Lower Black Canyon Trail

On 27 March 2010, ten members of the Skyliner's group (Lila Wright, Anita Jackson, Virginia Driscoll, Dolly Yapp, Marvin Alt, Daisy Williams, Donna Goodman, Jim Manning, Ellis Price and one other) hiked on Black Canyon Trail. From Cottonwood we took Camino Real (and then Old Hwy 279) through Verde Village to Ogden Ranch Road at Montezuma School. We turned toward the mountain on Ogden Ranch Road and traveled three miles to the end of the road at the Black Canyon Trailhead.

Shown below are three members of the group as we prepare to start the hike. Look carefully and you will the snow-covered San Francisco Peaks on the horizon.

Virginia, Marvin and Lila with the Mogollon Rim and the San Francisco

Peaks in the background

One enters the trail from the trailhead by passing through a barrier erected to block all-terrain vehicles and then walks alongside a wash for just less than one-tenth of a mile before dipping into and crossing the wash. The turn into the wash is not obvious and the trail appears to continue along the bank of the wash. I have temporarily lost the trail at this point more than once and others have told me of having the same experience. After crossing the wash, the trail follows along a hillside for something like one-third of a mile and then dips down to cross another wash. After that it passes through two wire gates fairly close together and continues a steady, but rather gentle climb up the mountain. We paused frequently along the way to look at flowers and take in the view back across Verde Valley to the Mogollon Rim and the San Francisco Peaks beyond. The only clouds in the sky were hovering just above the rim, clustered mostly around the peaks.

Clouds clustered around the San Francisco Peaks – zoom shot

Although the height of the flower season was yet to arrive, we did find Primroses, Deer Vetch, Filaree, Desert Hyacinths, Indian Paint Brush and Ceanothus along the way.

Primrose                                                                     Deer Vetch

In the left photograph the primrose has two current blossoms, three buds can be seen (middle top to center) waiting their turn for glory and two old, shriveled blossoms are visible (upper right and bottom center). A couple of stray Filaree blossoms (reddish purple color) are faintly visible in the lower right. The Deer Vetch shown in the right photograph appears again in the left photograph below

Filaree plant                                                              Desert Hyacinth

In the left photograph above, the reddish purple at bottom center is new growth Filaree. Deer Vetch is visible to the upper right the upper right in the photograph (See single yellow blossom just above/behind the Filaree).

Indian Paint Brush hiding in the grass                Ceanothus

Around one and a-third miles from the trailhead we came upon a faint trail leading down toward what appeared to be an overlook near the bottom of the canyon and decided to explore.

The faint trail descended some 250 feet in a distance of about a third of a mile to a point overlooking the bottom of the canyon just opposite a side canyon with a small waterfall.

Looking across Black Canyon from the overlook to a barely discernible

waterfall (center) in a side canyon

We climbed back up to the main trail and, after a pause to rest from the effort, continued on our way toward the halfway point on Black Canyon Trail where we planned to eat lunch and turn back. After hiking about another 1.45 miles on up the trail, we arrived at a wash leading down the mountain to drain into Black Canyon. I have previously determined that this spot is at about the halfway point on Black Canyon Trail. Just after crossing the wash on the way up the mountain, the trail enters a Manzanita forest. There are actually two separate washes that run together at this spot and continue on down to the canyon below. The trail crosses both of them just upstream from the juncture, passing through first one then, less than 50 yards further on, the other. We stopped for lunch at the first wash. It is always a most pleasant place to pause, with sunny exposures for the cooler months, plenty of trees for shade during hot weather and, for a large part of the year, the pleasant trickle of running water.

Manzanita forest through which Black Canyon Trail runs

This is a view up the wash from where we ate lunch. The rippling, greenish-

white cascade directly below center in this shot is a small waterfall.

On the way back down the trail, just below where we ate lunch, a couple of very attractive cacti caught my attention.

