Verde River Falls From the East

Fourteen Skyliners hiked to Verde River Falls on Saturday, 26 November 2011. We met in the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot and loaded into four-wheel drive vehicles. Leaving Cottonwood on Hwy 260, we drove through Camp Verde and turned on Fossil Creek Road. We turned off Fossil Creek Road onto FR 500 and followed it for about three miles before turning right onto FR 9244, which we followed until it ends on the bluff on the east side of Verde River in the area of the falls. FR 500 and FR 9244 are four-wheel drive roads and the going is very slow. After parking at the end of FR 9244 we passed through the gate shown below to hike down to the river.

Trailhead leading from the end of FR 9244 down to the river

About a tenth of a mile ahead the trail splits and one can go right to descend the canyon wall upstream of the falls or left to descend below the falls. For this hike we chose to go left and followed the trail down into a wash, reaching the bottom of the Verde River Canyon where the wash empties into it. It was a gradual descent all the way. However, the riverbank at this point is overgrown with thick vegetation and it is impossible to go upstream close along the stream bank. We instead stayed close against the cliff wall where the going was somewhat easier, but still required us to force our way through brush in places. About a tenth of a mile upstream from where we entered the canyon, we came to an old meander (obviously still used by the river during high water, but containing only a few pools of water now) and crossed over to stop for a snack on the rocky divide between the meander and the stream proper.

Stopped for a snack on the rocky divide between a meander and the 

main stream

After our snack we continued on upstream toward the falls, passing a well-camouflaged Salt River Project measuring station on the way (below).

Salt River Project measuring station with solar panels embedded in the top

There are three noticeable falls along this stretch of the river; I think the middle one is Verde River Falls. I suppose it is possible that all three may really constitute the falls. If that is true, I am at least approximately accurate when I call the middle one the falls. Approaching from downstream, I stopped to take a picture of the lower of the three.

Lower of three falls along this section

Between the lower and the middle falls we passed a couple of canoeists on their way from Clear Creek to Fossil Creek. This was the second day of their journey.

Canoeists on their way from Clear Creek to Fossil Creek

Soon after passing the canoeists we came to the middle and most impressive of the falls. We paused here for a short time to take pictures and listen to the roar of the water.

Middle and most impressive of the three falls

A short distance further upstream is located the third fall. We paused there to enjoy the view then posed for a group photograph.

Upper of the three falls located along this stretch of river

George used the time delay feature on my camera, mounted on his small, lightweight tripod, to take the following group photograph.

Left to right: Mery Womack, Gordon Bice, Lila Wright, Jan PreFontaine 

(front), Dolly Yapp (rear), Virginia Driscoll (middle), Daisy Williams (front), 

Donna Goodman (rear), Betty Wolters (second from rear), the author 

(second from front), Linda Tovar (front), John McInerney, George Everman 

and Jim Manning

According to my GPS the distance from the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot to Fossil Creek Road is 23 miles, the distance on Fossil Creek Road to FR 500 is 1.1 miles, the distance on FR 500 to FR 9244 is 3 miles and the distance on FR 9244 to the parking area is 1.3 miles. The actual hike distance, shown below, was only about 1.3 miles.

Showing the actual hike from the parking area to the river and back

The actual hike from the parking lot and back was 1.3 miles, the highest elevation was 3099 feet and the total ascent was 495 feet.

The included map (below) shows the route to the falls from the Fossil Creek turnoff from Hwy 260. Fossil Creek Road is shown in dark red, Forest Road 500 is shown in dark magenta and Forest Road 9244 is shown in dark yellow. The hike itself is displayed in red.

Purtymun Trail & Along the Rim

Seven Skyliners hiked Purtymun Trail up the east side of Oak Creek Canyon and continued north along the rim for approximately 1.6 miles on Saturday, 19 November 2011.

We met at the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot and proceed north on Hwy 89A, stopping in Sedona to pick up George at his home. We then continued up the canyon and parked at a wide shoulder on the road about 75 yards north of the main entrance to Junipines resort. The unmarked trailhead is between two utility buildings on the east side of the highway across from the main entrance to the resort. The trail is easily discernible if you look closely. Just scramble up the bank between the two buildings and you will see it leading on up the canyon wall. Up is the operate word here; the trail is clear and easy to follow, but it is steep, climbing some 1200 feet in just a bit less than a mile (NOTE: I have gotten various readings between 0.7 and 1 mile.).

