On
Saturday 22 January 2011 fourteen Skyliners hiked the Mingus Slope
Loop. This is an eight and six-tenths mile hike and can be described
as follows: Park at the intersection of FR 493 and an off-road
vehicle trail (I call it Oak Wash Cutoff) two and eight-tenths miles
up FR 493 from the junction of Hwy 89A and Mingus Ave. Just follow
Mingus and it will turn into FR 493. From the parking area, follow
the off-road vehicle trail southeast across Oak Wash. Shortly after
crossing Oak Wash the off-road vehicle trail ends at a road that runs
from FR 493 past Ox Bow Spring to Chuckwalla Road. Turn left on this
road and follow it (going east) for about two-tenths of a mile to
intersect with Chuckwalla Road.
The
distance from FR 493 to Chuckwalla Road is about six-tenths of a
mile. Turn right on Chuckwalla Road and follow it up the mountain
for one half mile to where the road passes through a gate in a wire
fence and then forks. The right fork, continuing on up the mountain,
is Chuckwalla.
The
left fork, actually straight ahead, is old FR 355 and it ends just
past the green water tank visible ahead. We made a short side trip
here to follow old FR 355 past the old green water tank to where the
road ends at the edge of the ridge and looked down on the housing
project at the present end of Quail Springs Ranch Road. Old FR 355
at one time continued on down the hill and apparently joined Quail
Springs Ranch Road. However, the part of the old road running down
the hill in that direction is now so badly rutted that it is not
suitable even for four-wheel drive or off-road vehicles. I have
hiked it in the past and found that it ended at a gate with a sign
saying “No Trespassing - Private Property.”
Returning
to Chuckwalla, we continued up the mountain for another one and
four-tenths miles, to the second of two sharp left turns Here one
slides under a barbed wire fence on the right, ending up on a faint,
largely overgrown trail. Follow this trail for approximately one
mile. It mostly follows an old aboveground waterline that was used
to bring water down the mountain for stock and wildlife. I call it
Waterline Trail.
Waterline
Trail ends at an old mining site from which a road leads rather
steeply uphill for about one-half mile to connect with another old
road, referred to only as “Jeep Trail” on all the maps I have
found. This road runs south of and parallel to Allen Spring Road.
Turn right (north) on the road and follow it for one and four-tenths
miles to connect with FR 493 on top of a ridge.
Note
that before you reach FR 493, there are two roads leading to the
right. Don’t take either of them. The first leads down the
mountain to end at a stock watering area; the second ends at an old
mine. The Jeep Trail itself ends at FR 493 near Copper Chief Mine.
From there follow FR 493 back down the mountain, going between Copper
Chief and Iron King Mines, for three and two-tenths miles to return
to the junction of FR 493 and Oak Wash Cutoff where the hike began.
We
had some discussion during the hike about Oak Wash and just where
(and how many times) we crossed it, so I looked it up using the
National Geographic Topographic Overlay in Google Earth. As it turns
out we crossed Oak Wash on the first section of the hike (Oak Wash
Cutoff) and did not cross it again until we were on the Jeep Trail.
The wash we crossed on Waterline Trail that I thought was Oak Wash is
just a side wash draining into Oak Wash. For clarification I have
sketched Oak Wash on the accompanying map in yellow where it runs
through our hike path. It originates near the top of Mingus just
north of the Mingus Recreation Area.
I
took a photograph of the sign at the old green water tank, which
discloses the tank’s origin. The sign indicates that it was
installed by “Quail Unlimited” and the Prescott National Forest.
 |
The sign says: BLACK HILLS WATER SYSTEM. This water distribution system is
a cooperative project for the benefit of wildlife and livestock by the Quail
Unlimited, Verde Valley Chapter, Laurel Leaf Branch, and the Prescott
National Forest. This is the only reliable source in the area.
|
At
one point, as it makes its way up the mountain, Chuckwalla Road
passes very close to the rim above the private housing development at
Quail Spring. When we reached that point, we followed a social trail
made by the residents from the road over to the rim for another view
of the houses and building sites below. Finally, about one and
nine-tenths miles from where we first entered Chuckwalla Road we came
to the start of Waterline Trail and stopped for a snack and a short
rest before beginning the next, the most arduous, section of the
hike.
Waterline
Trail at first follows a fairly open path along the old waterline,
then leaves it at the bottom of a small wash only to reconnect with
it again after leaving the wash. The trail then follows the pipeline
up the ridge through some pretty nasty stands of Catclaw before
leaving it to drop rather steeply down into another, larger, wash. I
had always mistakenly thought this to be Oak Wash and so told the
other hikers; however, I have since discovered that it is only a side
wash that drains into Oak Wash below. Oak Wash itself runs on up the
mountain roughly parallel and just to the north of our path along
Waterline Trail.
On
reaching the old mine site at the end of Waterline Trail, we stopped
for lunch, a well-deserved rest and, for me, a short nap. We then
continued on our way following the old road that led up the mountain
from the mine, climbing about 400 feet in half a mile.
On
reaching the Jeep Trail at the end of the old mine road we turned
right, northeast at first then generally north, and followed it until
it ended at FR 493 near Copper Chief Mine. The Jeep Trail runs
parallel to and just down the slope from Allen Spring Road (FR 413).
Along the way we passed a road that runs back down the mountain and
ends at a stock watering area near Oak Wash. We paused at the fork
for a group photograph.
 |
Left to right (standing): Gordon Bice, Bill Woolard, Connie Woolard, Linda
Tovar, Debbie Dobson, John MacInerney, Lila Wright, Miriam Sterling,
Name Withheld, Colleen Maktenieks; Kneeling: Donna Goodman,
Daisy Williams, Jan PreFontaine – Photograph by the author
|
Continuing
along the Jeep Trail we passed Grand Island Mine. This is where the
second road leads off from the Jeep Trail; it runs into this mining
area described as “A former underground Cu-Au mine on 14 claims.”1
Just about two tenths of a mile beyond this mine, the jeep Trail
ended at FR 493. At this point, Copper Chief Mine was to our right
and Iron King was visible straight ahead on the next slope. Our
trail down the mountain on FR 493 would lead us down the gulch
between these two mines.
When
we arrived back at the starting point for our hike, my GPS disclosed
that we had hiked nine and two-tenths miles and that the elevation
gain had been almost 1800 feet. We had actually climbed 2030 feet
counting miscellaneous ascents and descents along the way. My total
recorded hiking distance was nine and two-tenths miles because of
several side trips, which I snipped from the hike path shown in the
accompanying map (below) so as to
obtain a more accurate measurement for the trail. Old FR 355 still
shows clearly.
The
individual sections of this hike are displayed as follows:
- Oak Wash Cutoff – Green
- Chuckwalla Road – Blue
- Waterline Trail – Dark Green
- Old Mine Road – Dark Cyan
- Jeep Trail – Red
- FR 493 – Dark Blue
The
Yellow track is Oak Wash and the short Black section is Old FR 355.
No comments:
Post a Comment