Little Coyote-Martin Canyon Loop

Last November, while hiking on Coyote Spring Trail, we had noted a road running along the mountain above the head of Little Coyote Canyon. The road seemed to be a likely possibility for a hike, so a few of us scouted it on 24 February of this year and found that if we started at the south Woodchute Trailhead the hike to the end of the old road and back was 7.4 miles.

This was quite suitable for a regular Skyliner hike, so we scheduled it for 23 April 2016. From Cottonwood we drove south on SR 89A through Jerome to the summit of Mingus Mountain. There we turned right onto Forest Road 106, drove 0.3 miles, angled left at the presently-closed entrance to Potato Patch Campground and continued for another 0.10 miles to a the end of the pavement at a roughly circular graveled area with toilet facilities. After a brief pause to use the facilities, we gathered for a group photograph by Name Withheld.

Left to right: Donna Goodman, the author, Collene Maktenieks, Anita Jackson, Joanne Hennings, Jim Gibson, Lila Wright, Daisy Williams, Gary Jacobson, Floyd Gardner, Mark Purcell and George Everman – not shown is Jim Manning

Leaving the rest area, we continued for another 0.7 miles to the south Woodchute Trailhead, passing Powerline Tank along the way. This brought us to the end of FR 106.

At this point we split into two separate groups. The main group of hikers would park here to start their hike. Both groups (one afoot, the other in a 4-wheel drive vehicle) left the trailhead traveling west on FR 106D. At first this road was well-maintained and had even been graveled recently. After about 0.2 miles, however, the road passes through a fence and is unmaintained beyond that point. Although still passable for high-clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicles, it is very questionable for other vehicles. In February the gate had been open and was indeed in such a state of disrepair as to be useless. Now it had been repaired, sort of, and was closed. However, there was a large enough gap at one end of the gate to allow any determined cow to pass through. I guess it worked because the grass, instead of being “greener on the other side of the fence”, was absent altogether.

Note the large, cow-sized gap at left

About 0.6 miles from the parking area, FR 106D passes Hickey Tanks (plural because two tanks are located close together at the site) at an unsigned fork in the road (right). The forest road continues by way of the right fork. The left fork just provides access to the tanks.

Approximately 0.4 miles west of Hickey Tanks, we came to another fork in the road. Here FR 106D turns to the left (south) and continues to Mingus Tank, passing the turnoff to Hickey Mountain on the way. Leaving FR 106D at this point, we continued straight ahead, now on FR 106E and, after another 0.2 miles, arrived at the junction with FR 9710W which leads down the mountain to end at Little Tank (just above Turkey Tank) where the old unnamed road starts. We usually refer to area where FR 9710W ends as Turkey Tank, although it is actually located at the much smaller Little Tank. I suppose that is because Turkey Tank, located about 0.2 miles to the east, is the more prominent landmark. This figure (below) shows the end of FR 9710W at Little Tank; it also shows Turkey Tank and Martin Canyon Tank.

End of FR 9710W at Little Tank near Turkey Tank

The group of hikers who had started their hike at Woodchute Trailhead would continue along the old unnamed road to its end at a tank located on the ridge above Martin Canyon and then would return by the same route. The smaller group (George Everman, Gary Jacobson, Donna Goodman and the author), having driven this far would park and follow the same path as the other group to the end of the old road. However, instead of returning by the same route, we would bushwhack our way down the ridge into Martin Canyon and follow Martin Canyon Trail #103 back to where we had parked at the end of FR 9710W. Because our small group would do some bushwhacking we referred to ourselves as the “bushwhackers.”

For it's first 1.2 miles the old road, starting at Little Tank, curved gently around the upper watershed of Little Coyote Canyon. As we hiked along we wondered where the canyon got its name. Since it appears to be a bit larger than Coyote Canyon, the next canyon to the south, we finally decided it must have been named after a small coyote. It was a bit hazy and the normally great view out across Prescott Valley was obscured. Closer in, other than a sad looking cactus or two, I didn't note any flowers along the way. Meanwhile, a brisk, chilly wind was blowing and becoming ever stronger as we moved along, so we really didn't spend a lot of time looking around.

