Uncle Sam Mine

Eight members of the Skyliners Hiking Group hiked to Uncle Sam Mine on 22 February 2014. From Cottonwood we drove east on Hwy 260 to I-17 and then south to Hwy 169 which we followed for 10.3 miles before turning right onto Old Cherry Road. We followed Old Cherry Road 1.7 miles, turned left onto Forest Road 531 and drove for 3.6 miles to the intersection with FR 519 (right) where we parked to start our hike.

Once through the gate on FR 519, we stopped for a group photograph.

Left to right: Robert Wakefield, Collene Maktenieks, Ruth Frazier, Connie Woolard, Lila Wright, Jim Manning and the author – photograph by Name Withheld

We found ourselves hiking along a forest road that was, at first, essentially level and in good condition; however, it soon became a little steeper and fairly rough, requiring a high clearance, preferably 4-wheel drive, vehicle.

Then about 1.2 miles from FR 531 we came to a spot in the road that would would certainly have deterred me from driving my 4-wheel drive pickup any further. A section of one side of the road (left) had collapsed where it had been undermined by erosion, and to pass it would place a full-size vehicle in a very precarious position that might cause it to topple into the wash alongside the road.

Another 0.3 miles brought us to an old corral and a gate that apparently divided an upper pasture from the lower one.

Site of old corral and gated fence

Although I am sure that FR 519 must originally have gone all the way to Uncle Sam Mine, it now ends at this gate, about 0.2 miles below the mine. The trail runs through the gate and between two posts (right) beside the wash.

After passing between the posts, the trail enters the wash and follows it all the way to the mine site. Do not turn to the right at a side wash; just follow the main wash straight ahead and you will soon see the mine tailings on the right. Although one can reach the mine by way of the side wash, the route is much more difficult.

Mine tailings at Uncle Sam Mine

There are several vertical shafts located above the tailings, one with a tower mounted in it, possibly to lift ore.

Windmill mounted in vertical mining shaft photograph taken 04 April 2009

There was also a concrete pad near the shaft containing the windmill that might have had a motor mounted on it. We decided that a motor was probably for use when the wind did not blow. A small smelter pot (above left) was also located at the rim of the shaft and we found an old ore bucket (above right) nearby. Although the windmill might have been placed there at a later date for pumping water, rather than lifting ore, we saw no piping remains or tanks nearby.

Information obtained from the Arizona Department of Mines and Minerals indicates that the primary name for this mining site is Uncle Sam, but it also provides the following alternate names: Black Chief, Black Warrior Prospect and Black Chief Copper. The current status is given as “past producer” and the listed commodities are: Iron Magnetite, Iron Hematite, Manganese, Silicon and Copper.¹

It was still early for lunch, so we decided to travel on up the wash to eat at the spot where we had ended an April 2009 hike before turning back. From the top of the slag pile we could see that there was a well-worn cattle path (left) that we could follow.

The hills on both sides of the wash we followed were covered with a mixture of juniper, scrub oak and manzanita. Our path was easy, with a sandy bottom and a gentle slope. By a little after 1100 we reached the spot where we had paused for lunch on a 04 April 2009 hike and decided to stop for lunch.

We stopped for lunch in this very pleasant spot

We all stopped along the way up the wash to admire the many colorful rocks scattered about. Shown here (right) is a photograph of rocks we saw in the same area during our 2009 hike.

Following a leisurely lunch and my customary nap, we headed back down the trail. After we had passed the old corral and climbed up the ridge between there and where we parked, Jim decided that he wanted to make a detour down into a wash that we had crossed on a recent scouting hike, follow it downstream to Medlar Spring Trail and return by that trail to FS 531. He wanted to see whether he could again find a unique rock he had noted on the scouting hike. I joined him and we detoured through the cat claw, manzanita and scrub oak down to the wash, entering it at exactly the same place we had entered on the scouting hike. The rock was located in the stream bed, so we felt sure that we would find it by just following the wash downstream. Unfortunately, the stream had cut more than one stream bed and we followed the wrong one part of the way, missing the rock entirely. In the map below, our detour is in blue and the pertinent section of the scouting hike is in green. The rock must have been along the circled section of green track in the lower right quarter.

Map showing detour from hike

The round trip hike to our lunch stop was about 4.4 miles, the elevation change was about 446 feet and the maximum elevation was 5701 feet. The track is shown in red on the included map (next page).