Large Prickly Pear Cactus                                      Hedgehog Cactus

Mexican Gold Poppies, barely open on our way up the trail, were now showing in all their glory and we noted several more examples of Indian Paint Brush.

California Or Mexican Gold Poppy                        Indian Paint Brush

In places the trail was lined with flowers, primarily Indian Paintbrush and Mexican Gold Poppy.

Indian Paint Brush lining the trail

Mexican Gold Poppies strewn along the trail

The total hiking distance was, according to my GPS, 8.5 miles. That includes the side trip (about six-tenths of a mile down and back) on the faint trail to the overlook near the canyon floor. Without the side trip, the hike to the spot where we ate lunch would have been about 3.25 miles. A rough estimate of the distance from our lunch stop to the upper trailhead is 3.3 miles. The elevation gain for this hike was about 1325 feet from the trailhead to where we turned back. The total ascent with the extra climbing of our side trip and climbing up and down to cross washes was just over 1900 feet according to my GPS.

Our track is shown in red on the included map (below)

Black Canyon Trail

On 27 March 2010, ten members of the Skyliner's group (Lila Wright, Anita Jackson, Virginia Driscoll, Dolly Yapp, Marvin Alt, Daisy Williams, Donna Goodman, Jim Manning, Ellis Price and one other) hiked on Black Canyon Trail. From Cottonwood we took Camino Real (and then Old Hwy 279) through Verde Village to Ogden Ranch Road at Montezuma School. We turned toward the mountain on Ogden Ranch Road and traveled three miles to the end of the road at the Black Canyon Trailhead.

Shown below are three members of the group as we prepare to start the hike. Look carefully and you will the snow-covered San Francisco Peaks on the horizon.

Virginia, Marvin and Lila with the Mogollon Rim and the San Francisco Peaks in the background

One enters the trail from the trailhead by passing through a barrier erected to block all-terrain vehicles and then walks alongside a wash for just less than one-tenth of a mile before dipping into and crossing the wash. The turn into the wash is not obvious and the trail appears to continue along the bank of the wash. I have temporarily lost the trail at this point more than once and others have told me of having the same experience. After crossing the wash, the trail follows along a hillside for something like one-third of a mile and then dips down to cross another wash. After that it passes through two wire gates fairly close together and continues a steady, but rather gentle climb up the mountain. We paused frequently along the way to look at flowers and take in the view back across Verde Valley to the Mogollon Rim and the San Francisco Peaks beyond. The only clouds in the sky were hovering just above the rim, clustered mostly around the peaks.

Clouds clustered around the San Francisco Peaks – zoom shot

Although the height of the flower season was yet to arrive, we did find Primroses, Deer Vetch, Filaree, Desert Hyacinths, Indian Paint Brush and Ceanothus along the way.

Primrose                                                                                Deer Vetch

In the left photograph the primrose has two current blossoms, three buds can be seen (middle top to center) waiting their turn for glory and two old, shriveled blossoms are visible (upper right and bottom center). A couple of stray filaree blossoms (reddish purple color) are faintly visible in the lower right. The Deer Vetch shown in the right photograph appears again in the left photograph below

Filaree plant                                                                                Desert Hyacinth

In the left photograph above, the reddish purple at bottom center is new growth Filaree. Deer Vetch is visible to the upper right the upper right in the photograph (See single yellow blossom just above/behind the Filaree).

Indian Paint Brush hiding in the grass                                     Ceanothus

Around one and a-third miles from the trailhead we came upon a faint trail leading down toward what appeared to be an overlook near the bottom of the canyon and decided to explore.

The faint trail descended some 250 feet in a distance of about a third of a mile to a point overlooking the bottom of the canyon just opposite a side canyon with a small waterfall.