As we passed between a lofty 7280 foot peak on the right and a smaller 6920 foot one on the left, leaving the Little Coyote Canyon watershed behind, we could see a saddle in the ridge on our right that formed the south rim of Martin Canyon.

Gap in the ridge after we left the upper Little Coyote Canyon watershed

The end of the road we were following lay at a tank located partway up the eastern shoulder of that saddle. The distance along the road from Little Tank to the unnamed tank in the saddle is 1.8 miles.

The main group of hikers turned back at this point while the so called “bushwhackers “ followed a faint old cow down into Martin Canyon to connect with Trail 103 at the bottom. I had followed that faint old trail for a short distance when we did the scouting hike and then had sketched a probable course for it the rest of the way down the slope, basically just using contour lines to draw a track along what appeared to be the easiest slope.

My hand-drawn track worked well for only about 160 yards; then the cow trail deviated to cross over a low ridge and pass along the top of a sheer rock ledge before descending into the canyon. We were then able to follow old cow and elk trails down the worst of the slope. At the descent from the rock ledge, we stopped for a snack. As shown in the photograph (left), the other side of Martin Canyon is in view across the way and the bottom of the canyon along which Trail 103 runs is just below us.

The series of faint trails we were following lasted until we were clear of most the scrub oak and other assorted vegetation that grows higher up on the canyon wall. By then we were almost to the bottom, descending along a gentle slope covered with scattered ponderosa pines and little undergrowth. We came out about 0.6 miles upstream from where I had intended and about 0.1 miles above Smiley Rock. Determined to see and photograph that often-mentioned landmark, we shed our packs and hiked downstream to find it. Looking for something much larger than a medium-large stone close by the roadside, I walked right by Smiley Rock. Luckily the other hikers were paying closer attention and called me back. Although the head is tilted to the right (Smiley's right, that is), it is easy to discern the features of a smiley face in the rock. I took a photograph (below left) for my report and George then gave Smiley some eyeballs and took another (below right).

        Smiley Rock                     Smiley Rock with               

                   eyeballs

This figure (below) shows the planned, hand-drawn track (green) along with the actual track that we followed from Unnamed Tank (where the main group of hikers turned back) to Trail 103.

Planned and actual tracks from Unnamed Tank to Trail 103 in Martin Canyon

After spending a little time admiring Smiley Rock, we returned to where we had left our packs and, although it was still a little early, stopped for lunch. The photograph (below) shows the hikers enjoying the warm sun before continuing up the canyon.

Left to right: Gary Jacobson, Donna Goodman and George Everman – author not shown

According to the forest service description, Martin Canyon Trail follows along an old road that was bulldozed to provide access for the construction and maintenance of stock tanks located in and above the canyon. The trail is 6.3 miles long, starting at the end of Forest Road 9710W and ending at James Tank in the valley below the mouth of the canyon. The forest service says that full size vehicles are allowed on the trail “but it has been our experience that only modified high clearance vehicles are able to negotiate this trail, standard factory high clearance 4x4s are not recommended.¹”

The old road is also a part of The Great Western Trail, a north-south long distance multiple use route, running from Canada to Mexico through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. The trail is 4,455 miles long and “has access for both motorized and non-motorized users”². The photograph (below) shows a section of the road between Smiley Rock and Rick Tank. Several areas were much rougher than the section shown.

Martin Canyon Trail above Smiley Rock

Rick Tank is located about 0.3 miles above Smiley Rock. To me it appears that the tank may have been an afterthought. It seems to have been constructed right in the middle of the original road, which was then rerouted. What must have been the original road, running straight through the tank, is now blocked off both below and above it.