Looking back as we neared the rim, we found a gorgeous rainbow arching across the slope below us.

Rainbow in Oak Creek Canyon as seen from high on the Purtymun Trail

When we scouted the trail about a month ago the upper portion was a bit overgrown; however, it has since been trimmed and is now in good shape all the way to the top.

The below group photograph was taken where Purtymun tops out on the rim.

Left to right: Donna Goodman, Miriam Sterling, Betty Wolters, the author, 

George Everman, Marvin Alt and David Beach

After a long break in the brisk, cold breeze at the top of the trail, we set off heading north to hike a section of the Purtymun to Cookstove Trail. From Purtymun at N34⁰ 57.725; W111⁰ 44.872 we hiked 0.5 miles bearing 65⁰ true to the first of three old road crossings at N34⁰ 58.139; W111⁰ 44.151. From there we continued for 0.2 miles at a bearing of 49⁰ to the second old road crossing at N34⁰ 58.018; W111⁰ 44.250. We then hiked another 0.2 miles at a bearing of 34⁰ to the third crossing of the old road at N34⁰ 57.725; W111⁰ 44.872. After crossing the old road for the third time, we continued at a bearing of 43⁰ for another 0.7 miles to again intersect with the same old road at N34⁰ 57.725; W111⁰ 44.872 near Crazy Park Canyon. It was now 1200, time for lunch. After a relatively short lunch break, we started our return journey. It had taken us almost three hours to get this far and we wanted to get back down Purtymun by 1500.

We had been roughly following the old Purtymun to Telephone Trail. This trail, along with a Thomas Point to Cookstove Trail and a Telephone to Cookstove Trail, is sketched out on the Arizona topographic map I am using with my GPS, but they are not discernible trails for much of the way; they are rather a series of straight lines, apparently drawn from point to point. The green line (I call it Purtymun to Cookstove.) on the included map (below) uses parts of all of these trails along with various Forest Roads. It swings away from the rim to cross Surveyor Canyon, then connects with and utilizes the National Forest road system (FR 9493A, FR 9498 and FR 9496). This results in its passing Thomas Point about a mile from the rim before swinging back to pass the Telephone trailhead just 0.2 miles from the rim. Shortly after passing the Telephone trailhead, while crossing the ridge above Grandmaw’s Cave, the forest road ends and a discernible trail begins, leading to Harding Springs Trail and continuing to end at Cookstove Trail.

In my opinion, the track we followed to our lunch stop, as shown on the attached map (and also included in the GPS file), is the best route to follow to this point. To continue from here on what I am calling the Purtymun to Cookstove Trail, I recommend following the old road from where we ate lunch, heading generally north, for 0.4 miles to N34⁰ 58.676; W111⁰ 43.609. From there it is a relatively easy 0.3 mile climb at a bearing of 71⁰ down into the upper reaches of Surveyor Canyon and back up the other side to reach FR 9493A at N34⁰ 58.765; W111⁰ 43.278.

Purtymun Trail itself (below), from Hwy 89A to the rim, is xxx-miles one way; it has a maximum elevation of 6371 feet and a total ascent of 1318 feet.

Purtymun Trail as it climbs the east wall of Oak Creek Canyon

The included map (below) shows all of the trails we have hiked along the east rim of Oak Creek Canyon, including a recent scouting hike from the Willard Springs area to Thomas Point and back.

Today’s hike was only about 4.5 miles roundtrip; however the first mile (Purtymun Trail proper) was very strenuous and took around 1.5 hours each way. The total elevation gain for the hike was about 1500 feet, and we were on the trail for a total of about 6 hours.

Soldier Pass to Brins Mesa

On 12 November 2011 the Skyliners hiked Soldier Pass Trail to Brins Mesa. We gathered at the Safeway parking lot in Cottonwood and carpooled from there, following Hwy 89A to Sedona, turning left to follow Soldier Pass Road for 1.5 miles and then right to follow Rim Shadows Dr and Shadows Canyon Drive for another 0.2 miles to the gated entry to the trailhead parking lot on the left. Note that Rim Shadows Drive turns sharply left before reaching the gate to the trailhead; just proceed straight ahead at this point on Canyon Shadows Drive and you will find the gate on the left about 70 yards ahead.

