Gathering Waters is the first of Highline's three roughly equal segments, covering 21.6 miles with 1,969 feet of climbing and 2,359 feet of descending when ridden east to west. As the opening leg of the route, it clearly shows the difference between the recently rerouted segments and the historic sections of trail. You begin by flowing along a machine-built trail for miles, only to be faced with an abrupt climb filled with rocky chunk that would force some riders to dismount. A few of these punchy climbs are followed by steep fall-line descents that are obviously from the original trail — and if these are the segments deemed rideable enough to remain relatively untouched, I shudder to consider how gnarly the rerouted sections must have been.
Like the rest of Highline, the bulk of the tread is sandy with sandstone rocks, and the difficulty holds to a solid Arizona intermediate/blue rating. But Gathering Waters saves its best for last, finishing with spectacular red rock slab riding right before camp. While all three days traverse red rocks, days one and two boast the best red rock riding — yes, red rocks, just like the ones you'll find in Sedona — and this opening segment delivers a generous helping of that Sedona-style slab.
Set a thousand feet below the Mogollon Rim, Gathering Waters introduces you to the astonishingly diverse, shockingly lush landscape that defines the Highline Trail. The jagged rim is your constant companion overhead while spring-fed streams, ferns, and towering deciduous trees crowd the trail below. It's a fitting first act for a multi-day epic, mixing flowy machine-built tread, punchy historic climbs, and slabby red rock into one of the finest backcountry singletrack rides you'll ever do.
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While the entire Highline trail is fantastic, Gathering Waters was probably my least-favorite section. This segment includes the longest stretches of trail that weren't rerouted, so you'll be forced to slog up a couple of steep sections that might force some riders to hike-a-bike. This is still a decent trail, just not as good as the rest of it.
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