1 http://services.azgs.az.gov/OnlineAccessMineFiles/S-Z/StlouisYavapai369a.pdf

Indian Ruin Cave on Mingus

This report is based on two separate hikes to a cave on the east slope of Mingus Mountain that shows evidence of Indian habitation. For the first hike, on 26 June 2010, we took Mingus Ave past the animal shelter and continued straight on Forest Road 493 to park at a sharp bend in the road where a single-bar locked gate blocks the entrance into Iron King Mine (Position: 34°42'11.79"N; 112° 5'43.59"W). Hikers on the 2010 trip are shown below.

Left to right: Name Withheld (to left of hiker in red shirt), Gary Brooks
(red shirt), Donna Goodman, George Everman, Anna Lorenzelli, Ellis Price,
Gordon Bice – photograph by John McInerney who is not shown

For the second hike, on 19 February 2014, we met as before at the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot and took the same route to Iron King Mine. However, this time we stopped short of our previous parking spot and hiked about 0.1 mile on Forest Road 493 to reach the single-bar locked gate. From there, on both hikes, we followed an old road for about half a mile through the mine area to reach the lower end of Trail 106 where it intersects with FR 413.

Missouri gourd
(cucuarbit foetidissima)

Hooker's evening primrose

(oenothera elata)

 On the 2010 hike, Anna Lorenzelli (our visitor from Switzerland) and John McInerney both had their cameras at the ready, so we were sure to catch any flowers that were out. Actually, though, I think Anna may have been more interested in spotting a rattlesnake, as she was afraid that she would be returning home without having seen one. In any case we did find several flowers along the way, some new and some repeats from our last hike in the area. The following flowers were all noted between the gate and Allen Spring Road.

Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) 

Century Plant (agave)
- photo by John McInerney

Just above Iron King Mine, we crossed Allen Spring Road (FR 413) and followed Trail 106 up the mountain; traveling essentially parallel with Allen Spring Road for a while but then gradually diverging as we climbed diagonally up the mountain slope. We had great views across Verde Valley to the San Francisco Peaks beyond.

On the 2010 hike George had shown us a trail marker rock that was shaped like a bear. I photographed it then with George posed alongside and we wondered whether it would still be there almost four years later. After all it was the sort of thing that people tend to poach for use as yard ornaments. Surprisingly enough, it was still there, still standing sentinel alongside the trail.

George and his rock bear cairn alongside Trail 106

On the 2010 hike, we turned off the trail about 1.1 miles from Allen Spring Road and traveled northeast for 130 yards to a viewpoint that afforded a good view of the cave we would visit. George and I had first spotted the cave from this viewpoint during a spring 2008 hike, position 34°42'37.72"N; 112° 6'26.41"W. We returned there on the 2010 hike to review the terrain around the cave and better orient ourselves for the route we intended to take from the junction of Trails 105A/105 to the cave. The below picture taken in 2008 at another time of year shows the cave’s location, note the red X.

This picture was taken with a zoom lens during an earlier visit. The cave
visible through binoculars at the red X.

After a brief pause to rest at the viewpoint, we returned to Trail 106 and continued on up the mountain for about 100 yards to the intersection with Trail 105A. We then followed Trail 105A, along the side of the mountain, almost to its end at Trail 105, cutting off about 30 yards short of the intersection, to bushwhack our way northeast along the side of a ridge and crossing above the head of a wash before traveling down the spine of the ridge in which the cave is located.

As noted above, we left Trail 105A just before reaching Trail 105. George and I had hiked this route previously and we were now following the old GPS route from that hike, expecting to bushwhack all the way from Trail 105A to the cave. To our surprise, about 40 yards from the trail, we encountered a mountain bike trail that apparently runs from the intersection of Trails 105A and 105 along the side of the mountain, just where we wanted to go. It appears that one could take the mountain bike trail at the intersection and follow it to the northeast for approximately 250 yards before leaving it to bushwhack, in a generally east, then southeast direction, down the spine of the ridge to reach the cave. To avoid as much undergrowth as possible, it is best to travel down the ridge on the southwest side just below the spine. As it were, we followed the mountain bike trail too far, winding up on the northeast side of the ridge, and had to cut back across the spine through heavy growth to rejoin our old GPS track to the cave. (NOTE: I have corrected that miscalculation in the attached GPS file by cutting out the extra distance and joining the new route to the old one from the previous hike.) We came out just above the cave and circled around to approach it from below rather than climb down the steep cliff face. It is located at 34°42'56.96"N; 112° 6'25.55"W. A lot of rock has fallen from the cliff above the entrance and one must climb over it to enter the cave.

