gathers no moss: Arizona

Day 14 (?) Strawberry - Camp Verde

Mick at Certified Bicycles had suggested that I take Fossil Creek Road over to Camp Verde. There are some access issues since Arizona decided to make it permit-only this year. This was in response to huge crowds that left lots of trash and had to be rescued. Apparently 200 people got rescued last year due to hiking out in the desert in flip flops, getting dehydrated, and calling for help. So this summer there are a million signs for miles around saying the area is closed.

I was pretty worried as I pedaled down the road that I would get turned back. I knew the highway didn't have a shoulder and wouldn't be pleasant. Soon enough, I came upon a guard post that consisted of a couple of young park rangers and a truck. A girl looked up from her book and I asked with great politeness if I could pass through. She was wary and had to call her boss. The boss showed up and extracted promises from me that I was prepared, that I knew the trail was rough, that I knew that I might die, and that I wouldn't stop and look at anything. Reluctantly, they let me through.

It turned out to be a really cool ride, and free from vehicle traffic which was nice. The road descended really far down a canyon until it got to Fossil Creek, which supports a little forest along its banks. It was a welcome change from the stark desert.

I dismounted my bike and took a trail up to a waterfall that descended into a pool called the "Toilet Bowl". It was scenic and idyllic, with some kids jumping off a rope swing and the remnants of an old dam. I was kind of sad to notice that even in a permit area, in one of Arizona's must-see attractions, that there was still a decent amount of trash along the trail. For comparison, at Hanging Lake Trail, a comparable in Colorado, there is nary a shred of trash even though it attracts probably 100,000 people per year. I guess I'm beating a dead horse.

Next I had to climb out the other side of the canyon, which was fairly arduous and hot but not excruciating. The dirt road was well graded and smooth. Unfortunately a cloud of biting gnats assaulted me every time I stopped, so I kept pedaling.

After the climb, it was a smooth coast all the way down to Camp Verde, which was a tiny settlement that had a few farms supported by the nearby Verde River. The USFS campground was hot and dusty with a smelly pit toilet in the middle. So I pedaled on, getting a room at the Days Inn. The proprietor looked and acted a bit like Travis Bickle. I asked him if he was from Camp Verde, and he replied that he was from Southern California but he moved to Camp Verde "for a change of pace". I'm pretty sure this meant that he probably was trying to escape a criminal record or a bounty on his head.

Went to Denny's for a chef salad and slept well.