Leaving the parking lot we hiked across a wash and a short distance up the slope on the other side to arrive at the intersection with Jordan and Teacup Trails (right). Just a little further along we came to Devil’s Kitchen and paused on its rim for a group photograph. George used the time delay feature on my camera, and “Wally,” a small, lightweight tripod with flexible legs that can wrap around tree limbs for the shot.

Left to right: Gordon Bice, George Everman, Lila Wright, John Wright, 

Daisy Williams, Jon Lloyd, Ellis Price and Kwi Johnson – at Devil’s Kitchen

Devil’s Kitchen is a rather impressive sinkhole located a short distance from the trailhead. Except for the large fallen rocks, it is much like the sinkholes caused by the dissolution of underlying limestone familiar to me from my youth in East Tennessee. Wikipedia provides the following information on the subject of sinkholes:

A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone. Sinkholes may vary in size from 1 to 600 meters (3.3 to 2,000 ft) both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to bedrock-edged chasms. Sinkholes may be formed gradually or suddenly, and are found worldwide. The different terms for sinkholes are often used interchangeably.¹

Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole

From Devil’s Kitchen it is just a short distance on along the trail to the Seven Sacred Pools. Some sources refer to these as Apache Seven Pools and indicate that they were sacred to the Apache. The pools were not very impressive today; some had been partly filled in with accumulated rocks and, while they did contain water, no water was running between the pools.

At the Seven Sacred Pools – by Jon Lloyd

Continuing on up the canyon from the pools we could see the arches to our right; we stopped for a brief rest and a snack just below Brins Mesa.

When we reached the mesa where Soldier Pass Trail ends at the intersection with Brins Mesa Trail, my GPS showed that we had hiked just over 2.1 miles from the parking lot. (NOTE: See related comment in the last paragraph of this report.) At that point we turned southeast and followed Brins Mesa Trail for about 0.75 miles to the edge of the mesa and then turned northeast to follow an unmarked trail for close to 0.9 miles to the summit (summit of Brins Mesa) for lunch. I found one map that identified the trail we followed to the summit as “Brins Summit.” No signs are posted; however the trail is easy to follow. When we reached the summit the wind was brisk and it was a little chilly on this November day, but we were rewarded with awe-inspiring views in all directions. Jon took several photographs from our vantage point.

Looking back down on Brins Mesa – by Jon Lloyd

Looking down from Brims Mesa – by Jon

I managed to find a cozy spot well sheltered from the wind and settled in for lunch and my traditional noon nap; Gordon did likewise. After lunch we hiked another hundred yards to the highest point on the mesa and then headed back the way we had come.

George posing on the summit of Brins Mesa – by Jon Lloyd

Taken on the way back from Brins mesa summit – by Jon Lloyd

After some discussion as to the possibility of taking another route back to the cars, we chose to return the way we had come. However a later look at the map indicates that the distance would have been approximately the same had we continued southeast on Brins Mesa Trail and taken Cibola Pass Trail and then Jordan Trail back. These are both shown on the Arizona topo map I use.

On the way back down Soldier Pass Trail we stopped for a brief rope climbing demonstration by John Wright. Lila has decided that we should start carrying a 50-foot length of rope with us on our hikes for use in emergencies.

My GPS gave a reading of 7.5 miles for this round trip hike, but when I downloaded the track to my computer and examined track properties the distance was shown as only 6.1 miles. Track properties on my computer also gave me 1.7 miles for the length of Soldier Pass Trail while the Forest service map provides a figure of 2.4 miles and I had measured it as about 2.15 miles. After considering all of this conflicting information, I used 2.15 as the length of Soldier Pass Trail and adjusted all of the other distances provided in the first paragraph of this report accordingly.

I consider this an easy hike. The elevation change from the trailhead to the summit of Brins Mesa is only around 1000 feet and the climb is gradual with a relatively few exceptions.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkhole