Bear Wallow

The Bear Wallow Wilderness provides a stark contrast between natural beauty and burned-out areas caused by man’s recklessness. The hiker may notice it quickly, as ferns carpet much of the beginning of the trail, with aspens and other trees painting the picture till you look up to where the landscape has been marred by fire.

The Wallow fire, which remains the largest wildfire in Arizona history, began in Bear Wallow Wilderness, but extended far beyond it. The US Forest Service, which manages the land, has great signage about the fire at the trailhead, detailing what happened and warning us to be cautious of falling trees and erosion-related flooding. It urges hikers to look up, look down and look all around, which I think is always good advice.

In 2011 two careless backpackers left a smoldering campfire by Bear Wallow Creek. The flames that trashed this wilderness and others, evacuated several towns and extended into New Mexico generated $79 million in suppression costs.

The hikers returned from a day hike to find their camp full of smoke and fire, and fled the wilderness, leaving their gear and two dogs. A deputy sheriff picked them up on a road along the Black River, more than six miles away. One dog died. They were later convicted of leaving the fire unattended, and sentenced to community service and fines totaling $3.7 million. It’s so sad, because it might have been prevented if they hadn’t left a candy wrapper in the fire.

The many downed trees and burned patches are reminders of the Wallow Fire and at least one much smaller, more recent fire. But beauty remains here. It’s still home to one the most dense populations of black bears and other animals in the state. A small, spectacular Arizona tree frog greeted us. Flowers of all sizes and colors were also abundant during our July trek, including the tiny harebell. Beautiful meadows also capture onlookers.

Prescott residents Dan Cook, Zach and Sushi Kline and myself were on the trek, and we didn’t see anyone else on the trail. The Bear Wallow Trail is about 30 miles south of Alpine and eight miles southeast of Hannigan Meadow. It’s about as close as you can get to New Mexico without being in it. Part of the Apache National Forest, the 11,080-acre Bear Wallow Wilderness is named for its wet, boggy areas, where black bears roll to keep cool and rid themselves of insect parasites.

The trail starts at 8,720 feet with a descent into alpine forest that includes quaking aspens. It drops to 6,657 feet over 15.2 miles, but this is an in-and-out hike, so you can turn around whenever it suits you. The Bear Wallow Wilderness hosts the largest stand of Ponderosa pine in the Southwest, as well as a blanket of pine, fir, and spruce. Birds are plentiful here, including woodpeckers, and the area provides habitat for the endemic and threatened Apache trout.

Five trails offer foot and horse access to Bear Wallow. The Reno Trail #62 (1.9 miles) and Gobbler Point Trail #59 (2.9 miles) drop into the canyon from easily accessible trailheads on Forest Service roads. Bear Wallow Trail #63 follows the rocky stream bed 8.2 miles to the boundary of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Schell Canyon Trail #316 (2.8 miles) connects with Bear Wallow Trail and the canyon floor to the Rose Spring Trail #309 (4.5 miles), which skirts the southern boundary along the Mogollon Rim. Visitors to the San Carlos Reservation must have an advance permit. For information and permits, write the San Carlos Tribal Office, Box O, San Carlos, AZ 85550.

Bear Wallow Wilderness is part of the 110 million-acre National Wilderness Preservation System, which provides clean air, water, and habitat critical for rare and endangered plants and animals, as well as opportunities for challenging activities like hiking, backpacking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, horse-packing, birdwatching, stargazing, and extraordinary solitude.

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