Kinder Crossing and Blue Ridge

Weather:  72º, humid, clouds, occasional light rain

About this Hike:  I went up to the rim today planning to explore the short, but interesting, hike at Kinder Crossing. I figured afterward I'd hang around along FR-95 and see what other interesting sights there are. 

I parked the truck at the road for Kinder Crossing (95T) where it intersects FR-95. I didn't want to drive far down this rough, muddy road, opting to hike in instead. I reached the rim of East Clear Creek Canyon and took in the panoramic viewpoints. The sky was growing darker and I heard distant thunder. I second guessed if I should return to the truck, but stubbornly hiked down the switchbacks into the canyon anyway. 

A family was in front of me, and I eventually caught up to them. By the looks of their gear, they were headed down to East Clear Creek to go swimming. With recent monsoon rains, I imagine East Clear Creek would be a great swimming spot. The family was none to happy to see me, frequently watching over their shoulders while they stopped to take pictures and just generally block the trail. 

I took some photos of the striking cliffs and rock formations all reflected by the waters of East Clear Creek. The family continued blocking forward progress on the trail, and the skies kept getting louder. I decided I'd seen what I came to see today, and I turned back.

The approximately 1.5 mile hike back to the truck flew by. I hoofed it out quickly, nervous of the greenish-blue tint to the storm clouds. I hoped the family in the canyon would be OK. 

 I reached the truck before the first rain drops began to fall. While FR-95 is as good of a USFS road as you'll ever get, I decided to return to pavement. I drove down to the Moqui Campground turn off and parked at a trailhead for the Arizona Trail (AZT). 

Reading a book and eating lunch, I waited out the storm. Once it seemed to have past, dropping only a little rain, I ventured out on a new-to-me segment of the AZT. From Moqui to the parking area on FR-751 (Blue Ridge Reservoir), I have not explored that segment of the AZT. In fact, I wrote it off as likely being boring. I ended up being very wrong about this. 

This part of the Blue Ridge AZT segment wanders through grassy meadows, green from all the monsoon rain, and healthy ponderosa pine forest (nice to see since most pines along AZ-87 have either burned or succumbed to beetles). The trail passes by Moqui Campground and then goes straight through Blue Ridge Campground, exiting the camping area right next to the host site. 

The trail climbed a volcanic rock formation, opening up into a wide vista. The San Francisco Peaks were visible, as was a body of water. Too shallow to be Blue Ridge Reservoir, I believe what I saw was Long Lake, or one of the other small lakes in that area. 

As I got closer to where the AZT intersects FR-751, I began to hear dogs and people. I know this to be a popular area for dispersed camping. Having hiked south on the AZT from the FR-751 trailhead previously, I opted to turn around. The skies were getting ornery again, and I didn't think there was anything more to see. 

While I dodged a couple thunderstorms, it made for a rain-cooled and pleasant atmosphere on today's hikes. While Payson was getting slammed with storms and hail, it was a surprisingly nice day in the northern part of Rim Country.