Black River Weekend

John Cahoon

JWC Custom Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Messages
1,791
I enjoy this subforum a lot and so here's some photos from a recent Black River AZ trip. I go to a very remote area between the last bridge and the White Mountain Apache reservation. Usually don't see more than a couple of people (often none) the whole weekend and there's miles and miles of river in virtually inaccessible-by-vehicle sections.BR1.jpg
There are long stretches like this and at each corner there's a nice hole. Here's my obligatory gear shot. .44 Redhawk, one of my new EDC Skinners, a work in progress (I named this model Black River Hunter as tribute to my favorite place on earth). Far right is a very early blade I've kept as a camp knife. It's also the first time I've ever used a walking stick to aid in the numerous mandatory river crossings. Getting old sucks!BR2.jpg
My ride and minimalist camp gear. We are in severe fire weather so campfires are rightfully banned. In 2011 the Wallow Fire took over 500,000 acres in the White Mountains but thankfully this area was spared. Stupid subhumans left a camp fire to go fishing during the windiest spring anyone can remember, sparking the largest wildfire in Arizona history.

ETA... I initially said no jail or reparations but I revisited the incident aftermath articles and both spent all of a weekend in jail + $500/month on a 3.7 million reparations charge. (the firefight alone cost more than $79 million) Getting to this spot requires driving through miles and miles of utter, complete destruction.BR3.jpg BR4.jpg
About 12" brown. I caught another just like it in a different hole, and several smaller apache trout. This used to be a renowned smallmouth stream until G&F wiped them out to reintroduce the Apache trout.BR6.jpg
Canyon Walls... It's pretty vertical in places, probably 1000'+ from rim to stream. BR7.jpg BR9.jpg
BR9.jpg I used to see Bighorn Sheep on every trip in large groups of 30 and more. Then they reintroduced Mexican Gray wolves maybe 20 years ago and that was that. I saw this one all alone across the river, maybe 60-80 yards. We spent many minutes contemplating each other.
BR10.jpg
BR11.jpg BR8.jpg
Love the wolves, I've seen them once up close and had them right in camp early one morning howling and being answered from both sides. I found his mud track where he was on his haunches, he was 60 yards from our tent.

On this trip I saw turkey but no bear or elk which is unusual. I know the pumas have seen me but I've never been so lucky. Oh and I got within 2' of a small diamondback as I was heading up through brush from the river to the bench. Way too close but he was already moving away, I saw him just before he rattled so a quick sidestep and all was well. All in all a wonderful trip.
 
Last edited:
Looks like a nice place to visit.

After mountain lion hunting was banned in California, the Sierra bighorn sheep populations suffered a lot. You have the mountain lion lovers facing off against the bighorn sheep lovers. The bighorns are endangered while the mountain lions are not, so I would not be against reinstituting a hunting season on lions.
 
I'd like to suggest to you that the Fire didn't "take" anything, as you stated the fire took X amount of acres, no those acres are still there, they were just burned and are now in the wonderful process of regeneration. There will be more life and larger diversity of life in that burned area in a few years than were present in the same area before the fire occurred. As for the driving through miles and miles of utter destruction, nope, again, just driving through miles and miles of recently burned wilderness, that again is in the process of regeneration and new growth. Fire is just one of natures change agents it clears out the old to make way for the new, the best thing for a wildfire is to let it burn and do what nature intended for it to do in the first place, and that is to clear out the old and make way for the new.

For the big horn sheep issue, same goes, predator populations left unchecked will decimate game species to the point of near collapse, then the predator populations will collapse and game species will rise and the cycle begins a new. Nature is cyclical that means boom and bust, unless otherwise managed by man, the natural cycle of things is typically boom and bust.
 
Tookin' says I, this and so many other areas have been tookin' from us all by idiots, it's a man made disaster from 100 years of ignorant forestry practices and two idiots that went fishing with a fire going in their camp. No expression of remorse from those two can mitigate that fact. Our second worst fire, Rodeo Chedeski around 2005 was started by a) a panicked woman who could have walked out on her dirt road (not lost) but started a signal fire instead, and b) an out of work fire fighter who did it for the money. Showlow/Pinetop Lakeside and many areas had to be evacuated in that one. He went to jail at least, she walked. All of this in the midst of one of the worst droughts anyone can remember.

It's only been 9 years I know but the total destruction I cited has not recovered at all in many areas. Other areas have some scrappy aspens coming in at least. Everyone can accept a lightning strike but never gross negligence.
 
Last edited:
I like everything about your trip except the diamondbacko_O I am not a snake fan at all:thumbsdown: Live and let live I’m ok with, as long as those things are living in the next county:D
 
Content no longer relevant, guess I replied to a bot or something? I think a mod deleted his post. He was banned.
 
Last edited:
Very cool area you live in John, looks like a hunting and fishing paradise. It's the kind of place I want to go to when I retire in a few years.
 
Back
Top