Looking across Black Canyon from the overlook to a barely discernible waterfall (center) in a side canyon

We climbed back up to the main trail and, after a pause to rest from the effort, continued on our way toward the halfway point on Black Canyon Trail where we planned to eat lunch and turn back. After hiking about another 1.45 miles on up the trail, we arrived at a wash leading down the mountain to drain into Black Canyon. I have previously determined that this spot is at about the halfway point on Black Canyon Trail. Just after crossing the wash on the way up the mountain, the trail enters a Manzanita forest. There are actually two separate washes that run together at this spot and continue on down to the canyon below. The trail crosses both of them just upstream from the juncture, passing through first one then, less than 50 yards further on, the other. We stopped for lunch at the first wash. It is always a most pleasant place to pause, with sunny exposures for the cooler months, plenty of trees for shade during hot weather and, for a large part of the year, the pleasant trickle of running water.

Manzanita forest through which Black Canyon Trail runs

This is a view up the wash from where we ate lunch. The rippling, greenish-white cascade directly below center in this shot is a small waterfall.

On the way back down the trail, just below where we ate lunch, a couple of very attractive cacti caught my attention.

Large Prickly Pear Cactus                                                            Hedgehog Cactus

Mexican Gold Poppies, barely open on our way up the trail, were now showing in all their glory and we noted several more examples of Indian Paint Brush.

California Or Mexican Gold Poppy                                       Indian Paint Brush

(Eschscholzia california or mexicana)

In places the trail was lined with flowers, primarily Indian Paintbrush and Mexican Gold Poppy.

Indian Paint Brush lining the trail

Mexican Gold Poppies strewn along the trail

The total hiking distance was, according to my GPS, 8.5 miles. That includes the side trip (about six-tenths of a mile down and back) on the faint trail to the overlook near the canyon floor. Without the side trip, the hike to the spot where we ate lunch would have been about 3.25 miles. A rough estimate of the distance from our lunch stop to the upper trailhead is 3.3 miles. The elevation gain for this hike was about 1325 feet from the trailhead to where we turned back. The total ascent with the extra climbing of our side trip and climbing up and down to cross washes was just over 1900 feet according to my GPS.

Our track is shown in red on the included map (below)

Etta Mine Hike

On 20 March 2010, eleven Skyliners hiked from Cherry Road to Etta Mine and back. We took Hwy 260 toward Camp Verde and turned onto Cherry Road at the County Complex. We followed Cherry Road for about 6.5 miles and parked at the junction with Forest Road 361. The junction is located approximately at mile marker 11.9 on Cherry Road.

Our intended goal for this hike was Monarch Mine. However, we made a wrong turn during the hike and wound up at Etta Mine instead. We then decided to rename this the “Etta Mine Hike” and turn back, leaving Monarch Mine for another day. Hikers included Jim Manning, Donna Goodman, Marvin Alt, Fran Lind, Daisy Williams, Collene Maktenieks, Dolly Yapp, three unnamed hikers and Ellis Price (the photographer, not shown).

We were a bit taken aback to find that the road led downhill at the start of the hike. We generally prefer to do our climbing at the beginning of a hike while still fresh and do the easier downhill part on the way back. This hike turned out to have many ups and downs as we wound our way through the foothills. About one mile from Cherry Road where FR 361 crosses a wash, we thought we could hear water running. A little investigation showed that water was indeed running in the wash above the road but that it all sank into the bed of the wash before reaching the road. Later reference to a topo map revealed that we were at Blue Monster Spring. The map also showed another spring, called Pfau Spring, about two-tenths of a mile further along FR 361. We did not see a spring at that location, so assumed that it must be located below the road. However, we did find some old mine ruins with quite elaborate stonework alongside the road.I couldn’t find a name for this mine and have just labeled it “mine near Pfau Spring.”

Mine near Pfau Spring. This mine is located along FR 361 about 1.25 miles from Cherry Road.

After passing the mine near Pfau Spring, we continued on FR 361 for just over another mile and a half (about 4.5 miles from Cherry Road) before we came to a road leading of to the left that we thought might be the road to Monarch Mine.