I had hiked down Martin Canyon as far as Rick Tank Cutoff Trail #104 in 2009, followed it to Woodchute Tank and then returned by way of Woodchute Trail #102. For that hike we had also parked at the south Woodchute Trailhead and followed today's route to the end of FR 9710W at Little Tank. We had then turned down Martin Canyon on Trail 103 to access Rick Tank Cutoff Trail #104.

In 2009 a trail sign (right) was posted at the junction and we started looking for it as soon as we left Rick Tank. This time we saw no such sign and completely missed the trail junction. I think the sign must have been torn down and I had not bothered to place a marker on my GPS track. It is a good thing we were not planning on taking the trail to complete this hike.

We did, however, find a few other things to draw our attention. For instance, although there were not nearly as many flowers on this hike as we saw in May 2009, we did find a New Mexico raspberry (below left) and and a sugar sumac (below right), both photographed by George.

New Mexico raspberry           Sugar sumac

Earlier during this hike, between Little Tank and Unnamed Tank, we had seen several metal tank-like objects scattered about at various locations along the trail. We were not sure what they were used for until, deep in Martin Canyon, we found another one just to the side of the road and stopped to examine it more closely.

The top of the tank, as shown in the photograph (left), had a cover with an oval-shaped opening big enough for cattle to reach through but with enough lip around the opening to prevent solid objects from falling out in the event the tank were turned on its side. Additionally, drain holes were drilled in the bottom to prevent liquid accumulation. The purpose of the objects was now clear: they were salt/mineral block holders.

New Mexico raspberry Sugar sumac

We passed by Martin Canyon Tank without seeing it and soon were passing Turkey Tank. This was the first of the tanks that we saw today that was not bone dry and a small herd of cattle were milling about.

Cattle at Turkey Tank – photograph by George

Finally, as evidence that turkeys or other game must also use the tank, we saw that a hunting stand had been installed in a nearby tree. As shown in the photograph (right) taken by George, one couldn't call it a blind because it was in plain sight.

The hike by the larger group of hikers, from south Woodchute Trailhead to Unnamed Tank, is shown in copper (to Little Tank) and red (on to Unnamed Tank) on the below map. That hike was 7.4 miles in and out; the maximum elevation was 7245 feet and the total ascent was 1246 feet.

The loop hiked by the smaller group is shown entirely in red, starting and ending at Little Tank. It was 5.6 miles long, the maximum elevation was 6903 feet and the total ascent was 1107 feet.

1 http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/prescott/recreation/horseriding-c

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Trail

Trail 511 to Box T Spring and FR 9602G

Trail 511, running across the Black Hills Mountain Range from Joe Best Spring on Forest Road 68D to Salt Mine Road at the Verde River, is about 10.5 miles long (10.7 miles if one visits Box T Tank on the way). On 2 March 2016 we did a scouting hike on the 7.7-mile section of the trail between Box T Spring on the southwest side of the mountain range and the trails end near Ryal Canyon at Salt Mine Road on the northeast side of the range. That section of trail rose from 5025 feet at Box T Spring to 5867 feet at the crest of the mountain and then descended to 3284 feet at Salt Mine Road. As well as being very steep, the trail was also quite rocky, so we decided it was not a suitable candidate for a Skyliner hike.

We later scouted the rest of Trail 511, the 3.3-mile section between Joe Best Spring and Box T Spring and found it to be suitable for a Skyliner hike if combined with Forest Road 9602G, a short road 2.3 mile road that connects Box T Spring to FR 732 just east of Bald Hills Ranch, 2.9 miles from I-17. We would park one vehicle there and then drive on the trailhead at Joe Best Spring to start our hike.

