Thompson Trail = 6+ miles

Today we hiked the Thompson Trail.  It was even more beautiful than the Houston Brother's trail!

http://theproperfunction.com/thompson-trail-629/

 We packed up Friday morning to head out of town.  I went into the pantry to get my Pro Bars and they were gone!  I swear they were just in there!  Who would have eaten them?  Well, I pretty much lost my mind because I went to 3 different stores to find those bars and they ended up being $3 each and I was SOOO looking forward to eating them!  I threw a huge tantrum which sent Jeff into a tizzy.  Something out "Preparing ahead of time, blah blah blah."  Now we were mad at each other.  It was the longest 4 hour drive of our lives!  Luckily, Show Low has a Sportsman's Warehouse and Jeff was kind enough to stop and get me some more bars.  He still loves me :)  Today as we were getting ready to head out to the trail, Jeff looked in his pack for his holster.  It wasn't there!  He said, "I swear it was in there!"  I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to get into another fight by saying something like "Preparing ahead of time, blah blah blah".  He said it was karma.  Hysterical!  It really was a total bummer.  I was even excited for him to try out his new holster.  But he didn't throw a tantrum and I wouldn't have judged him if he did.

 We found that most of the trail heads are well marked!  

Thompson Trail #629, named after the Thompson Ranch, was built in a combined effort with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, US Forrest Service, a grant from The Heritage Fund along with numerous volunteers.

 Jeff signed in and we headed out.  

Today is just a day hike of a little over 6 miles. Jeff got us a nice Osprey day pack to try out!  Which meant I didn't have to wear anything!  

 This was just the road leading to the trail.  Are you kidding me!  So beautiful!

Thompson Trail never strays from the West Fork of the Black River and provides a gateway into tranquility. The landscape is aligned with tall Douglas Fir, Wallow and white Aspen with sheets of tall grass waving in the wind. Purple and yellow asters, ferns, clovers and wild raspberries dot the area like freckles. In this moment, an Osprey glides overhead with a fish in its talons. If you’re seeking ambience and solitude  you’ve come to the right place.

The trailhead begins atop the old railroad grade, across from the valley where the remains of Thompson Ranch lie. As you continue down the trail, you will notice two large rock barriers (known as gabions), with the first barrier appearing at 0.4 miles. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act of 1969, these barriers were installed to keep non-native fish from entering the stream and its tributaries. With the Apache Trout as being one of only two trout native to Arizona, the other being the Gila trout, it almost faced extinction in the mid-1950s. Early conservation work however was a success and the Apache Trout was downlisted in 1975 on the endangered list. This species is still considered threatened until 30 self-sustaining populations have been established in the area.

At this juncture, you may continue along the railroad grade or a footpath veers downward through an old gate on your left. If you wish to stay high for scenic views then course the old railroad grade, but if you want to hike the edge of the babbling mountain stream then take the departing footpath. Hiking the river trail can sometimes be tricky due to the rise and fall of the water, but stick with the flow of the river and you won’t be led astray.

We veered down to this gate and tried the trail for a bit but it was pretty junked up with fallen trees so we headed back up to the road trail.   The gate has a sign that says "Please Close Gate"  LOL!

 This is a real easy going hike if you don't mind climbing over fallen trees or detouring around them.

We were looking all around at the beautiful scenery and forgetting all about looking at the road!  Jeff happened to look down and said, "STOP!"  Whoa!  Best not forget to look where you are going!  Mr. Snake was just sunning himself right in the middle of the trail.

 Heading into a burnt section.  It was super windy and we had just spoken to Shelly and Greg from Escudilla Mountain Cabins and they said there's been a lot of downfall because of the winds.

 We got a little sketched out and took this part super fast because we could see the trees swaying and heard them creaking.  They were like lose teeth just waiting to fall out (down).

 Behind these big fallen trees was the next sign for the trails.

 I love a little trail that looks like this!

Look at that cool fungi!

The trail will continue into an open field with waist-high grass, asters, ferns and tall trees. If the water level is high it can get boggy in the meadow and you can expect to get your feet wet. The trail will continue for another 3 miles and will eventually meet up with the West Fork Trail #628 located on the east side of the river. Deadman crossing is the perfect place to have lunch should decide to turn around and head back up-river completing a 6.5 mile round trip hike.

I'm obsessed with how the signs look.  I don't know why!  

I just think they're super cool looking!  #no filter.

 Follow the rock piles!  There was an amazing place to camp by this river!

Going into this stretch of the hike there were a lot of trees that had fallen and gotten stuck in other trees.  A good wind could blow them down any second.  We were constantly looking up to make sure we were clear!  I didn't get any pictures of them because I was more concerned with not having a tree fall on my head! ha!

 We ate lunch here.  It was so beautiful and peaceful sitting by the river.  Ps.  I enjoyed every damn bite of my Pro Bar!

 Follow the river, follow the rocks.  This was probably the boggy area with waist high grass.

 Cool moss on the trees!

We ended the trail on the other side of the little gate where we were going to originally start.  So it was nice taking the high road first and coming back on the lower road!

 When we got back to the car we were hungry again.  Luckily, I brought last night's pizza from Fox Fire and left it in the car.  It was delicious!  After this we drove around for hours looking for different trails to take next.  A good day of exploring!
Lessons learned this trip:  Plan ahead!  Don't ASSUME anything is where you left it and don't forget to look down and up!