Taking that road we soon found that it did not lead to Monarch Mine. However, we could see another road running along the mountainside above and to the northwest of us. We took a short side road that led us up a wash in the direction of the road we could see ahead and, when that road ended, bushwhacked our way on up the mountainside.

Upon intercepting the road running along the mountainside, we followed it on up the side of the mountain until it ended at an unidentified mine that I later identified as Etta Mine. We stopped there for lunch.

After lunch I gave up my customary noon nap in favor of climbing to the top of the ridge above the Mine. Dolly, Jim and I climbed through a manzanita grove that was in full bloom to come out on the mountaintop in one of those sandy, open spaces that look more like an ocean beach than something to be expected on a mountaintop.

The views from the top were spectacular, well worth the extra climb from the mine below. Laid out before us was a slice of Mingus Mountain to the northwest, the upper reaches of Verde Valley to the north, the San Francisco Peaks to the northeast beyond Sedona and, further toward the east, a view of the red cliffs of the Mogollon Rim directly across Verde Valley:

From atop the ridge above Etta Mine facing northwest. A slice of Mingus Mountain is shown in the center

From atop the ridge above Etta Mine facing north by northwest. A bit of Mingus is shown at the left edge

From atop the ridge above Etta Mine facing north. The San Francisco Peaks are visible to the right

From atop the ridge above Etta Mine facing northeast. The San Francisco Peaks are visible the left

From atop the ridge above Etta Mine facing northeast. A magnified view of the San Francisco Peaks

After looking at the far off views, I focused on the always-beautiful manzanita nearby.

Large Manzanita above Etta Mine                Large Manzanita above Etta Mine

After lunch, we started our trek back to Cherry Road. However, when we reached the point where we had entered the mountainside road after bushwhacking up the side of the mountain, Carol and I continued along Etta Road to map the route to FR 361. The rest of the group bushwhacked their way back down the mountainside the way we had come. When Carol and I arrived at the junction with FR 361, we found that four roads actually come together there. It could have been a bit confusing; however, there were signs posted and we knew that we would need to turn south to rejoin the rest of the party.

Later reference to a topo map showed that roads marked as FR 361 lead in three directions from this junction: to the northeast to end at Old Hwy 279 near Hwy 260 at Thousand Trails, to the northwest to end about 0.6 miles ahead, and south to end at Cherry Road. At the junction we were about two-thirds of a mile from where we had turned off on the way in. To reach Monarch Mine, our original goal for this hike, we should have continued on FR 361 to this junction, taken the road leading east (labeled as FR 361 on some maps) and followed it for about seven-tenths of a mile. The road runs between what is apparently two separate claims that constitute Monarch Mine and continues on up the mountain for a short distance before ending.

NOTE: I have have shown the road to Monarch Mine as a green track on the included map (below).

The total distance for this hike as shown on my GPS was nine miles. That includes the climb to the top of the ridge above Etta Mine and the extra distance (over a mile) hiked by Carol and me to follow the Etta Mine Road on to the junction with FR 361. The change in elevation from the low point to the high point of the hike was about 900 feet; however from a quick look at my GPS file, I estimate that the additional climbing, going up and down to cross the foothills along the way, added another 1000 feet. In other words if you went on this hike and then felt that you had climbed closer to 2000 feet, you were not far wrong.

The GPS track of this hike is shown on the included map (below) along with the road to Monarch Mine.

Sugarloaf and Black Mountain

On 13 March 2010, eleven Skyliners (Jim Manning, Fran Lind, Marvin Alt, Bob Wakefield, Janet Wakefield, Daisy Williams, Donna Goodman, Lila Wright, Ellis Price and two others) set out to hike on Sugarloaf and Black Mountain. W took Hwy 89A north from Cottonwood and turned off on Bill Gray Road (FR 761) at the Catholic Church. We followed Bill Gray road for about 9.3 miles and then continued straight ahead on Black Mountain Road (FR 9525). Bill Gray Road turns to the right at this intersection. We followed Black Mountain Road for about 1 mile before parking to start our hike.

