Crook Trail from FR 9604 to Copper Canyon

Eight Skyliners hiked the section of General Crook Trail starting at Hwy 169/FR 9604F and ending near the top of Copper Canyon. The date was 14 December 2013; the hikers were Lila Wright, Kwi Johnson, Daisy Williams, Ruth Frazier, Connie Woolard, Collene Maktenieks, the author and one unnamed hiker.

Our original intent had been to position one vehicle at the old stage stop in Copper Canyon and hike one-way to there. To do that we would need two 4-wheel drive vehicles and, unfortunately, I had not made that fact clear, so we did not have two such vehicles. After some discussion, we decided to hike part way on the trail and then return to where we started.

The sun was shining brightly, but a chill wind was blowing and we all wore jackets. From a previous hike on the trail from Little Hackberry Wash to the starting point for today's hike, we knew that the trace of the old wagon trail would be quite visible at the start of our hike. We followed that still-visible old road down a gentle slope and across a wash that drains C F Canyon and feeds into Cienega Creek.

Where General Crook Wagon Road crossed the wash draining C F Canyon

Shortly after crossing that first wash, we crossed another, less distinct one and then joined a dirt road. There we found a Prescott NF sign (right). Such signs are posted all along this section of Crook Trail, beginning at the FR 136 Trailhead at the bottom of Copper Canyon near Salt Mine road at Camp Verde. The small sign visible in the lower left quadrant identifies this section of General Crook Trail, in Prescott National Forest, as Trail 64. Other sections of the trail are given different numbers as it crosses other National Forests. The large sign, dominating the above photograph, notes that this is a “non-motorized” trail. Some other, similar signs, along the way specify “multimodal,” indicating that motorized vehicles are permissible.

We continued to follow the remnant of the old wagon road, eventually arriving at the fence shown below. We could see the old wagon road ahead, but there was no easy way to cross the fence.

Old General Crook Wagon Road blocked by a fence

 We didn't know it at the time, but we had gone about 0.3 miles beyond the point where Trail 64 leaves the original wagon road in a diversion to avoid private property. The diversion starts at N34 30.739 W112 00.382 as shown on the map below. The turnoff is far from obvious as the old wagon road is clearly visible continuing directly east at this point and nothing indicates one should turn north.

Trail detail at Hwy 169/I-17 Junction

As shown by the green track (map above), one can avoid the private property by following along the fenceline to Hwy 169 and then continuing along FR 9603F which starts at Hwy 169 and skirts the western and northern boundaries of the private holding. However, following the official trail (red track) is the easier, and shorter, route.

The following sign (left), posted alongside FR 9603F near the northeast corner of the private property boundary, is the only indication that it is time to leave the road and cross under I-17. There is absolutely no other indication that a trail ever existed here. One can, however, see signage along the interstate highway. The sign, located just to the left of the tree visible at the top of the photograph, is very near the underpass which the trail utilizes to pass under I-17 and rejoin the original General Crook Trail on the other side.

As we approached the freeway crossing, we came to a gate with a chain and latch that defied our best efforts to unfasten it. Finally, one of the hikers walked a short distance along the fence and found that it ended just a few yards from the gate. All we had to do was walk around it. The photograph below shows the gate looking back from the other side along with the open passage to the right.

Carefully locked gate on left; wide open fence at right

A look at the map showed that we crossed I-17 in Oxtail Draw. The highway follows this draw all the way to the top of the mountain before heading down the other side into Verde Valley. On the east side of the highway we once again began to notice signs of the old wagon road and followed these, along with an occasional cairn, up the draw toward Bates Windmill. We were now sheltered from the wind by a hill that lay between us and Oxtail Draw and were becoming uncomfortably warm. We stopped for a snack just short of FR 136 where the section of old Crook Trail designated as Trail 64 in Prescott National Forest ends and most of our group took advantage of the stop to remove their jackets.

After our snack, we followed FR 136 (Copper Canyon Road) up the gentle slope past Bates Windmill toward the head of the canyon. We were no longer sheltered from the stiff, chill breeze and were soon stopping to don jackets again. Near the top, the slope became a little steeper, but it was never a very difficult climb. We had planned to turn back once we could see down the other side into Copper Canyon. However, when we reached the top, it was still a little early for lunch and the wind was now striking us full on, so we continued down into the canyon for approximately a quarter of a mile before stopping in a sunny, sheltered spot for lunch.

Hikers stopped for lunch

We all wanted to hike the entire trail down Copper Canyon to Salt Mine Road at Camp Verde, just not today. After a bit of discussion, it was decided that we would do that in March. We will park a vehicle at Salt Mine Road, take the interstate up the mountain and then drive back on FR 136 to the top of Copper Canyon to start our hike. That way it will be just a bit over 6 miles and downhill all the way.

After a short lunch break we headed back to where we were parked. Cozy as the spot was, I didn't even linger to take my traditional noontime nap because I wanted to get back in time to sort out the trail around the Hwy 169/I-17 Junction. We made good time and soon found ourselves crossing back under I-17. This time we followed FR 9302F along the north perimeter of the private property and cut back south toward the Old Crook Road as soon as we reached the western perimeter. This brought us out at the junction of FR 9603F and Hwy 169. We then crossed the highway and continued a short distance to rejoin our previous track where we had found the old road blocked by a fence. It wasn't a very difficult route, but it did not appear to be part of Trail 64. Nevertheless we continued on our way. Lila had noted a sign at another location along the highway that might indicate a trail crossing; we would look for that on the way back home after we finished the hike.

We became a little strung out on the final leg of the hike and one of our hikers managed to become separated and cross the last wash at the wrong place. Meanwhile, I had stopped at the wash to count heads and came up one short. Finally, one of the hikers told me that she had seen the missing one cross the wash at a different spot. There was really no serious danger of anyone getting lost on this section of trail, but a lone hiker could fall and be rendered unconscious. It was a bit frustrating, but we did all make it back in good condition.

When we left the parking area and headed east on Hwy 169 toward I-17, we were traveling parallel to our hike route and we knew that the trail had to cross the highway somewhere, so we were all alert to locate that crossing. It turned out to be well-marked and rather obvious. It was marked on each side of the highway with the now familiar Public Trail signs (right) along with a Trail number sign.

That answered the question of where the trail crossed the highway; still unresolved, was exactly where it left the old wagon road, and the route it followed before rejoining it on the other side of the parcel of private property. To answer the first of these questions two of us parked our vehicle alongside the highway and followed the trail south until, after 0.2 miles, it connected with our previous hike path.

My fellow hiker then drove to the corner where FR 9603F makes a 90 degree turn to follow along the north side of the parcel of private property and looked for signs of the trail there, while I tried my luck starting at Hwy 169. I found several cairns to guide me for a while but, at first, no other sign of a trail. Eventually I did come to a section that appeared to show a worn track. Unfortunately, that turned out to be nothing more than a cow path that led me directly east toward Mistake Tank instead of northeast, the direction in which the trail should be heading. By now, though, my fellow hiker had located a couple of cairns near where he was parked and we then managed to locate others, completing the GPS track for the last section of the trail.

The GPS track for the entire 4.3 mile section of Crook Trail completed on this hike is shown in red on the included map (below).

We hiked 8.6 miles (plus an additional 1.2 miles mapping out the deviation around private property). Our highest elevation was 4837 feet and the elevation difference was about 431 feet.