The Wild West - G.E.T. Style

It's rugged out here folks! The highlights and rewards come at a price, but when they reveal themselves we have found them to be commensurate with the struggles. In this section we hiked the "Safford-Morenci Trail" an historic trade route linking these two communities. What an amazing place! We hiked through gorgeous slot canyons, slept in a meadow with stately sycamores and marveled at the abundant bird life including the distinct warble of wild turkeys. The cliffs above us housed prehistoric granaries. From there it was on to more slot canyons in Midnight Canyon. It was stunning and neither of us could believe we had never heard of it before. We have felt so isolated on this trip so it was a bit of a shock to run into 3 girls from Tucson hiking west on our chosen route. They raved about the upcoming Eagle Creek section. I'm embarrassed to admit we had considered a shorter route but quickly got our priorities in line and headed for the perennial creek. Eagle Creek is owned by Phelps-Dodge who also owns the Morenci Copper Mine. Cattle and vehicle activity are permitted but if not for that this area would rival the Aravaipa Wilderness. Dramatic cliffs lined the way as we forded the creek 50 or more times. From Eagle Creek we hiked the Primitive Bluff Trail. It's remote and yet evidence of those that came before was ours with some effort. We did an uphill, cross-country climb to some well preserved Anasazi rock art. Once again our efforts rewarded us. Our next views were dramatic in a different, more modern way. The Morenci Mine is one of the largest open pit mines in the world and is North America's largest producer of copper cathode and our resupply location. Our first hitchhike of this trip had us anxious about securing a ride. Highway 191 is a lonely, winding road. The shadows grew long as we waited 2 hours for a generous driver to stop for us. While this company town has almost everything we need, the library computers will not allow us to upload photos. Hopefully we can in our next town which lies over the border in New Mexico!