Written by Joseph Cofresi, Wild Stew Field Crew Leader.
We on the Wild Stew Field Crew are no strangers to the Highline Trail. For three years now, we have been returning to this spectacular place traversing the base of the Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. Last hitch, we completed our portion of Phase Two of the Highline Trail Restoration Initiative, which led us directly into Phase Three this hitch, pushing our work on erosion control and sediment capture further east along the Highline, and continuing to… drum roll please 🥁… build one rock dams (ORDs)—this time between Dick Williams Creek and Horton Creek. This was my first time working on and seeing the eastern sections of the Highline Trail, and the views of the rim on our hike were as beautiful as ever. It was much more forested than some of the previous sections we have worked along in Phase Two and it’s incredible to see how diverse the extent of the Highline Trail is!
The days were long and often filled with sunshine and prayers for a little precipitation during the work day. (It never came.) The sun beating down on our backs had us sweating up rainstorms of our own. The challenge was primarily to stay hydrated and find shade when we could, while keeping our sanity and fighting off delirium. Our saving grace was Tonto Creek, which was where we ended each work day before heading back to camp. Taking off our shoes, soaking our feet, wetting our bodies to cool down and semi clean ourselves was the sweetest of treats after a long, sweaty day.
We returned to camp after work one day to find Assistant Crew Lead Kile caring for an incredibly cute, adorable, and a little malnourished lost pup that had run up to our camp. He took it upon himself to feed and provide water before going door to door to try and find her owners. She stayed with us for the night, and though we were all ecstatic about the idea of a crew pup, it wasn’t quite feasible given we are out on the trail for 10 hours a day. Kile took the noble route and dropped her off at a nearby humane society so she could receive proper care. A real hero always looking out for the little guy.
Other outside-of-work shenanigans included a couple trips into Payson after work to visit our favorite dining establishment, Alfonso’s, as well as making a couple post-work stops at a beautiful waterfall on Tonto Creek, a little secret shared with us by crew member Julie.
It was another solid hitch of good times and hard work. It’s hard to have a bad time at the Mogollon Rim, especially when by the end of it we can say that we built about 570 ORDs across 1.36 miles of old trail!
