NM to AZ / Hiking Baker Butte
Driving from Datil, NM to Camp Verde, AZ | Hiking Baker Butte | December 2024
After spending several days planted in the mountains near Datil, NM, we were feeling refreshed and ready to resume our drive West — and especially excited to return to our favorite state of Arizona! This visit would be brief as we were still aiming for the California desert as an end goal to this road trip, but we always love returning to our first “home” and finding both familiarity and new adventures all in one. We took US-60 West, and celebrated when we crossed the state line.
Today, we took Us-60 to AZ-260, and drove towards Pine, where Curtis had an easy hike planned for us today. This is where we experienced the heaviest traffic on our trip so far — we were shocked by how many people were on the road up here, and towns like Showlow and Payson felt so much busier than we remembered them being 10 years ago. We’re not sure if that’s because of the rose colored glasses we wear when reminiscing on our time here or if they’ve actually grown that much, but as with everything else here, we blame all of the state’s problems on Phoenix. It’s probably because all the people in Phoenix want summer homes in the mountains. Dang Phoenix. While driving, we also saw signs for a forest fire that had started recently, which is still burning almost a month later as I write this. Thankfully once we left Payson, things quieted down, and we found our way to the forest road which leads to Baker Butte, North of Pine off of AZ-87.
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When we turned onto the road that led up to the butte, we pulled into a dispersed campsite that was right at the beginning of the road. We weren’t 100% sure that we wanted to stay here, but it was open and we didn’t know what the road to the peak would be like, so we just planned to park and walk up from here. Right away we noticed that it was super dusty, and it didn’t take long for Charlotte’s white feet and belly to turn red from the dirt. We grabbed water and snacks, the started walking up the road to the peak.
As it turned out, we probably would have been fine to drive up to the turn off for the trail, but of course we didn’t regret walking because we all needed to stretch our legs, it was the perfect temperature for Charlotte, and we were just so happy to be here. Plus, if we ended up camping right here, what else were we going to do for the rest of the day anyway? Our walk from the van to the summit was about 3 miles round trip, but most of that was a very gradual incline. The only downside was that there were lots of logging trucks going up and down the road that we had to look out for.
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We turned off the road onto the trail to the peak, which had a few switchbacks before ending up at the summit. This was Curtis’ 100th peak on his list for his ‘300 peaks of 300 meters of prominence or more by 2033’, so it was fun that the three of us could hike it together! Curtis climbed up the tower for better views, then we took a family picture with the small view we had at ground level. It was a little chilly up here, so we didn’t stick around too long, and our hike back down to the van went by quickly.
Once we returned, it was still early afternoon, but it was time to decide if we were actually going to stay here. We knew that if we stayed here in this forest that we should at least relocate to another road where there weren’t so many logging trucks. But we also knew that at this elevation, the temps would likely drop below freezing tonight. So we consulted iOverlander, and found some other dispersed camping that was only a half hour away, but at lower elevation so it would be much more comfortable. And that’s one reason why Arizona is so great: if you don’t like the weather, just drive somewhere else within the state! Of course that’s easy for us to say, since our whole home is on wheels.
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We took AZ-260 further West, driving down the Mogollon Rim, which had some of the best views we’ve ever seen from a highway. Canyons, valleys, high peaks, and even the red rocks from Sedona in the distance — we couldn’t get enough, and were reminded all over again why we love this state! We ended up finding a dispersed camping spot just East of Camp Verde. As soon as we got out of the van, we knew we made the right choice. It was warm and sunny, and being outside actually felt so good! And better yet, we enjoyed the most beautiful sunset with colorful clouds that took over the entire sky. We went to bed so happy to be back in Arizona after falling in love with it all over again today.