Robbers Roost and Casner Quarries

The Skyliners last hiked to Robbers Roost as a group in December of 2010. It had been even longer for our group leader, Lila Wright, who had missed that five-year-ago hike. She thought it was time to do it again and, even though I had hiked there with my Daughter, Diana, more recently, in October of 2012 to be specific, I agreed.

It was quite chilly, even with a brightly-shining sun, when we left Cottonwood shortly after 0800 on 28 November 2015. We traveled north on Hwy 89A, turned left onto Forest Road 525 at the Sedona Water Treatment facility (just past mile marker 364) and followed FR 525 for 2.8 miles before turning left onto FR 525C. On FR 525C (Sycamore Pass Road) we then drove seven miles toward the pass before parking at the junction with FR 9530.

Shortly after parking, we paused to take a group photograph.

Left to right: Lila Wright, Bill Thomas, Daisy Williams, David Beach, Peggie Thomas, Loren Pritzel, MaryAnn Reed-Cook, Robert Reed, the author (kneeling), Roger Fenske (rear), Joanne Hennings, Chris Jensen, Karl Sink, Gilliam Ashworth, Rita Faruki, James McGinnis, Ellen McGinnis, Jeanmarie Haney – photograph by Name withheld using the author's camera

From where we were parked it was only about 1.25 miles north on FR 9530 to the Robbers Roost Trailhead and when Diana and I had driven it in October 2012 it had been very rough. Diana, said the road was so rough that the pedometer she was wearing thought she was hiking and awarded her several hundred steps for the ride. Although still more suitable for high-clearance, preferably with 4-wheel drive, vehicles the road has improved greatly since that previous trip. There are no indications that any formal work has been done, the road is now fairly heavily traveled and traffic has worn down the worst of the rough spots.

Had we limited our hike to just visiting Robbers Roost, the one-way distance would have been only about 1.75 miles. We decided that was too short for a decent hike and added a trip to what I call Casner Quarries. This is the site of some old, abandoned, sandstone quarries on the slope of Casner Mountain just above the butte in which Robbers Roost Cave is located. To reach the quarries one just continues on FR 9530 for about 0.6 miles past the Robbers Roost Trailhead to the remains of an old shack at a fork in the road.

Remains of an old shack at a fork in the road

To this point the road could still be driven in a 4-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicle. However, neither road is driveable after the fork.

The left fork leads sharply on up the mountain for a short distance and then levels out as it follows along a rock seam that was the site of one or more of the abandoned sandstone quarries. The right fork, on the other hand, continues at a gentle slope along a lower seam. We had investigated both roads in 2010 and found the lower one to be both more interesting and a lot easier, so we chose the lower road.

Having climbed more than 500 feet in the 0.6 miles from the Robbers Roost Trailhead to the fork in the road we appreciated the now essentially level trail. In a few places along the way, however, catclaw mesquite and prickly pear cactus seemed to be in competition to see which would be first to snag the unwary hiker. But with a bit of care, it was possible to avoid most of the claws and needles.

About a hundred yards from the fork we came to the remains of a makeshift shelter that someone had formed with the use of left over slabs of sandstone and tin roofing scavenged from the old shack. The shelter had looked rather cozy in 2010 (below left) but was now almost unrecognizable (below right).

At the time of our 2010 visit the area showed signs of someone having recently camped at this spot, possibly for several days. This was evidenced by indications of recent use of the shelter, by a small, recently used fire pit with a metal mesh grill on top and a cooking pot still setting on the grill. John McInerney took a photograph of the fire pit and the pot (below left) during our 2010 visit. The fire pit still exists along with a small supply of wood (below right). However, the grill top and the cooking pot are long gone.

The views were such as to distract us from watching out for the bearclaw mesquite and prickly pear cactus. The photograph shown below, taking looking east, is an example.

The Mogollon Rim is seen on the horizon; closer in, Doe Mountain with its distinctive flat top is visible at left, followed by Cockscomb, Courthouse Butte and Scheurman Mountain

Quarrying here must have relatively straightforward. The sandstone formation is neatly stacked in layers of various thicknesses as shown below.

Layered sandstone formation at old quarry site on Casner Mountain

We came to the end of the road (below left) after about 0.2 miles from the fork. Looking across the wash where the road ended (below right), it at first appeared that the road would continue. However, the road seen there did not connect with the one we were following.