NOTE 1: Alternate Route -- Instead of turning off Bill Gray Road (FR 761) directly onto Black Mountain Road (FR 9525) where we did, one could continue on Bill Gray Road for about another two-thirds of a mile and turn left onto FR 761A.   FR 761A connects with Black Mountain Road, which itself becomes FR 761A at this point, where Black Mountain Road crosses under the power line, about three- tenths of a mile beyond where we parked.

NOTE 2: Turnoff to Indian Cave – At the point where Black Mountain Road crosses under the power line (at 34°52'56.20"N; 111°59'55.97"W), FR 9524 leads off to the northeast, generally following the power line. The Indian cave described later in this report is located in a red bluff on the right a bit under a quarter mile along this road.

We hiked along Black Mountain Road, heading generally northeast along the slope of Black Mountain toward Sugarloaf Mountain. Along the way (about half a mile after crossing under the power line) we noted a jeep trail, an old quarry road (FR 9526) that branches off and switchbacks up to the top of Black Mountain. We continued on past the jeep trail turnoff on our way to Sugarloaf Mountain. We found that we were climbing pretty rapidly and paused a few times to rest and take in the views.

Black Mountain Road runs along the slope of Black Mountain until it reaches Sugarloaf Mountain, which is joined to Black Mountain by a connecting saddle. The road then continues around Sugarloaf Mountain and leads to several quarries located on the northeast slope of Black Mountain. Some of the quarries are still active and the road is pretty well maintained. Any truck type vehicle can easily navigate it.

We would leave Black Mountain Road at the saddle between Sugarloaf and Black Mountain because the climb to the top of Sugarloaf is not too steep from there. Accordingly, when we reached the saddle we turned off and made our way up the slope.

We found no discernible trail leading between the road and the top of the saddle. However, from there on to the peak, we did find a faint trail, marked along the way with cairns. As we ascended, we had a good view back along the way we had come; the road along the slope of Black Mountain was clearly visible and, in the distance, we could see the snow-covered heights of Mingus Mountain above the shoulder of Black Mountain.

Mingus visible in the distance above the slope of Black Mountain – road visible at bottom of picture

And because I do like Mingus, here is a zoomed in view.

Magnified view of Mingus over the shoulder of Black Mountain

The climb up Sugarloaf from the saddle is not very difficult, although there are a couple of spots where one must climb over rock ledges.

We ate lunch while admiring the views from the top of the mountain. We searched for and found a memorial someone had patiently carved into a stone at the top of the mountain. We then spent the rest of our time enjoying the views all around us. Looking to the west, we could see Black Mountain Road zigzagging its way up to the quarries located on the northeast slope of the mountain. One vehicle made its way along the road around Sugarloaf and on up to the quarries while we watched. We saw the same vehicle again later as we were making our way back down to the road and the vehicle was leaving the area. Looking to the northwest we could see across Sycamore Pass into Sycamore Canyon Wilderness beyond. We identified the Trailhead for the Dogie Trail, a trail we plan to hike on April 10. To the northeast we could see the red mound that identifies Robbers Roost and beyond that Secret Mountain Wilderness. Moving to the southeast, we were looking down on Sugarloaf Tank #1 just below us and beyond that the Mago Retreat. The tank is located in the bottom of and not too far from the upper head of a canyon. The canyon bottom drops steeply again just below the tank. The canyon descends from west to east and we could see that a road climbs up the canyon on the south side, crosses at the tank and then descends back down the canyon on the north side. I determined later that this road turns around the shoulder of Sugarloaf and continues north to Sugarloaf Tank #2, which is located north of Sugarloaf Mountain. It can be accessed from Black Mountain Road by turning north on FR 9524 where Black Mountain Road crosses under the power line near the start of our hike.

Memorial carved in a stone on top of Sugarloaf Mountain

To the west we could see Black Mountain Road winding up the slope to the quarries.

