Taylor Cabin Trail

As part of a two-day camping trip, we hiked on Taylor Cabin Trail on 3 May 2015. On the previous day we had driven through Sedona on Hwy 89A, continued up Oak Creek Canyon to turn left onto Forest road 535 between mile markers 390 and 391. From there we followed FR 535 for about 5 miles and then turned onto FR 536 and continued for around 4.5 miles before turning onto FR 538. We then followed FR 538 for approximately 5.5 miles to its junction with FR 538G. From there we followed FR 538G to Kelsey Trailhead where we started that day's hike. After completing a hike to Geronimo Spring on Kelsey and Little LO Trails, we returned to FR 538 and followed that road south for about 3.8 miles, turned right onto FR 538B and followed it for an estimated 3.1 miles to a good camping spot in a bend of the road.

Before settling in for the night, we took one vehicle and continued south on FR 538B for about 0.5 miles and parked at a wide turnaround. From there we walked for another 0.2 miles to the trailhead, passing a locked gate that marked the official end of FR 538B. The road does continue, although used only for servicing a power line, all the way down Casner Mountain to connect with FR 525C. Although closed to public vehicular traffic, the road does serve as Casner Mountain Trail #8 which ends at the saddle between the ridge running northeast from Casner Mountain and Buck Ridge which continues to the northeast before turning sharply to the northwest. Casner Mountain Trail, Mooney Trail and Taylor Cabin Trail all come together at this saddle. Mooney Trail can be seen (above right) running up the slope from the canyon while Casner Mountain Trail follows closely along the power line running along the top of the ridge.

We returned to the campsite, set up our tents, ate dinner and sat for awhile by a campfire. I had brought the same two bundles of wood that I have been taking on camping trips for more than six years. Once again wood was plentiful and I returned home with my wood bundles intact. The sky was clear when we turned in for the night and for the first part of the night a bright moon made the night almost as clear as day. I was aware of this because, very abnormally for me, I had trouble sleeping and lay awake for much of the night. I did finally go to sleep but was soon awakened by an unexpected rainstorm.

We awoke the next morning, 3 May 2015, to partly overcast skies and at first thought we might be starting our hike wearing raingear. But by the time we had eaten breakfast, which for me was an old packet of instant oatmeal, the weather was improved enough that we eschewed our ponchos. I was a bit tired from lack of sleep and not entirely satisfied by my breakfast when we set out but felt better once I got moving.

After breakfast we again drove the 0.5 miles from where we were camped to the parking area near the end of FR 538B and started our hike from there, still 0.2 miles short of the official trailhead. We passed the locked gate and continued on to the official Taylor Cabin Trailhead, arriving shortly after 0630, thus completing the easiest 0.2 miles of the entire hike.

The trailhead is marked by one of those sturdy old rusty but almost indestructible metal trailhead signs (left) erected by some interest group a number of years ago. Taylor Cabin Trail makes a sharp turn to the right shortly following the sign. A trail does lead straight ahead but dead ends after about a hundred yards.

Our trail, shown below in a photograph taken on the return hike, dropped steeply and followed closely along the sheer shoulder of Buck Ridge.

Looking to the distant mountains across Sycamore Canyon

Closer to hand (right), phlox, the most predominate flowering plant we saw on this hike, grew in abundance on the trailside slopes, seemingly intent on filling in any empty spaces along the way.

As we rounded the corner of Buck Ridge and descended to loop along the north side of a massive rock formation ahead, there was still enough light rain to form a beautiful rainbow. The near end looked so close that Lila, shown in the below photograph, and I discussed abandoning the trail to see if we could find the legendary pot of gold.

Rainbow in Sycamore Canyon – Lila Wright shown on the trail

As we switchbacked our way down the mountain slope, curving to the right to avoid the massive rock butte shown above, we passed through a forest of ponderosa pines mixed with smaller trees, shrubs and vines. One of the vines, a New Mexico raspberry I think, is shown here (left).

Along here the trail was not only very steep, a large number of dead trees had fallen across it. In some places, creating a veritable maze of trunks across the trail. For the most part there was no easy way to bypass blocked sections of trail and we just had to crawl across or under the fallen trunks. It did appear that some effort had been made at the very start of the trail to clear the fallen trees; alas, the effort didn't extend very far down the trail.

As for the slope of the trail, I later measured the last mile of our return hike ending at the trailhead and found the total ascent for that section of trail to be 911 feet, ending at an elevation of 6310 feet.

After about the first mile, the trail mostly followed along the bed of washes. It did occasionally climb out to follow along the bank for a piece before returning to the wash. Although, these departures from the wash were usually (and recently) well marked by the placement of cairns, it was not always clear why they existed. More often it was easier to just continue along the bottom of the wash.

When we reached Sycamore Creek and crossed over we found ourselves at what appeared to be a very good spot for a cabin. It was a flat, relatively open space well above the danger of flooding; there were two ancient signs placed at opposite ends of a cleared space. No sign of lettering was any longer visible on the signs but they likely marked the junction with Sycamore Basin Trail which we must take downstream to Taylor Cabin. Also we had been told that Taylor Cabin was still standing and in good condition, so this couldn't be it.