Leaving Cottonwood at 0700, we drove on SR 260 to Camp Verde, turned south on I-17 and drove to the SR 169 Exit. There, instead of turning west toward Dewey-Humboldt, we turned east onto Forest Road 732 and drove 2.9 miles to park at the junction with FR 9602G. This section of road was described in my report of the 2 March 2016 scouting hike as follows:

Forest Road 732 (also shown on some maps as FR 68D or even as SR 169), although dirt, was in first class condition for the first 2.5 miles. At that point it crossed a cattleguard and turned down a short, steep hill, becoming a lot rougher as it descended. It was still usable by a regular passenger vehicle.¹

At the bottom of the hill, the road passes the entrance to Bald Hill Ranch and then continues through a community of several houses, scattered along Cienega Creek, before reaching the intersection of FR 732 and FR 9602G. About a hundred yards beyond the junction, water springs forth from the otherwise dry creekbed at the foot of an ancient sycamore tree.

Water emerging from the dry bed of Cienega Creek

Some delicate blue flowers grew on the bank (below left) while a larger, bright bright yellow clump grew at the very edge of the water (below right).

Maiden blue eyed Mary            Monkey flower

Before sinking again into the dry bed of Cienega Creek, the running water created a small but lovely oasis-like area.

A small oasis in the dry desert

A fence runs across the stream about 100 yards below the water source, preventing stock in a downstream pasture from entering and trampling the area shown in the photograph (above).

There is a wide grassy area alongside the road above the creek and plenty of room to stop for an impromptu picnic. We parked our shuttle vehicle here and stopped to photograph the trail, actually a little-used forest road (left) from which we would emerge at the end of our hike. We then piled into the remaining two vehicles and continued on to the trailhead at Joe Best Spring, about another 3.2 miles.

About 1.1 miles from where we had parked the shuttle vehicle we left the course of Cienega Creek, angled away from the creek and passed between two small hills. Another 0.7 miles brought us to Wire Gold Tank and the inevitable question, “Where did the tank get its name”?. Eventually, I found that Google Earth, with the National Geographic overlay installed, shows a “mines” location about 0.9 miles southeast of the tank and that Mindat.org provides the names Escondido Mine and Moon Anchor Mine. It is listed as a wire gold “mine with underground workings²”; no other information is provided.

A short distance after passing Wire Gold Tank we came to a fork in the road. FR 732 turned sharply to the left while the road straight ahead became FR 68D; a sign was posted indicating it would lead to Dugas. We continued straight ahead on FR 68D for another 0.8 miles to the 511 Trailhead at Joe Best Spring. We donned our packs and posed for a group photograph before starting the hike.

Left to right: Jim Manning, Anita Jackson, Floyd Gardner, Betty Wolters, Joanne Hennings, Collene Maktenieks, Roger Fenske, Lila Wright, Daisy Williams, George Everman and the author – photograph by Name Withheld, author's camera

There is a large, flat parking area where the forest road crosses the presently-dry wash just above Joe Best Spring. Mounted at the bank of the wash was one of the largest wire-bound cairns (right) I have ever seen. Although we saw no trailhead sign, it was obvious that Trail 511 left the parking area on the opposite side from the cairn.

For the first 0.7 miles, the trail led us down the wash, past the mapped location of the spring. The wash was bone dry and we saw no indication of water as we passed close by. Meanwhile, a brisk, quite chilly wind was blowing up the wash and we were happy to still be wearing our jackets. The wash ended at Cienega Creek where we had crossed the creek on our way to the trailhead and then continued northeast, climbing the hillside at a gentle slope.

We were hiking through an area covered with junipers and pinon pines along with a large number of cliffrose shrubs, some manzanita and an occasional squaw bush. The trail was a little rocky in places but easy to follow and we now began to see more flowers along the trail. For instance the claret cup cactus (below left) and the delicate filaree (below right), found near Box T Spring.

Claret cup cactus                     Filaree                                  

About 1.7 miles from the beginning of the hike we came to one of those gate bypasses designed for the uninterrupted passage of ATVs and hikers. There are several of these gates installed along Trail 511 between Joe Best Spring and the top of the mountain above Box T Tank. The photograph (below) was taken looking back after we had passed through the gate.

Cattleguard for ATV and hiker passage

We arrived at Box T Spring at about 1035 and stopped to rest, look around and examine an old branding chute (left) installed at the site. Although generally called branding chutes, such devices could also have been used for dehorning and spraying.