Black Mountain Road zigzagging up the northeast slope of Black Mountain to the quarries

Looking northwest, we had a view across Sycamore Pass into Sycamore Canyon Wilderness.

Looking across Sycamore Pass and into Sycamore Wilderness from Sugarloaf Peak

To the northeast we could see across Robbers Roost into Secret Mountain Wilderness.

Robbers Roost (red mound in center) and Secret Mountain Wilderness beyond

To the southeast we could see Sugarloaf Tank #1 far below and the Mago Retreat beyond that.

Sugarloaf Tank #1 (lower right) and Mago Retreat (above and left of center)

Making our way back down to Black Mountain Road, we came out about 50 yards from where we had left the road on the way up.

On rejoining the road, we decided to make a side trip to the cliffs overlooking Sugarloaf Tank #1. Accordingly, we continued along the road for about two-tenth of a mile as though we were going to circle around Sugarloaf Mountain before turning off to the cliff above the tank. After arriving at the top of the cliff, we decided that a better view was to be had at another location and moved along the cliff edge toward the head of the canyon in which the tank is located. Below is a view of the tank from our second viewpoint. The tank is visible to the left; you can see the Mago Retreat near the upper right.

Sugarloaf Tank #1 (left); Mago Retreat (upper right)

While we were wandering around atop the cliff, we observed a small manzanita in full bloom (a bit early?), a small juniper growing on the very edge of the cliff, a stubborn prickly pear cactus that just refuses to give up and some strange mushrooms. George, who is traveling and was unable to be with us on this hike, is our mushroom person and I will ask him to identify them for us when he returns from his trip.

A Manzanita in bloom                                        A little juniper on the cliff’s edge

A very stubborn prickly pear cactus             Small black mushrooms

Jim Manning had indicated that he knew of some Indian ruins located near our route back and we left to explore those. To do this, we returned to Black Mountain Road, hiked back past where we had turned off to climb Sugarloaf Mountain, continued on past the jeep trail (FR 9526) that switchbacks up to the top of Black Mountain and turned off when we could see the red bluff that the Indian Ruins are located in. We noted later that the most direct route should one wish to go directly to the ruins would be to turn off Black Mountain Road onto FR 9524 where Black Mountain Road crosses under the power line and follows the power line to the northeast. The ruins are in a red bluff to the right a bit under ¼ mile from Black Mountain Road. However, because we were on our way back and approaching from the other direction, we shortened the trip a bit by cutting off before we reached FR 9524 and taking a diagonal route to the ruins. We traveled through pastureland that was pretty easy walking.

We found the ruins (located at 34°53'4.43"N; 111°59'42.51"W) to be basically a cave-like opening in the bluff under a rock overhang. The overhang was deep enough to provide shelter in just about any weather. The site is easily accessed, lying only about a tenth of a mile off FR 9524. Because it is so easily accessed, the site has undoubtedly been much visited over the years. Despite this, we did find a few pottery shards, which we photographed and left behind. We also noted some very interesting erosion formations on the back wall of the overhang.

The space sheltered by the overhang is about 10 feet deep and at least 30 feet long, providing ample space to shelter a small group.

Indian Ruins. See the opening at the bottom of the red bluff, visible over the top of a bush (right of center)

Indian Ruins. See the opening at the bottom of the red bluff, visible over the top of a bush (right of center)

Pottery shards                                                         Erosion formations on the       
                                                                           Back wall of the overhang

We intended to return to Black Mountain Road by way of FR 9524 back to finish our hike. I sat under the overhang and took a photograph of the group as they assembled outside to resume the hike.

Assembling hikers framed in the opening with Mingus in the background

This hike was about 6.75 miles round trip (My GPS said 6.74 while the file I downloaded to my computer said 6.5). This includes the side trips to the cliffs above Sugarloaf Tank #1 and the Indian Ruins. The elevation change was just over 900 feet.

The included map (below) shows our GPS track for this hike.

