BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

Nearly 8,000 feet, I encounter a vibrant forest of blue spruce and corkbark firs, more like a Tolkien fantasy than an Arizona landscape. All the while, rain spatters, lightning flashes and cloud-tumbled holes open overhead, allowing sunlight to sparkle on bejeweled ferns. And all that before I come to Big Bonito Creek, some 40 miles after leaving Whiteriver. Big Bonito emerges from the closed area of the reservation north of the road, a sprawling wilderness centered on sacred Mount Baldy. The Apache fishery department has stocked the golden, speckled Apache trout in Big Bonito, which remains open to fishermen south of the road. An Apache road crew laughs, jokes and splashes as they build a fish barrier to protect the Apache trout from the downstream rainbows and browns.I'm instantly smitten: Grabbing my fly rod, I head downstream to float my hopeful fly through the tiny pools and musical riffles. I catch nothing, since my natural aura repels fish and crashes computers. No matter: I fish so I'll have an excuse to stand in a stream as the afternoon swirls past.

Finally, I tear myself away and scud along, as leaves before the storm. Five miles later, I reach the junction of Y55 and Y20. I detour briefly to catch-and-release Pacheta Lake, then I go on to Reservation Lake, which boasts a store, campgrounds, boat rentals and someof the best lake-fishing on the reservation. But I can't linger long. I left Whiteriver at 11 and now it's past 5, which leaves two hours of daylight. So I return to Y20 and continue south past the junction with Y55. After puzzling out the mismatched bewilderment of the reservation's seemingly random road

Stocked with brook, rainbow and brown trout, Reservation Lake welcomes visitors with its campsites, store and boat rentals.

route finder

After that, the road descends to a grassy prairie graced by pronghorn antelope, which briefly race the Jeep-completing a stirring sample of nearly every sort of Arizona terrain save low, saguaro desert.

Shortly after the junction of Y70 and Y40, I pass the inconspicuous tracery of Turkey Creek, hidden on the right side of the road in the bottom of a 15-foot-deep gash in the volcanic rock. Along this creek, the U.S. Army confined Geronimo and his Chiricahua band, as detailed in Britton Davis' The Truth about Geronimo. Harried into surrender by Gen. George Crook and the White Mountain Apache scouts, Geronimo's people settled here for a time. But fear, pride, rumors and bungling finally prompted Geronimo to bolt, triggering the final, bloody, two-year phase of the Apache Wars that horrified the nation and sucked in one-quarter of the U.S. Army.

I pass the site as darkness gathers, drunk on the day. As the shadows lengthen, I think of the gleam of the trout, the sound of the stream, the trunks of the aspen, the sway of the spruce, the luminous green of the grass, the reflections of the clouds, the call of the turkeys, the golden glow of the elk and the track of the bear. And in this one day's wander, I understand utterly why the Apaches fought so hard-even if I do not know the proper names of the places that can make me wise.

I encounter Bonito Creek, after Big and Little Bonito have merged into a lower-elevation version of Oak Creek in Sedona, with sycamores, cottonwoods, deep pools, brown trout and lurking bass.

As designations, I reach Y70. As 70 drops down the mountain, firs yield to ponderosas, then to oaks, then to junipers.

VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: Two-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicle. (Four-wheel drive recommended in wet weather.) TRAVEL ADVISORY: In Whiteriver, visit the Wildlife & Outdoor Recreation Division office at Fatco Road and State Route 73 (Chief Road) to get a $6 fishing permit (which allows you to use dirt roads in any nonclosed areas); a booklet with regulations, which also shows a map of the closed areas; and a detailed map showing the reservation roads, since many of the numbers used in nonreservation mapbooks use different and confusing numbers. Drivers are encouraged to drive with their headlights on because logging trucks use some roads. WARNING: Back road travel can be hazardous. Be aware of weather and road conditions. Carry plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone know where you're going and when you plan to return. Odometer readings may vary by vehicle. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: White Mountain Apache Tribe, Office of Tourism, (928) 338-1230.

hike of the month Painted Bluff Trail Promises a Long Trek With Panoramic Views

THE PAINTED BLUFF TRAIL travels through some big country. Hidden from the highway by forests and hairpin curves that wrap around rises in the lower spine of eastern Arizona's White Mountains, this country has views expansive enough to make a hiker stop and stare from the start of its 11-mile journey at U.S. Route 191 all the way down to the end at Eagle Creek.

The trail makes a long day for horseback riders and a several-day backpack for hikers. This trip travels 5 miles to Wood Canyon to get a look at Indian petroglyphs, and then heads back to the trailhead. The trail starts a half-mile west of the Chase Creek Overlook along U.S. 191 and leads past an old open-pit mine. The silica-rich rock once dug up here fed smelter operations in Clifton. With the trail teetering on the edge of the Copper Belt, mining scenes make a show in the first few miles.

The trail follows a miner's road in the beginning, passing a wood-beamed mine opening in the first mile. Prospectors always hoped for gold or silver, but copper is king in this area. Today's treasure hunters might find nuggets of pyrite, also called fool's gold. The stone sometimes fooled old-time prospectors and still excites the unaware who catch its golden glints along the trail.

At about 1.5 miles, the trail crosses a fire-scarred hillside and hikers get a look at the Morenci Mine. One of the world's largest copper mines sprawls a handful of miles south. A mosaic of hundreds of historic mining claims spreads to the south of the trail. A private claim, marked by a waist-high cairn, lies about 20 feet off the trail.

From there on, the trail turns its back on mining and takes a pleasant shift as the road narrows to a single track and heads for some great sights.

At about mile 3, you can stop to gawk at the gorgeous colors and contours of the surrounding mountainous terrain. A weathered plank balanced between two boulders offers a ringside scenic seat and makes a good turnaround point for a shorter day hike.

Traveling onward, the trail cools off in a drainage darkened by a forest of Arizona cypress and Gambel oak trees, takes a last look at the Morenci Mine, then travels deeper into the wilderness. The next sign of civilization, Indian rock art, appears in Wood Canyon.

Pine sweetness permeates the path as it starts its dramatic descent, 800 feet in about a mile, into Wood Canyon. Strings of ruddy bluffs start to poke out from the surrounding slopes, signaling the start of the Painted Bluffs.

Once inside in the canyon, hikers with sharp eyes might locate the rock art etched above the trail. From there, they can return the way they came, or explore farther on the trail to experience a little more of this wide country. All