way back to Berkley California and did not really have the time
to drive up and down the mountain on the slow dirt road.
We got dropped off at Rustlers Park (8480 ft) in the early afternoon. We
camped near where we got dropped off and went on a short day hike. The night was
cold but due to a nice campfire, in the evening and again in the morning, we were
comfortable. The spring near our camp ran clear and cold. We heard from
another tourist that they drank from the spring without filtering or treating at all and
had no problems but we did not take any chances.
The next day we saw that there was a known camp on the map of the great Apache Chief
Victorio. We left our tent and gear in place and went on a long day hike to
Buena Vista Peak and then down to a flat meadow with a running spring where Victorio's
band had camped and hid from the Army several times. Despite the drought the spring
was trickling out water. This was a perfect place to hide the hundreds of Victorio's
band and the US Army could be spotted from a near by peak hours before they could arrive.
Even if they marched up the hill they would have a hard time finding this hidden
meadow. The Apache usually took full advantage of the rugged terrain and would set a
trap. The soldiers, who would have to march up the 3000 ft trail (that we rode
earlier) would be in no condition to take on Apache Warriors who were well rested and
attacking from high cliffs. We had lunch near the meadow as we imagined these
events. Today this place is occupied by the birds and other wildlife that still call
this place home.
The next day we packed up and trekked several miles to Tub Springs (9000 ft).
This spring was teaming with life and there was no question as to the need to filter.
Many animals visited this continuous source of water. In the night we heard a
large stick break. It was loud indicating that something weighing as much as us had
to step on it. It was probably a Black Bear that are known to be abundant in these
mountains. Do not worry. Tim has camped in bear country before and knows the
importance of hanging all of the food from a high tree branch and having nothing they
would consider food in the tent.
The next day we packed up and set off for Anita Park. A "Park" on our
map really turned out to be a meadow and usually perfect places to camp. This march
again went over several trees and up more elevation. Once we got there we found one
of the most beautiful places on earth. High (9500 ft.) and cold we made our camp for
two nights. The nearby spring was very small and dripped out the sweetest, clearest,
and coldest water that we have seen yet in our travels. Tim poured it over his head
to wash his hair until he said that he had brain freeze from the outside in. In camp
we laid around and soaked up the sun and silence. This was a truly magical time.
We left the packs behind and took off for the highest peak in the area Chiricahua Peak
(9786 Ft.). Once at the peak we had to laugh because there were better views from
our camp back at Anita Park. There were simply too many trees on the peak to see
much. From there we took off for another spring that was listed on our topo map.
The trail was faint and several time we had to check the compass against the map to
make sure that we could find it.
We expected a two day hike down the mountain back to Portal. Down is hard - as
anyone who hikes much can tell you. We had a long day hiking down several thousand
feet until we came to a dirt road used by birders. We were running out of food but
were to tired to go any further than a near by creek to camp. As we walked down the
quiet dirt road and looking for a place to camp with water we heard a car on the bumpy
road. Tim, who has hitchhiked in his past and was worried about our shortage of
food, stuck out his thumb. The car pulled over and was heading to Portal. In
the car was a University professor from Poland who was studying Red Starts, (see photo
page) a specific bird in the area. He took us all of the way back to our bikes and a
large meal in the only local restaurant. This proves that a thumb in the air is
worth a meal on your plate.
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INDEX #1:
North and Central America
3-30-02 to 4-17-03
(July 18 - Aug 22, 2002)
The State of
Michoacan, Mexico
Guanajuato to Toluca, Mexico
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Other essays by Tim
Into the Mist State
of Michoacan, Mexico
Best Place to see Pictures
Thumbnail Page of Michoacan,
Mexico Pictures
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Full size Picture
Pages
- Guanajuato to
Penjamillo, Mexico
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Penjamillo to Patzcuaro, Mexico
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Patzcuaro, Mexico
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Patzcuaro to Cuidad Hidalgo, Michoacan,
Mexico
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Morelia, Mexico
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Into the Mist Mexican highway 15
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Cuidad Hidalgo, Michoacan, to Toluca, Mexico
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Toluca, Mexico
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The Velodrome in Toluca, Mexico |
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(Oct. 12 - Nov. 8, 2002)
The States of Tabasco and Chiapas,
Mexico
Villahermosa, Tabasco to Cuauhtemoc Chiapas, Mexico
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Best Place to see Pictures
Thumbnail Page of Tabasco and
Chiapas, Mexico Pictures
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Full size Picture
Pages
- Museum La Venta and the
Olmec Heads Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico
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Villahermosa, Tabasco to Ocosingo,
Chiapas, Mexico
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Palenque #1 Photo Picture Page
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Palenque #2 Photo Picture Page
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Misol-Ha Waterfall Chiapas, Mexico
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Agua Azul Chiapas, Mexico
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Tonina Mayan Ruins Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico
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Mexico's Day of the Dead Ocosingo, Chiapas,
Mexico
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Ocosingo to Cuauhtemoc Chiapas, Mexico |
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(March 15 - April 10, 2003)
Costa Rica #2
Manual Antonio to Monteverde
Cloud Forest, Costa Rica
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Tim's Emailed Newsletters
(Join List)
Costa Rica #2 (incomplete)
Best Place to see Pictures
Thumbnail Page of Costa Rica #2 Pictures
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Full size Picture
Pages
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Parque National Manuel Antonio, #2
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City of Santa Elena
and Monteverde
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Butterfly Garden,
Santa Elena, Monteverde
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Finca Ecological,
Monteverde
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Frog Pond (Ranario), Santa
Elena
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Santa Elena, Cloud
Forest, National Park
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Sky Walk, Suspension
Bridge, Canopy Tour
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Sky Trek Zip Line,
Canopy Tour
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Monteverde Cloud
Forest Reserve |
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