Beaverhead Flat Rd to Oak Creek/Jordan Overlook

For this 8 March 2010 hike, thirteen of us (Dolly Yapp, Anita Jackson, Daisy Williams, Miriam Sterling, Virginia Driscoll, Marvin Alt, Betty Wolters, Lila Wright, Jim Manning, Ellis Price and three others) traveled north on 89A from Cottonwood, turned right on Cornville Road and continued through Cornville to Beaverhead Flat Road. There we turned right and parked alongside Forest Road 119A.

Forest Road 119A is fairly well traveled and could be easily navigated by any truck type vehicle. Even a passenger car would be acceptable if driven with care. About 0.65 miles from the parking area we left Forest Road 119A to climb a relatively steep slope to a viewpoint that would give us an overview of the hike.

A primitive road took us part way to the top; the remainder of the climb was straightforward and not very difficult. The distance from FR 119A to the viewpoint is only about a third of a mile and the elevation change is a bit less than 200 feet. Along the way we noted that a few flowers were beginning to bloom.

These included, an admittedly scraggly looking, Indian paintbrush (below left) and a forlorn sprig of Spring parsley (below right). They were not very impressive, but they did serve as a timely reminder that spring was upon us and we would soon enough be seeking trails in the high country.

Indian paintbrush                                        Spring parsley

From the viewpoint we had a good view of the surrounding area and were able to decide, generally, where we would go on our hike. Basically, we could bear west or slightly northwest and come out somewhere along Oak Creek or we could bear southwest and come out along the Verde River. We chose the Oak Creek option and resumed our hike along the forest road until we came to a suitable place to turn toward Oak Creek.

Mingus Mountain (center) and Woodchute Mountain (right)

About 0.75 miles further along Forest Road 119A from the turnoff to the viewpoint, Forest Road 9213 leads off to the right. (NOTE: We actually turned just a bit under two tenths of a mile before reaching Forest Road 9213 and joined it a bit further on. The difference in hiking distance is insignificant; however it is possible that one might miss the road by turning early.)

This is the junction of Forest Roads 9213 and 119A. Mingus and Woodchute are visible in the distance

A power line runs parallel to and down slope from Forest Road 9213 for just under a mile. The power line then makes a 90⁰ turn toward the river. At about the same place the road also turns to the left (NOTE: Another road bears right at this point and, although we did take it for this hike, the best practice would be to continue on Forest Road 9213.) Just about a tenth of a mile after the forest road turns to the left, another road leads off to the right, going generally northwest. This is the one you want to take to repeat this hike. The road ended less than half a mile ahead; however that is not a problem if the goal, as was the case with our group, is to arrive at an overlook from which one can see out over Oak Creek. Just follow along the spine of the ridge from where the road ends until you come out at a point overlooking Oak Creek with a small community visible on the other side and Mingus Mountain showing in the distance. I heard someone refer to the community, which is accessed by Loy Road from Cornville, as “Lower Cornville.” However, Anita’s GPS software referred to it as “Jordan” and indeed it came up when I typed “Jordan, AZ” into Google. I have, thus referenced it with that name in the title of this report.

When we arrived at the Oak Creek/Jordan Overlook, we found that we were looking down on the area where we had ended our hike to Oak Creek along Cactus road on 6 February 2010. It was a really great viewpoint and we settled in for lunch and my customary nap before starting back.

During the hike back to where we were parked at Cornville Road, some of us took the way I have recommended in this report (that is without the two deviations described; however, both tracks are shown on the accompanying Google maps) in order to collect the correct the information for the GPS track.

One of our hikers collected some bits of biocrust on the way back. On learning that they were be composed of something growing from organic matter, she started to wonder just what the organic matter might be that she was carrying in her hands and finally decided to take a picture (right) and ditch the objects.

This hike was about 7.3 miles in length, including the side trip to climb to the viewpoint where I took the photograph of Mingus, with an elevation change of only about 450 feet.

The GPS track for this hike is shown on the included map (below).