Indian Ruin Cave on Mingus

This was a hike to a cave containing an Indian ruin on Mingus Mountain. On June 26, 2010 we met at the Safeway parking lot in Cottonwood and carpooled from there. 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). We proceeded from there on foot following 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.

Between the parking area and FR 413 we paused for a group photograph:

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

When we were in this area two weeks ago, the Palmer’s penstemons were blooming profusely. They along with many of the other flowers we saw on that hike, were mostly gone now. 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 a several flowers along the way, some new and some repeats from our last hike in the area.

Missouri gourd 

Hooker's evening primrose

Field bindweed

Century Plant (agave) - 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.

About 1.1 miles from Allen Spring Road we turned off the trail to travel northeast for 130 yards to a viewpoint that afforded a first view of the cave we would visit.

George and I had first spotted the cave from during a previous hike from this viewpoint, position 34°42'37.72"N; 112° 6'26.41"W. We returned there now 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 previously and at another time of year, as demonstrated by the snow on the ground, shows the cave’s location.

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. 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 above.

Just inside the mouth of the cave, are visible the remains of what appears to have been a walled-off enclosure, or room (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.

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 

Chaparral nightshade -- 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.

Roving sailor

Old road converted into a water diversion channel above Iron King Mine

– photo by Anna Lorenzelli

And not to be forgotten, here is George posing with his rock bear cairn alongside Trail 106. This cairn, made using a rock bearing the general outline of a bear, marked in red, is near the spot where George met a bear on the trail a couple of years ago.

George and his rock bear cairn alongside Trail 106

My GPS shows that we hiked about 4.7 miles, the highest elevation was 6958 feet and the total ascent was 2077 feet. 

Our track to the cave is shown in red on the included map (below).  Our return track is shown in blue.