January 28, 2017, Phoenix-  I completed my section-by-section exploration of the Black Canyon National Recreation Trail, this evening.  Biscuit Flat segment’s north trailhead lies across New River Road from Emery Henderson Day Use Area, so I parked there.

As the name indicates, the terrain here is FLAT!

Thanks to recent rains, though, there was greenery aplenty and, as you will see, a river to be crossed.

A ranch once occupied Biscuit Flat, just above the New River. Its remnants are still on view, in the forms of a wooden trough and some piles of stones, apparently set aside as building material.

Sizable “rivers of stone”, on the north bank of the New River, indicate that the often-dry  river has had its moments of torrent.  I spent several minutes, contemplating these rather extensive, and deep, piles of debris.  I’ve read that rocks and minerals impart energy.  I certainly felt that, here.

New River itself was the second sweet surprise.  It, too, was running and gave me a chance to get my feet wet.

The river bed is 1/4 mile wide, so there were two or three areas that needed fording.

About 1/2 mile south of the river, there is a Federal prison to the left of the trail.

A tributary of the New River left a small puddle, just past the prison view.

As I reached Bob Bently Trailhead, a rather nondescript gate with weathered signage, my 88 miles of Black Canyon trail were reduced to the return hike to Emery Henderson.  The sounds of nearby Ben Avery State Shooting Range (where my son was trained to properly handle firearms) were heard, over a formidable earthen berm.

Lest anyone get the idea that Bob Bently was the end of the line, though, the invitation to another extensive trail system appeared, to my right. Several segments of Maricopa Trail, (http://mctpf.org/the-trail/), a 315-mile loop, circling Maricopa County, will be in view, on these pages, over the next four years.  There seems no end to surprises coming my way.