We got to Eagle Creek about noon on Friday 29th. It was clear from the snow on the ground in Morenci that we'd made the right decision by not going in on Thursday afternoon. We made a quick stop at the Morenci mine overlook just north of Lower Eagle Creek road before airing down.
We discovered at the first stream crossing (normally very easy and shallow) that the beavers had indeed been busy and the crossing was about a foot deeper than normal. There were 3 beaver dam crossings with water up to 30-inches before we got to the Bat Cave, and 6 or 7 more farther downstream. So we are thinking that a name change to "Beaver Creek" may be in order. In 5 hours we made it 7 miles downstream before we stopped to camp. The first winch extraction happened just above our camp when I only made it 2/3 of the way across a muddy spot. I left 10-inch deep tracks in the mud before the diff started to drag. Our campsite had a pure sand base, so the campfire had none of the famous Eagle Creek exploding rocks. With the evening temperature in the 30's, we made very good use of a mesquite fire. The considerable entertainment on "the mesquite channel" was placing a fresh stick vertical in the hot coals and then wagering about how long it would take to burn and fall over! (Now that is relaxation!) The storm was clearing so the sky was partly cloudy overnight and the temperature was in the high 20's by morning. We saw plenty of ducks and kingfishers, but no sign of the eagles that we've seen in the past.
We headed downstream at 9AM on Saturday, and the trail was rough as expected. I crossed one place that was 44-inches deep -- yes, the Avalanche does OK in deep water. However, that place was off the trail, and the deepest "regular" crossing was ~36-inches deep (about all you want in a Toyota with the air intake at 38-inches). By 11AM, we reached the location where the previous expedition in April had stopped. The deep channel had filled in a bit in summer floods, but it was still ~4 feet deep and impassable. We found a section of the old trail where we could cut our way around the deep water, and proceeded downstream (without going through the mesquite bosque). With no trucks having gone through in 2 years, it was alot of work reopening this part of the trail. The old route is still there, but there are plenty of place where you have to bypass big stumps or washed out crossings. By noon, we were making good progress with chainsaw and axe, so we knew we had to press for the Gila even if it meant getting out after dark. The good part of having cool weather (high about 60) was that it was fine weather for chopping and sawing. The bad part of this weather was wading in the creek. We made it to the confluence with the Gila (to the BLM Gila Box fenceline) before 2PM.
We hiked around there for a bit and then headed back upstream at a forced march pace in order to make it to the Bat Cave before dark and therefore managing sleeping in Tucson. We made it to the Bat Cave a few minutes before sunset, so we were back in Morenci by 6PM or so. (That's 4 hours from the Gila to pavement including 45 minutes where we stopped to change a flat on soft sand.) We stopped for Carne Adobada burros at Chalos in Safford, and were back in Tucson by 11PM.
Trail rating: This trips starts out a "3", and slowly ramps up to "4+". Two lockers are a good idea if you want to do the last four miles in a fullsize truck. Besides water crossings, the main obstacles are climbing gravel banks on the upper side of stream crossings. Except in two noteable places with mud, the bottom of the creek is solid and pretty easy to cross.
Vehicle damage: John: dents and scoring on the driveshaft bent kicker bar 1 broken foglight lost my Steeler's license plate (now that hurts!) Bob: 1 flat tire 1 dent in passenger door By the time we got home, all the participants felt as if "they'd spent 2 days in the In-Sink-Erator", but all agreed that it was "a good feeling of exhaustion". So, two years in the making with a cast of dozens --- three intrepid wheeler hacked their way through dense undergrowth to reach the banks of the Gila!
Don't worry if you missed all the fun. The floods in Eagle Creek and the beavers will have plently more fun waiting for us in Fall 2007.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.