ALONG THE WAY

adventure A Rugged 43-mile Romp Through a Rocky Forest of COTTONWOOD and SYCAMORE TREES Along the SCENIC VERDE RIVER

I SOMETIMES DREAMED OF THE VERDE River-especially the parts I'd never seen. Granted, the Verde isn't famous. A modest, meandering, under-appreciated desert stream, it starts in the mountains north of Prescott and winds in its deferential way through mostly wild and unpopulated territory. Most of the Verde ends up in two reservoirs serving Phoenix, although a final diminished gurgle joins the Gila and Salt rivers on the outskirts of the great sprawl of the Phoenix metropolis. The intersection of these three fitful desert rivers made possible the ancient Hohokam civilizationand modern-day Phoenix, which now contains more than half of the state's population.

I had spent many happy hours loafing along the Verde, usually at easily accessible spots below the Horseshoe and Bartlett reservoirs, north of Phoenix, or where it daydreams through the Verde Valley by Cottonwood and Camp Verde. Along those stretches, I'd fallen under its languid spell-its cottonwood and sycamore shadings, its opaque serenity and its wealth of birds and attendant wildlife. I'd also spent time with a fishing pole angling for bass, bluegill, sunfish or catfish.

But I'd never visited the remote middle stretches of the Verde where you can still see an unbowed desert river, capricious, vital and so completely unexpected in the arid terrain. So, having no idea how daunting the final approach to the river would be, I resolved to seek access to the 41-mile-long federally designated "wild and scenic" portion-of the river running from below Camp Verde to Red Creek, just a few miles north of Horseshoe Reservoir.

My journey started at the 2,800-acre Horseshoe Reservoir, northeast of Cave Creek at an elevation of 2,043 feet. The best camping and fishing are below the dam, where a reliable release of water has nourished a forest of cottonwoods and sycamores. The cottonwoods and the contemplative riffle of the Verde inspired a Huck Finn fantasy that nearly