We could find no open spring at the site. It appears that the spring has been filled in and the water piped to a lower point down the hillside where it emerges into the bottom of a tank. The tank then overflows and the water runs on downstream for a short distance before being reabsorbed by the thirsty soil. My report of our 2 March 2016 hike to the spring describes it as follows:

...no spring was visible, just a large rectangular metal tank setting in an open grassy area. However, a closer look disclosed that the tank actually formed part of the spring. There are no above-ground pipes feeding water to the tank; it has apparently been fitted over the mouth of the spring so that the water flows into the bottom of the tank and fills it up before overflowing from the top...³.

We left Trail 511 at the spring and followed FR 9602G back to the shuttle vehicle at FR 732. We found numerous flowers along this road and George and I again lagged behind examining and photographing them. Shortly after leaving the spring we came to an area that was literally covered with a carpet of delicate blue flax (below left). A close up photograph (below right) is also shown.

Area carpeted with blue flax  Close up of blue flax           

We saw a number of bright yellow groundsels along the way and then a nicely bunched group of four (below left). This was followed closely by a clump of deer pea vetch (below right) just past its prime.

Groundsels                                 Deer vetch                         

Cliffrose has been especially abundant this spring and I had thought that I had photographed it and the always abundant Indian paintbrush enough for the season until I came upon a small cliffrose intertwined with an Indian paintbrush and a single yellow groundsel.

Cliffrose, Indian Paintbrush and a single groundsel

We had noted several instances of squawbush (oak-leafed sumac) along the trail and I decided, even though it was not blooming, to include a photograph of one (below left). It would go nicely alongside a Utah serviceberry, pointed out by George that, itself, had just two blossoms (below right).

                            Squawbush (oak-leaved           Utah serviceberry                                       
                                                            sumac)                                                                                                             

We found a single aster blossom growing all by itself (below left), looking as though it were straining to get as far away from the main body of the plant as possible, and then a dandelion seed head (below right).

Single aster blossom               Dandelion head

Eventually, George and I had fallen far behind and the rest of the group stopped to rest while we caught up. However, we soon fell behind again when the hike resumed.

I have never been very enthralled by fleabane and usually don't bother to photograph it. However, the very attractive clump shown in the photograph (below left) drew my attention and I decided, after all, to include it in my report. I also finally found some decent Easter daisies (below right) near the end of the hike and decided to delete the Easter daisy photographs I had already taken in favor of this single example.

Fleabane                                    Easter daisies

We found one unusual plant (below left) that we were unable to identify. I am including it here as “unknown” and George will attempt to identify it later. I also photographed a fine leaf wooly white (below right).

Unknown                                   Fine leaf wooly white

As we were traveling along the top of the ridge before starting our descent at the end of the hike to FR 732 near Bald Hill Ranch, we saw an almost perfectly round rock (below left) that appeared to be in the process of being peeled as though like an onion. A little farther along we came upon a patch of lichen-colored rocks (below right) that we took from a distance to be flowers.

                             Round rock being peeled        Liken-covered rocks                                         like an onion                                                                             

We were back at the shuttle vehicle just after noon, so we chose to eat there, in that oasis-like spot, before retrieving the vehicles parked at Joe Best Spring.

Our hike is shown by the red track on the the included map (below). The blue track shows part of our drive along Forest Roads 732 and 68D to the trailhead at Joe Best Spring.

The hike was 5.6 miles in length, the highest elevation was 5113 feet, the total ascent was 650 feet and the total descent was 857 feet.