Turning back we stopped at a wide grassy shelf for a rest and a snack. From our perch we had great views looking out over Robbers Roost Butte directly below and on across the Verde Valley to the Black Hills and the far distant mountains farther south along the Verde River.

Robbers Roost formation in the center

As we continued back down the mountain following our snack break we had a great view of Black Mountain which forms the south shoulder of Sycamore Gap.

Black Mountain at right, Sugarloaf at the left shoulder of Black Mountain, Black Hills on the distant horizon

We had become quite strung out on the way down the mountain and on reaching the unmarked Robbers Roost Trailhead we waited until we were all together again. The trail to the cave is only about 0.5 miles and is well-traveled and easy to follow for the most part, but one can go astray near the top of the butte. From the parking area it drops down into a wash and then climbs the other side to a saddle between Robbers Roost Butte and Casner Mountain proper. Upon reaching the saddle the trail continues sharply up the steep slope of the butte. Just below the top, a less traveled side trail leads off to the left, turns a corner and comes out at a sheer cliff face about 100 yards short of the cave. While the way appears precarious, there is enough footing to permit safe navigation. A very narrow trail covers part of the distance; for the rest of the way the hiker just leans into the cliff face and takes advantage of the rough surface of the rock for footing. The below photograph shows the narrow trail followed by the bare section of cliff wall just before reaching the cave.

Trail along cliff wall to Robbers Roost Cave

During our 2012 hike, Diana photographed the cave as she approached along the path.

Robbers Roost Cave

Although Robbers Roost is the generally accepted name for this cave, I have also found that some call it Shaman Cave. This may explain the hippy-looking character Diana and I encountered here in 2012. That experience is described in my book, Hiking in Northern Arizona – 2012/2013.¹

While we were still in the cave, a bare-chested young man with long black hair, arrived with a guitar and what appeared to be a prayer rug. Seemingly under the influence of something, he mumbled something about it being, contrary to what he had been told, around four miles from where he started his hike. We gathered that he had come across country from the Indian Ruins at Loy Butte which, as he put it, were “locked up by the United States of ...,” followed by some indistinguishable muttering. The muttering included the word “wasp,” but I did not feel that it was meant as “WASP” or in any pejorative manner at all. He declined to have his picture taken and, when he started to to unroll his prayer rug, we left him to his meditations, continued along the now even more steeply slanting cliff face until we found a suitable spot and climbed on up to the top of the butte.

The highest point on the butte is located at the southwest corner, and that is where we planned to eat lunch. However, when we arrived, another couple were busy taking pictures at that spot, so we sat down and waited for a few minutes until they left. They apparently dropped down to visit the cave afterward as the man later remarked to Diana that he had listened to the young man in the cave playing his guitar and that it was “magical and awesome.”

The name Robbers Roost does not seem to be associated with any specific incident or any particular group of outlaws. Local legend as told to me by a, now deceased, hike leader, has it that the cave was once used by bootleggers and bandits. Sedona Monthly, which chose Robbers Roost as their Hike of the Month for March 2015, said in their description that “ A film called Robbers Roost was photographed in Sedona in 1923, but no scenes were filmed at its namesake.”²

Leaving the cave behind, we continued on along the cliff face for a short distance and climbed up to the top of the butte through a convenient crevice. It was now time for lunch and we all settled down to eat, and in my case have a short nap. It was still pretty chilly and a steady breeze was blowing across the top of the butte. However, I managed to find a clump of grass which provided some cover and was relatively comfortable. I don't know how long I slept before I awoke to the sound of people stirring about getting ready to leave. We were back to our vehicles and ready to head home by 1330.

We had seen a relatively large number of hikers today and I wondered if the Sedona Monthly article had caused that. I think we may have seen two hikers in 2010 and Diana and I saw seven in 2012. Today, however, there were at least fifteen hikers in addition to our group of nineteen. Oh, well, at least the increased traffic has had a positive effect on the road to the trailhead.

The hike distance today was 5.3 miles according to my GPS track. The highest elevation was 5514 feet and the total ascent was 1255 feet.

Our GPS track is shown in red on the map included below.

1Hiking in Northern Arizona – 2012/2013, pgs 122-123

2http://www.sedonamonthly.com/2015/03/hike-sedona-robbers-roost/