The next four photographs were taken at the cave during the 2010 hike or earlier. In the below photograph Anna and Donna are shown standing atop the fallen rock, with the top one third of the cave opening showing in the background.

Anna and Donna standing atop the fallen rock in front
of the cave – photo by John McInerney

Anna, among the first to enter the cave, soon found what she had been looking for all the while, a rattlesnake.

Rattlesnake occupying the cave when we arrived
– photo by Anna Lorenzelli

Anna and George approaching the snake close enough to take the close-up
photograph shown on the previous page.

Just inside the mouth of the cave, are visible the remains of what appears to have been a walled-off enclosure, or room (see photo at right, taken 7/24/08). The wall of the room has partly fallen down now, but it appears to have reached to the ceiling of the cave at sometime in the past. There is evidence of fires having been utilized inside the cave in the past, with two distinctly different shades of soot deposited. The cave itself is fairly shallow, extending back no more than 25 to 30 feet. However, an opening extends to the right for about 50 feet before becoming too small for passage.

The following four photographs were taken during our 19 February 2014 trip to the cave. The following photograph will serve to record the hikers who participated in the 19 February 2014 hike.

Left to right: Jim Manning, David Manning  and Gordon Bice

– photograph by the author

The next three photographs were also all taken at the cave on 19 February 2014.

David Manning in the cave

 Gordon Bice enjoying the sun

 outside the cave

Jim and David Manning enjoying lunch outside the cave

All of the remaining photographs were taken during the 2010 hike. After looking around in the cave, we left it to the snake, and ate lunch before heading back to our cars. While eating we noted the following flowers Just outside the cave.

Golden columbine (aquilegia chrysantha)

Chaparral nightshade (Solanumxanti)

-- photograph by Anna Lorenzelli

After lunch, we proceeded to bushwhack on down the mountain to enter Allen Spring Road at a sharp bend. The trip down the mountain to the road was easy, as bushwhacking goes, in that it was relatively open. On the other hand, our route was rather steep in a few places. Anna captured this part of the descent graphically.

Descending to Allen Spring Road from the cave – photo by Anna Lorenzelli

Once we reached Allen Spring Road, the rest of the hike was uneventful. It was about 1.miles to the Trailhead 106 above Iron King Mine and another half mile on down to the cars. Below are two pictures taken along the way back -- the first a Roving Sailor flower, the second an old road above Iron King Mine that has been converted into a water diversion channel.

Old road converted into a water

diversion channel above Iron

King Mine – photo by Anna Lorenzelli

Roving sailor (maurandella
antirrhiniflora)

My GPS shows that we hiked about 5.3 miles and that the elevation change was about 1400 feet. The track is shown on the following map (next page). The red track shows our hike to the cave while the blue track shows the route we took back. The short yellow track shows the way to the viewpoint we visited on the 2010 hike.

Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop Hike

We hiked Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop on 15 February 2014. This involved parking at the Secret Canyon Trailhead on Vultee Arch (sometimes referred to as Dry Creek) Road, hiking up Secret Canyon, taking David Miller Trail up a side canyon and across a steep ridge into Bear Sign Canyon, following Bear Sign Trail south to Dry Creek Trail, continuing on Dry Creek Trail until it ended at Vultee Arch Road and following the road back to where we parked. We just called it the “Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop Hike.”

We drove from Cottonwood to Sedona on Hwy 89A, turned left onto Dry Creek Road and continued to the junction with Vultee Arch Road (some maps, including Google Earth) indicate that Dry Creek Road turns and continues up Dry Creek. However, the section of the road running up the stream seems to have been renamed “Vultee Arch Road” and that is the name used for this report. It should perhaps be noted that the road does indeed end at the Vultee Arch Trailhead.

A paved parking area and restrooms are provided at the start of Vultee Arch Road and, at that point, the pavement ends and the rest of the ride to the Secret Canyon Trailhead is along a very rough dirt road. It should not be attempted in other than a 4-wheel drive vehicle. To emphasize that point, the Forest Service has imbedded a row of rocks across the road at its very beginning. The rocks are of sufficient height as to discourage passenger cars from even attempting to go further. However, we had come prepared with 4-wheel, high clearance vehicles and certainly did not intend to hike the four miles up Vultee Arch Road to the trailhead where we would start our almost 7-mile hike.

It was a rough ride and the going was slow, but we were eventually greeted by a sign (right) heralding our arrival at the Secret Canyon Trailhead.

A driveway leads west from the road to the trailhead parking area, about 100 yards away. The trail leaves the parking area just to the right of the informational sign shown in the below photograph and immediately crosses Dry Creek Wash. Parking is available for six or seven vehicles alongside the driveway near the sign; one spot is also available at the head of the driveway.