1FR 9602G and Trail 511 from FR 732 to Salt Mine Road, dated 2 March 2016, available at http://ellisfprice.blogspot.com/2016/03/from-squaw-peak-road-to-salt-mine-road.html

2 http://www.mindat.org/loc-144691.html

3 FR 9602G and Trail 511 from FR 732 to Salt Mine Road, dated 2 March 2016, available at http://ellisfprice.blogspot.com/2016/03/from-squaw-peak-road-to-salt-mine-road.html

FR155 – Bakers Pass – Pipeline Loop

The weather forecast when I checked the evening before had been for mostly sunny skies and when we left Cottonwood for our hike on 9 April 2016 there were just a few clouds in the sky, mostly on the horizon. Our hike for today was primarily along well-drained forest roads and a little rain really wouldn't bother us anyway.

We left the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot at 0700 and drove south on SR 89A for 9.1 miles to the firehouse in Jerome. There we continued straight ahead on Perkinsville Road (FR 218/CR 72) for another 6.9 miles, turned sharply right and downhill on Forest Road 155 and continued for an additional 1.3 miles to park at Horseshoe Tank.

Horseshoe is a large tank, divided by a fence so as to water stock in two separate pastures. Looking across the tank George Everman noted what appeared to be an elaborate corral on the other side, so we hiked over to investigate. We walked past the tank and beyond the corral and then looked back for the view shown in the photograph (below).

Looking back across Horseshoe Tank with the corral in the forefront

The fence that runs across the tank, permitting access by stock in two separate pastures, can be seen at the left in the photograph. At the top, just left of center is seen a powerline pole. We were not sure what power was used for at the tank; however, the elevated structures shown in the corral could mean that cows are butchered at the site, so perhaps portable chillers are brought in for that purpose.

We gathered at the corral for a group photograph and then returned to where we were parked to start our hike.

Left to right: Jim Manning, Betty Wolters,Keith Reichenback, Floyd Gardner, Dolly Yapp, Joanne Hennings, Ellen McGinnis, Jim McGinnis (rear), Lila Wright, Daisy Williams, Karl Sink, Loren Pritzel, George Everman and Gary Jacobson – author not shown

The only cattle we saw for the entire hike were two nursing cows, lingering with their calves near the tank. One of the cows had a distorted horn, angled down rather than jutting up as is normal.

The only cattle we saw during this hike

Several members of the group, including the author, had hiked this trail in September 2009, starting at Perkinsville Road, and we vividly remembered the steep climb, 525 feet in 1.3 miles, from Horseshoe Tank back to Perkinsville Road. We had parked at the tank for this hike primarily to avoid repeating that difficult climb.

Our plan was to hike on Forest Road 155 to Bakers Pass Tank, continue on FR 9004L to Bakers Pass and then return to FR 155 by way of the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline service road. We passed the intersection of the pipeline and forest service roads, about 0.4 miles below Horseshoe Tank, on our way to Bakers Pass Tank and stopped to look at the pipeline instrumentation mounted there. In the photograph (below left) Karl and Jim and are shown examining the equipment while Keith is looking toward the service road we will follow on our return. A number of years ago, I had spent a lot of time driving the backroads of Arizona and New Mexico to inspect El Paso Natural Gas and Kinder Morgan facilities. At that time they were separate companies; but, as indicated by the sign (below right), have since merged.

Pipeline instrumentation        Pipeline caution sign        

As can be seen in the background of the photograph (above left), we were hiking through an area of grassland and scattered juniper. Sometimes the junipers were more dense than shown here, sometimes less; but they were always present. Less noticeable were scrub oak, cactuses, snakeweed, an occasional clump of beargrass and finally a single, lonely primrose (right).

In one area we found the trailside virtually blanketed with yellow bladderpod blossoms (below left). I singled out the best of the plants for an individual photograph (below right).

A profusion of bladderpods   An individual bladderpod

As we continued north on FR 155, we had a good view into the rough, mountainous country that lies beyond the Verde River, west of Sycamore Canyon Wilderness and east of Perkinsville (photograph below).

Looking north beyond the Verde River from FR 155 below Horseshoe Tank

After hiking about 1.5 miles north on FR 155 from Horseshoe Tank, we came to a fork in the road. Forest Road 155 took the right fork while the road straight ahead became FR 156. An old, faded but still legible sign (below) provided guidance, indicating that we should turn right and continue on FR 155.

