Tramway-Maxwell Loop

Six Skyliners left the Safeway parking lot in Cottonwood at 0700 to hike Tramway Trail. We drove on Hwy 260 through Camp Verde and continued east until we intersected with Hwy 87. We took Hwy 87 north to Clints Well and turned left on Lake Mary Road. After traveling 7.0 miles on Lake Mary, we turned left onto FR 81 (a dirt road) and followed it for 3.1 miles before bearing left on FR 81E. About 3.9 miles ahead, FR 81E comes to a fork. The road going straight ahead is labeled as FR 639 and marked as being Tramway Trail. The road leading to the left had no marking (I did later find a map that labeled it FR 318) but is marked as being Maxwell Trail. We had decided to do the Tramway/Maxwell Loop rather than just do Tramway and return, so we parked at this spot and started our hike on Tramway Trail.

When we arrived at the rim of the canyon above West Clear Creek, about 2 miles from where we parked, we paused for a snack and to take a group photograph.

Left to right: the author, George Everman, Daisy Williams, Dolly Yapp 

and Lila Wright – photograph by Name Withheld

We then started the strenuous 700-foot descent into the canyon to the stream below. This is a difficult trail with a number of places where it is best to use both hands and feet while climbing over rock ledges. But the views are spectacular and well worth the effort.

I found the following Tramway information on the Coconino National Forest website:

(http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=55416&actid=50).

"The tramway was constructed by members of the Verde District Sportsmen Club in 1942. At that time, the Club numbered about 120 members from Jerome, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, and Camp Verde. The cable was donated by Phelps Dodge Copper Company and the gas motor was donated by the Game Department. It was designed by Harry Metz, an engineer with Phelps Dodge. Installation of the cable took 20 to 30 days using all volunteer labor. Some of the men that assisted in the project include: Alex Fields, Clarence Hollingshead, Phil and John Pecharick, and Clarence Wombacker, all of Phelps Dodge. John Dewitt, Sr., James Evan, Joe Derrick, Clint Wager, Bob Robinson, Joe Wombacker, Otto Boler, Nick Matich, and Homer Cummings, all local business owners and workers, and Charles Connor, a director with the game department.

"The tramway was constructed to help transport fish to stock West Clear Creek and was used until about 1966 for that purpose. Tramway Trail was constructed at the same time to assist in the tramway construction and operation."

The above quote is from Ed Collins' research done in 1975.

The point where Tramway trail reaches West Clear Creek is a very pleasant place and, on a previous hike, I paused there for a nap while the rest of the party explored the area. However, this time none of us paused, choosing instead to push on upstream toward the Maxwell Trail. The creek was low enough that, although we crossed four or five times, none of us even got our feet wet. The trail weaves from one side of the canyon to the other, but it is fairly easy to follow.

We saw several patches of pink phlox along the trail above the canyon rim, a colorful claret cup cactus just as we left the rim and several other flowers further along the trail.

Pink phlox 

Claret cup cactus

Flax

Verbena (or False Vervain)

Larkspur

Groundsel

We discussed the flower shown below for some time before deciding that it must have been a rock rose.

Rock rose

The scenery was fantastic in the bottom of the canyon. The trees growing along the canyon wall appeared to be stretching themselves in a mighty effort to see over the rim.

Trees stretching to see over the rim

We came to an open area, offering both sun and shade, a short way up the creek and stopped for lunch. Directly across the creek a small bright green tree defied all reason by growing directly from the solid rock face of the canyon wall (see next page).

Green tree growing from cliff wall

Looking ahead all was green and lush.

Green trees along the creek and canyon walls

About half way between Tramway and Maxwell we came to a cliff overhang containing a large number of petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs in West Clear Creek Canyon

Petroglyphs in West Clear Creek Canyon

Only three people had signed in at the Tramway Trailhead, and we thought we would basically have the canyon to ourselves. Alas, that was not to be. We started meeting other hikers about the time we reached the petroglyphs, including a group of about 22 scouts. In total, we must have encountered between 40 and 50 other hikers along the way.

We saw only one snake, a small king snake, on our way up the canyon, but he was too fast for me to get a picture. Lila was in front and by the time managed to get my attention, I saw only a quick flash of color as he slipped into the brush.

The climb back up the canyon wall on the Maxwell Trail seemed a bit longer than the descent on Tramway; however, it was much easier than the hike back up Tramway would have been.

We stopped about half way to Lake Mary Road on the way back to investigate a rock formation. It is a small nominally circular area, perhaps formed by a magma intrusion.

Interesting rock formation – (formed by a magma intrusion?)

We drove about 72 miles from Cottonwood to the place where we parked. The hike itself was 6.5 miles per my GPS, the maximum elevation was 6849 feet and the total ascent was 1138 feet.

It was after 1700 when we got back to Cottonwood; we had certainly put in a good day.

Our track for this hike is shown on the included map (below).