We make no secret of the fact that we are hammockers at heart. Before hiking the Grand Enchantment Trail, we had only slept on the ground for part of three different trails…the southernmost 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail (due to winter weather setting in) and the first 300 miles of the Arizona Trail (due to not knowing what to expect) and the first 1,200 miles of Beardoh’s 2012 PCT hike. We tend to be pretty reluctant to leave our hammocks at home, and have become more reluctant over the years.
When planning for the GET, we got the feeling that opportunities for hammocking were going to be pretty sparse. Even though we carry an “all-terrain setup” with us when hammocking, it just isn’t comfortable enough to want to sleep on the ground for a lot of the nights. Ultimately, we decided to just take a ground set-up and not even try to hammock on the trail, thinking that there would be more nights on the ground than in the trees.
We did, however, decide to take notes on the hammocking options we encountered so that future hammock hikers of the GET would have a more definitive idea of the situation. That being said, our list is probably not 100% complete…surely there are some hangs that we considered not worth noting, but that others might find doable. So, think of this list as the bare minimum in terms of possible hammock options on the GET.
Because the Grand Enchantment Trail is better thought of in terms of its segments (and miles therein), we will list our observations by segments, rather than by total miles.
Our overall impression was that there are more hanging opportunities than we had expected. There were multiple segments which had hanging opportunities throughout their entirety, and other segments where there were very few hanging possibilities.
SEGMENT 1 (Superstition Wilderness)
Segment Mile 9.0 – Charlesbois Spring
Segment Mile 9.8-10.3 – Before and around La Barge Spring
Segment Mile 26 – Around the Cliff Dwellings in the Angel Basin
Segment Mile 30.3 – Near Roger’s Trough Trailhead
SEGMENT 2 (Reavis Canyon)
Segment Mile 2.6 – Montana Mountain (Waypoint 02050)
SEGMENT 3 (White Canyon Wilderness)
Segment Mile 0 – Around the Trailhead for Picketpost (South side of Hwy 60)
Segment Mile 6.3 – Best hangs are across the trail, but there may be more in the wash
Segment Mile 19.5 – Near the access point for the Gila River
Segment Mile 27.5 – After the second gate (trees are small but useable)
SEGMENT 4 (Tortilla Mountains)
Segment Mile 18.2 – Above the wash
Segment Mile 24.5ish – 27.6ish – In the washes (not great but useable)
SEGMENT 5 (Antelope Peak)
Segment Mile 2.5
Segment Mile 9.5 – In the wash
Segment Mile 13.9 – Just after the 4-Way intersection
SEGMENT 6 (Brandenburg Mountain)
No hanging opportunities noted.
SEGMENT 7 (Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness)
Segment Mile 10.8 – About 100 yards up Turkey Creek
SEGMENT 8 (Santa Theresa Wilderness)
Segment Mile 10.2 – Near Reef Tank
Segment Mile 24ish – At a knoll with some live oaks
Segment Mile 27 – Between Waypoints 08360 and 08370
Segment Mile 32ish
Segment Mile 34.5 – About .25 miles past Waypoint 08525
SEGMENT 9 (Underwood Canyon)
Segment Mile 3.3 – At Water Canyon wash (Waypoint 09026)
Segment Mile 4.0 – Near Underwood Canyon (Waypoint 09029)
Segment Mile 9.7 – Tripp Canyon camping area
SEGMENT 10 (Pinaleño Mountains)
Almost the entire Main GET segment is hammock friendly
**We took the Sawmill Alternate and rejoined the Main GET at Segment Mile 6.4.
**In 2018 the Ash Creek section of this segment was still closed due to fire/flood damage. The reroute that we took was a mix in terms of being able to hammock. We walked a lot of the Swift Trail, which has plenty of trees, but would have car traffic, as it is a road (dirt at the beginning and then turns to paved). The Arcadia Trail was not good for hammocking due to fire damage. There is possible hammocking near the water source at mile 21.5 of the reroute. The rest of the reroute for the segment is not hammockable.
SEGMENT 11 (Gila Valley South)
**In 2018, the reroute (due to the Ash Creek closure) joined this segment at Mile 9.5 which is in Thatcher/Safford. So, for us there were no hammocking options in the segment, as it was all town miles.
SEGMENT 12 (Gila Valley North)
Segment Mile 3.1 – Along the Gila River
Spring Canyon Alternate Mile 3 – A few trees along a 2-Track
SEGMENT 13 (Old Safford-Morenci Trail)
Segment Mile 3.5 – Can try to hang among the pinyon pines as you come to Waypoint 13070
Segment Mile 6.9 – Along Bonita Creek
Segment Mile 10.5 – Juniper trees not long after exiting East Bonita Rim Road
Segment Mile 12.7 – About .5 Miles beyond Waypoint 13200 after re-entering public land
Segment Mile 15.0 – Area approaching Smith Spring and Trough
SEGMENT 14 (Eagle Creek – Painted Bluffs)
Segment Mile 2.0 – 10.8 – Pretty good hammocking most of the way through Eagle Creek.