Old sign posted at the intersection of FR 155 and FR 156

The road became a little rougher as we climbed a low hill after turning at the fork to head for Bakers Pass Tank; but it then leveled out and was good the rest of the way to the tank.

Approaching Bakers Pass Tank, we saw a corral (below left) across the wash. There were two horses in the corral; however, only the rump of one horse is shown in the photograph. Ahead (below right) was a massive dirt dyke that formed the downstream rim of the tank.

                            Corral – rump of one horse      Massive downstream                                    is visible                                       dyke at tank                       
 

The photograph (above right) was taken at the fork in the road. Forest Road 155 continues to the left, running along the foot of the dyke; Forest road 9004L is the right fork running past the right edge of the dyke and continuing up the valley below Bakers Pass.

Forest Road 155 had turned at the FR 156 junction and taken us in an easterly direction around the bottom portion of our loop hike to Bakers Pass Tank. Now we were heading south on FR 9004L and, looking ahead toward the pass, it looked as though our good luck with the weather might be coming to an end; ominous clouds were gathering on the horizon and the sun had deserted us.

We had noted a large, deep, rapidly eroding wash running down the floor of the valley above Bakers Pass Tank. One of the hikers referred to it as a miniature Grand Canyon. Erosion from the wash was obviously rapidly silting up the tank below, reducing its capacity, and resulting in the need for frequent renovation. This probably explains the large downstream dyke.

About 0.8 miles up the valley we noted what at first appeared to be the construction of a new tank (below left). Later I learned that this was the site of existing Henry Tank. The floor of the excavated region was very uneven and it at first appeared that the project had been abandoned. However, we then discovered an excavator (below right) tucked behind a tree and realized that the workers were likely just taking the weekend off.

Stock tank excavation site       Excavator                             

We found a few more flowers along the way. These included a verbena (below left) and a blanket flower (below right).

Verbena                                     Blanket flower                     

As we made our way up the valley toward Baker Pass, the road became steeper and rougher, navigable only by jeep-like vehicles. About 100 yards from the pass we came to the pipeline service road that we intended to take back across two ridges to rejoin FR 155 below Horseshoe Tank. I paused there to take a photograph showing the ridges with the route of the pipeline across them both (two red arrows in below photograph) and the last of our hikers (right in below photograph) still climbing the trail.

Looking across the valley below Baker Pass – taken 100 yards below the pass

The sky was still overcast and the wind through the pass was brisk. I hiked on to the top for a quick peek through the pass and a photograph. In the photograph (right), the Black Hills loom at right and the mountains on the other side of Verde Valley can be seen on the horizon. After one quick look and one photograph, I returned to a sheltered spot below the ridgeline, found a spot of grass and ate lunch while waiting for the rest of the party to catch up.

After lunch and a short nap (for me, at least), we were on our way across the two ridges between us and FR 155 on the other side. The first ridge, although steep, was a short climb. The second one was a bit more difficult but we soon crested it, passed through a gate, looked down at our cars parked below and paused for a short rest before descending. I took advantage of the pause for a last panoramic photograph (below) of the rough country to our north.

Looking north from the top of a ridge between Bakers Pass and Horseshoe Tank

We were back at our vehicles by 1315 and I, for one, was very happy that we had chosen to park at Horseshoe Tank rather than at Perkinsville Road, thus avoiding a 1.3-mile uphill hike. I never like to end a hike with an uphill climb.

On our return, I stopped along Perkinsville Road to photo-graph some cliffrose I had seen there earlier. However, the lighting was all wrong, so I substituted a photograph (left) taken near Bakers Pass.

Our hike is shown by the red track on the included map (below). The blue track is part of Forest Road 155 between Perkinsville Road and Horseshoe Tank.

The hike was 6.9 miles in length, including the side trip to the corral at Horseshoe Tank. The highest elevation was 5245 feet and the total ascent was 1161 feet.