We soon came to a point where it was not clear whether we should continue along the west bank of the creek or cross over to the other side. As luck would have it, while we were pondering the situation, a couple who had parked at the same place we had and hiked to Taylor Cabin to stay overnight arrived on their way back up the trail. They informed us that we were still 1.7 miles from the cabin but were on the right track.

Most of the flowers shown below were photographed as we hiked the last 1.7 miles down Sycamore Creek, crossing back and forth along the way, to Taylor Cabin. Only the bottom two were photographed higher up the mountain.

After traveling more than a mile and a half downstream, we came to a flat, relatively open, area well above the creek. Posted along the trail was a sturdy post carrying several cryptic signs, the sort that require some advance knowledge to interpret. In the example shown here (right), the two signs taken together would imply that we were on Trail 66 (Packard Mesa Trail). In fact Packard Mesa Trail 66 actually starts farther downstream, near Sycamore Tank, and runs south across Packard Mesa before joining Parsons Trail near Sycamore Creek's junction with the Verde River.

Another sign, labeled Sycamore Basin Trail 63, seemingly pointed more toward the track for Dutch Kid Tank Trail 54 track than in the direction of Trail 63. The Dutch Kid Tank Trail was identified correctly by the number 54 (left). Although the sign, posted at a cockeyed angle above, and perpendicular to, the two Trail 66 signs, pointed more to the sky than to the trail, it did get the general direction right.

The single word “Cabin,” sprawled in hand lettering on the bottom of one of the Trail 66 signs, correctly pointed us toward Taylor Cabin which turned out to be tucked neatly, out of sight, against a sandstone cliff just below us. The distance by trail was less than 150 yards from the post with the confusing signs.

According to Don Godard of Verde Valley as later told to Lila Wright, Taylor Cabin was built by the “Perkins' from Perkinsville and the Millers from Windmill Ranch.”

According to a letter from Zeke Taylor, dated January 18, 1986, to the District Ranger at Chino Valley Ranger District, brothers Ben (Zeke's father) and John Taylor, used the Sycamore Basin as winter range for their cattle. They “camped at, and kept their supplies in, a beautiful cave a short distance from the site of present Taylor Cabin.”¹ Zeke goes on to report that the Taylor brothers later built a rock room in front of the cave, making a more comfortable camp for his mother, Florence, who accompanied them to the site.

The present “Taylor Cabin” as shown below, was constructed in the early 1930s, partly of rock from the old rock room, is located about 200 feet from the site of the cave.²

Taylor Cabin in Sycamore Canyon

The interior of the cabin is indeed very cozy. It was also, at least at the time of our visit, well-stocked with emergency supplies (right). We saw canned goods, snacks, condiments, assorted snacks and camping propane tanks. I wondered if some organization has possibly taken on the task of periodically restocking the cabin. On the other hand, perhaps the items were just left by other campers who found that they had a surplus. One could easily be motivated to lighten the load for the hike out while possibly helping other travelers.

Tucked neatly in a back corner (left) I saw an old-fashioned wood cookstove, much like the one my mother used when I was a child. The stove is shown at bottom left with the stovepipe running up the corner of the cabin. The cabinet and shelf at the upper right in the photograph contain cooking utensils.

It all brought back memories of my mother as she bent over her old stove to stir a pot or add an ingredient. She with her old stove always produced excellent meals, often scraped together from little more than leftovers, rare though these were, augmented with whatever could be caught in the woods or plucked from the garden.

One not so fond memory is of the old stove's voracious appetite for wood. As I grew older, feeding that monster became my job. Truth be told, however, I did eventually manage to pass the task on to my younger siblings.

Stepping back out of the cabin we took a look at the chimney (right). At first glance, bending and twisting as it rose above the roof to the rim of the cliff above, it looked as though it were on the verge of collapsing. However, a second look revealed that it had been constructed that way in order to take advantage of a natural corner in the cliff.

Less than a hundred yards from the cabin and closer to the creek, was located a still-sturdy pole corral that must have been used to hold the work horses.

Pole corral at Taylor Cabin

I had smoked trout for lunch and I think it had been lurking in the closet with my camping gear for a bit too long; I felt slightly sick after eating it. But feeling somewhat better after a good drink of water, I quickly settled in for an intended 45 minute nap. Alas, that was not to be. Other members of the group had other schedules to meet and someone roused me after about 20 minutes. Although still feeling the effects of a night of very little sleep, two less-than-satisfactory meals in a row and a shortened nap, I started out at a brisk pace. However I became slower and slower as we retraced our path back up the creek and started the climb back up the wash. By the time we reached the steepest part of the trail, the last mile or so, I was stopping to rest about every 200 yards. Those hikers who had other commitments continued on ahead while the rest of the contingent lingered with me. We arrived back at our parked cars at about 1740, still well before dark.

The hike, measured using my cleaned-up GPS track for the trip out, was 5.1 miles one way (10.2 miles in and out). The highest elevation was 6458 feet and our total ascent was 2280 feet.

Our track is shown in red on the attached map (next page). The short section of green track is the 0.5 mile of road between our campsite and where we parked to start the hike.

The hikers who accompanied me on this hike were; Lila Wright, Dave Beech, Jim Manning and Chris Jensen.

1Taylor, Zeke. (2004). Reflections of the Past as it Rolled Along (pp 18-20). Cottonwood, AZ: Focus on Graphics. (Original work published in 1987).

² Ibid, p 20.