Thanksgiving Backpack to the HU Bar Cabin - Dog Friendly

Ed hosted this trip a few years ago and it was super fun. We ran into some real-life cowboys that warned us about it getting cold that night: "I hope you have a warm bedroll."
"Bedroll" haha, who says that?! It was 14 degrees that night.
We did some day hiking and found some old prepper's stash. You'll have to come on the trip to get any other details.
Here is what Ed wrote in his original description, which absolutely tracks with cowboys and bedrolls:
"Step back in time to the Pioneer days and get a real feel for what frontier living was all about. No better ambiance to feel like a homesteader than deep in Arizona's Blue Range. This IS my favorite backpack trip in ALL of Arizona and I never tire of going. Not many people know about this area so I'm only giving a vague description of its location, join us to find out where 😝 The handful of people that I've encountered here on past trips were real Cowboys and Cowgirls, this is rough and wild country and very little has changed since the Spanish first arrived in this country nearly 500 years ago.
This trip has it all, a river, rustic cabins, pine trees, cactus, rock formations, big animals that might eat you and even a hot spring in the vicinity. It'll be chilly at night and it snowed on us for several hours two Thanksgivings ago. The snow didn't stick around for long but we did. I'll bet many years from now, you wouldn't have forgotten this place. Everyone that I have taken here has enjoyed it. This trip will take up the entire Thanksgiving weekend so if you've got nowhere to go or want to just get away, join us as we step back in time."

The Plan:
Wednesday, Nov 26th: 6 pm we'll meet and carpool to the trailhead off of US-191 between Alpine and Morenci. We'll car camp and get an early start the next day. Anyone can join us by 8am Thursday.

Thursday, Nov 27th: We'll hike about 9 miles on the AD Bar Trail 14 to the cabin. Hopefully it's not occupied. If it is, it will be another 4 ish miles to another cabin on the river. We can try cooking something (plan in the comments), but after 9 miles I think everyone will be too tired to do anything elaborate.

Friday, Nov 28th: This will be our day to shine! I think we should plan for a thanksgiving type meal. We'll have access to a wood burning stove, bread oven/warmer thing (connected to the wood stove), and fire pit. I have a little battery powered rotisserie I'll bring.
There are also some day hikes we can do down to the Blue river and beyond.

Saturday, Nov 29th: We'll pack up and head back the 9 miles we came in. Drive back to Phoenix. We can have team lunch along the way. You get Sunday to recover.

Details:
Distance: 9 - 13.5 miles
AEG: mostly downhill on day 1, about 3000 feet AEG on the way out (very gradual)
Difficulty: Intermediate to Difficult
Dogs: Yes
Kids: No
Water: At camp, maybe along the way.
Things to know: IT WILL BE COLD!!! BE PREPARED!!! One year we had a little snow.

Disclaimer:
The planned hike is listed above, but the group's ability takes precedence. If I think someone may not make it for whatever reason (injury, out of shape, solar flares, etc...) I'll change the plan and do my best to tailor the trip to the groups wants and capabilities.
I will not leave you stranded in the middle of the trail.

Recommended Gear List:
- Water for the entire day (this means 4 Liters/Quarts for someone weighing 100 - 200 lbs, you weigh more, ring more water) and some way to treat/filter water.
- First aid kit.
- Backpack... duh.
- Sleeping bag, Tent, hammock.
- Clothing: I recommend one set of hiking and one set of sleeping clothes.
- Small dish towel. This comes in very handy.
- Toiletries (toothbrush, paste, deo and quick dissolving toilet paper).
- Headlamp.
- Utensils for the food.
- Food: you must feed yourself.

Optional:
- Trekking poles.
- Stove. I have one that anyone can borrow if you want to cook something.
- I'm bringing a little fold out grill to cook on over the fire. You can bring another if you want.
- Tweezers (should be part of your first aid kit, but just in case it isn't).
- Entertainment... whatever floats your boat.
- Camp shoes (flip flops or some other loose fitting light shoe). This will feel nice on your feet after an all day hike.
- Chair.