Driveway to Secret Canyon Trailhead

The actual trailhead is marked by one of those durable old metal signs (left), used to mark trails several years ago, set among the manzanita growing on the west bank of the wash. A few yards away, was mounted a more recent wooden sign indicating that this was also the way to HS Canyon. We gathered around it for a group photograph (below)

 Left to right (kneeling): Daisy Williams, Donna Goodman, the author;
 (standing): Ruth Frazier, Lila Wright, David Beach, Frank Lombardo,
 Greg Schaffer, Jerry Helfrich and Collene Maktenieks

As we left Dry Creek Wash behind and continued up the trail, we found ourselves traveling up a gentle slope along a well-worn trail that paralleled the wash in Secret Canyon. Looking up the wash we had a view all the way to Little Round Mountain.

Looking up Secret Canyon to Little Round Mountain

We came to the HS Canyon Trailhead sign (right) about 0.7 miles from the parking area. According to the Forest Service description this trail runs west for about 1.8 miles from its start at Secret Canyon Trail and ends in a box canyon at the base of Maroon Mountain. However, I have seen old maps that show it turning north after about 1.2 miles and winding along the slope of Maroon Mountain before reconnecting with Secret Canyon Trail just below the David Miller Trailhead.

Leaving HS Canyon Trail for perhaps another day, we continued on toward David Miller Trail, passing through a forest of manzanita , juniper and oak, with the eponymous red rocks as a background. The manzanitas were already welcoming the spring with a profusion of light pink, shading to white, blossoms.

Juniper, oak and blooming manzanita with a red rock background

A little farther along we came upon a patch of manzanita with unusual dark pink blossoms.

Manzanita with unusual dark pink blossoms – Lila and Donna on the trail ahead

Two miles from the trailhead at Vultee Arch Road, we came to the David Miller Trailhead, marked by another of those old metal signs (left). At this point Secret Canyon Trail turns west while the trail straight ahead becomes David Miller.

The only really steep part of this loop hike is David Miller Trail. It starts in Secret Canyon in a stand of oaks, climbs some 582 feet through a forest of mature manzanitas to cross the high ridge that separates Secret Canyon and Bear Sign Canyon, descends 191 feet by a series of switchbacks into Bear Sign Canyon and ends after 0.9 miles in a stand of ponderosa at Bear Sign Trail.

The below photograph shows a few of the beautiful, mature manzanitas we saw along the way.

Mature manzanitas seen along David Miller Trail

As we continued up David Miller Trail we had a great view down Secret Canyon and on to Capitol Butte in the distance.

Looking back past the twin pines to Capitol Butte from David Miller Trail

Shown below is a section of David Miller Trail as it descends into the ponderosa forest near its end at Bear Sign Trail.

David Beach descending the last switchback on David Miller Trail

We were now at the junction of David Miller and Bear Sign Trails, still a little less than half way through our 6.8 mile loop hike. But the rest of the way would be easy, all downhill along well-developed trails and a short section of dirt road. As we descended the 2.1 mile section of Bear Sign Trail that formed part of our loop, the ponderosa gave way to Arizona cypress.

Arizona cypress trees along Bear Sign Trail

Looking out the mouth of Bear Sign Canyon, we could see Lost Wilson Mountain looming in the near distance across Sterling Canyon. After Bear Sign Trail ended at Dry Creek Wash and we turned to follow Dry Creek Trail in a southwest direction, the mountain was visible to our left.

Lost Wilson Mountain seen from Dry Creek Trail below the Bear Sign Trailhead

Just 0.8 miles along Dry Creek Trail below the Bear Sign Trailhead, we came to the Dry Creek Trailhead (right) at the end of Vultee Arch Road. The road ends here at a circle. Vultee Arch Trail starts here and leads east from up Sterling Canyon for 1.6 miles to Vultee Arch. From there, Sterling Pass Trail leads on up the canyon, through Sterling Pass and down the other side to end at Hwy 89A below Slide Rock State Park.

The rest of our loop hike consisted of an easy 0.9-mile walk down the upper portion of Vultee Arch Road to where we had parked at the Secret Canyon Trailhead.

According to my GPS the distance for the entire loop was 6.8 miles, starting and ending at Secret Canyon Trailhead on Vultee Arch Road. The highest elevation was 5490 feet and the elevation difference was 907 feet. The included map (below) shows the GPS track for the entire Secret Canyon-Bear Sign Loop.