Segment Mile 23.9 – Granville Campground
SEGMENT 15 (Coronado Trail)
Most of this segment is hammock friendly (or at least useable). After Mile 8.6 the trees are mostly smaller junipers, so hanging could get more difficult.
SEGMENT 16 (Blue River)
Segment Mile 9.4 – Before and around Blue River
SEGMENT 17 (Maple Peak)
Relatively hammock friendly in this segment. In the first mile of the segment, there are reasonable hanging options. The trees near the end of the segment are fairly small, making for more difficult hangs.
SEGMENT 18 (Sunflower Mesa)
There are possible hangs in this segment, but the trees are getting smaller, so if you find a doable hang, it is best to take it.
SEGMENT 19 (Lower Mineral Creek)
This segment is all along a private road, so there is no camping allowed.
SEGMENT 20 (Mogollon Mountains)
Segment Mile 1 – 4.3 – Along Mineral Creek
Segment Mile 5.5 – 6.4 – From the saddle to Bursum Road
SEGMENT 21 (West Fork Gila River)
This segment is very hammock friendly.
**It is possible to hang in the gazebo across from Doc Campbell’s in Gila Hot Springs (uphill from the red barn)
SEGMENT 22 (Middle & East Fork Gila River)
First several miles of this segment have possible hammocking options.
Segment Mile 9.1 – Good hammocking in the cottonwoods
Remainder of the segment is hammock friendly
SEGMENT 23 (South Diamond Creek)
Beginning of the segment is juniper trees, which can be useable, but difficult.
After the first few miles, there are more pines, for easier hanging. The pines continue for the remainder of the segment.
SEGMENT 24 (Black Range Crest)
This segment is hammock friendly
SEGMENT 25 (Lookout Mountain)
This segment is hammock friendly
SEGMENT 26 (Wahoo Peak)
This segment is hammock friendly
SEGMENT 27 (Monticello Box)
The hammock possibilities in this segment are mostly limited to hanging from junipers around washes.
SEGMENT 28 (Apache Kid Wilderness)
This segment gets into the woods quickly, with hanging options.
Segment Mile 2.9 – Around Meyers Cabin
SEGMENT 29 (Withington Wilderness)
This segment is hammock friendly
SEGMENT 30 (Milligan Hills)
Segment Mile 7.2ish – Possible hang on big junipers (Waypoint 30090)
Segment Mile 8.5 – Hang across the wash about .25 miles before Waypoint 30110
**In general, this segment is a bit hard to hammock in, but something useable could probably be found every mile or two. The hanging options are mostly in bushy trees, so using a tarp would be difficult.
SEGMENT 31 (Magdalena Mountains)
Segment Mile 1 – 6.1
Segment Mile 9.5 – 10.5 – Possible hangs in the first mile of the FR
SEGMENT 32 (San Lorenzo Canyon)
Segment Mile 12.1 – Waypoint 32140
Segment Mile 22.0 – Near boulder scramble
Segment Mile 22.3 – Easy hang here and in the next .25 miles
SEGMENT 33 (Sevilleta Trace)
Segment Mile 7.0ish – In wash next to the road
SEGMENT 34 (Manzano Mountains South)
Segment Mile 8.8 – After entering National Forest land. Best hangs are across the trail.
Segment Mile 15.3 – Trailhead at segment end
**It is possible that this segment will be rerouted to avoid private land. So, the miles given here may not match up with future map sets.
SEGMENT 35 (Manzano Mountain Wilderness)
In general this segment is hammock friendly. Segment miles to AVOID (due to previous burns and/or overgrown trail) are 2.3 – 3.9, 10.8 – 13.5, 20.0 – 23.5.
SEGMENT 36 (Manzanita Mountains South)
Segment Mile 3.8 – Small USFS Campground
Segment Mile 25 – Probably hangs in the state land
SEGMENT 37 (Manzanita Mountains North)
Segment Mile 1 – 11.1 – Hammock friendly until the trail joins NM337
SEGMENT 38 (Sandia Mountain Wilderness)
Segment Mile 1 – 4.0
Segment Mile 6.0 – 14.0 – Probably not a great idea to hammock right around the ski lift or tram.
SEGMENT 39 (Sandia Crest)
Segment Mile .5 – 1.5 – There are a few options between the tram and the visitor center.
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