Sheep Trail south of Crook Trail

4 April 2015 was a perfect spring day for our hike on Sheep Trail. We left the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot a few minutes after 0700 and drove east on Hwy 260. Because some of our hikers had not yet had their morning coffee, we stopped at the convenience store at the freeway intersection for coffee-to-go before turning south on I-17. Driving across the mountain, we turned right onto Hwy 169 and continued for 4.6 miles toward Dewey-Humboldt to the West Cherry Road exit. There, at about mile marker 9.8, we turned left onto South Old Cherry Road (County Road 168), a well-maintained dirt road, and continued for 0.4 miles before parking at a spacious, newly-constructed, parking area on the right side of the road. General Crook Trail passes through the parking area and crosses the road here.

Before starting our hike, we donned our packs and gathered for a group photograph at the parking area.

Left to right: Jim Manning, Daisy Williams, Floyd Gardner, the author, Collene Maktenieks, Beverly Sass, Joyce Arregui, Dolly Yapp, Lila Wright, George Everman (kneeling), Betty Wolters, Donna Goodman – photograph by Name Withheld

Crossing the county road we set out on Crook Trail heading east, guided by a trail sign and a rock cairn (right).

The drainage here is north to south and we were heading directly east, so the trail led us across several shallow washes and through thickets of chaparral as it followed the ancient track of the old General Crook Wagon Road (left). Here the deep rut at the left is what remains of the old road while the bare path at the right is the present trail.

Lupine 

Goodings Verbene

It was now well into the spring season and we had experienced a wet winter, so we were on the lookout for flowers. We were not to be disappointed; we saw several different varieties along the 1.5-mile stretch of Crook Trail between County Road 168 and Sheep Trail.

Indian paintbrush

Desert hyacinth

There were numerous Indian paintbrush flowers along the way, their deep, rich red color providing a striking contrast with their more subdued surroundings. An isolated desert hyacinth, unobscured by any surrounding foliage, stood proudly in an otherwise bare spot.

Just one mile from where we had parked we crossed Hackberry Wash and passed through a wire gate in the only fence we encountered during this hike.

Wire gate in Hackberry Wash

Nestled among the drab, barely touched by spring, surrounding growth and above a brilliant green carpet of grass we saw a barberry bush (right), its sprinkle of yellow flowers gleaming like jewels in the desert.

George and I lingered behind searching for more flowers and pausing to photograph our finds. The other hikers stopped several times and waited for us to catch up and I am sure that must have been a bother for them. Nevertheless, we were quite determined to find all the flowers we could. Some of our finds were isolated, one-of-a-kind flowers. In the left photograph below, for instance, one can see a lone desert hyacinth at upper left, an isolated rock daisy at center right and a single filaree at bottom left. Shown in the right photograph below is a parish wild parsley.

Desert hyacinth, rock daisy & filaree

Parish wild parsley

After traveling east for 1.5 miles on Crook Trail we came to Sour Water Wash and the upper Sheep Trailhead. The topographical names become a bit confusing here because Racetrack Well is located along Sour Water Wash, just across Hwy 169 to our north, while Racetrack Wash is located another 0.7 miles to the east, actually running through the site of the Gray Wolf Landfill. Sour Water Wash then empties into Racetrack Wash about 1.2 miles downstream.

Starting at Crook Trail and Sour Water Wash, Sheep Trail (# 532) runs down the wash until it ends at Racetrack Wash and then continues downstream until Racetrack Wash ends after about 2.9 miles at what was apparently once a supply station on Cienega Creek along the “sheep highway.” This “sheep highway,” of which our trail is a part, leads from the area around Casa Grande to summer grazing in the high country above the Mogollon Rim. The last sheep drive that I am aware of¹ was in May 2010 although the “highway” is apparently still open for use and there may have been others since then.

The trail follows along the mostly sand-filled streambed of Sour Water Wash until it empties into Racetrack Wash.

Sour Water Wash just below Crook Trail

The hiking was easy down the streambed and, as already noted, the trail followed it to the junction with Racetrack Wash. After which it continued along an old road for most of the rest of the way. Having already hiked the path along the old road during a March scouting hike, I decided to try going all the way to Cienega Creek without leaving the wash. Most of the party followed the old road; however, we were always in shouting distance of one another. There were a few short stretches where rock hopping was required and the sand was marginally harder to walk on than the solid earth along the old road, but altogether the wash was an easy hike. The worst spot, photographed on the return hike, is shown below.

Jim Manning shown approaching the only climb required in Racetrack Wash

Just before we ended our hike at Cienega Creek, we found an unusually striking clump of primrose flowers (left), arranged by nature into a perfect bouquet.

We ended our hike at Cienega Creek although the Prescott National Forest web site says it ends at Forest Road 9650X. Some of our hikers did a bit of exploring while I took my noon nap and reported seeing a jeep road just upstream. A later look at the Forest Service road map disclosed that this would be FR 9650X and that it ends at a nearby plot of private property. However the junction of Racetrack Wash and Cienega Creek seemed to me a much more satisfying end of trail. Here we had flowing water, the ruins of an old stone wall that must once have protected a supply stop on “sheep highway” from floodwaters. Beyond what looked like a building site behind the wall were the remains of an old corral that must have been used for pack animals.

Cienega Creek at the mouth of Racetrack Wash

A building site and an old corral are located behind the wall shown below.

Old wall that apparently protected buildings and a corral from floodwaters

No one expressed any desire to continue on to connect with FR 9650X, so after lunch we headed back the way we had come. I again followed the wash because I wanted to get another look at a unique rock formation (right), a chimney-shaped column, standing in the streambed of Racetrack Wash, a short distance above Cienega Creek.

I had also noted a field thickly populated with desert hyacinths along a section of the wash that most of the hikers had bypassed and I wanted to make sure that I had a photograph that would display them at their best.

Field of desert hyacinths

I photographed two additional (a banana yucca and a groundsel) plants along Crook Trail during the return hike.

Banana yucca

Groundsel

My track, following the wash all the way, is shown in red on the included map (below). The blue sections of track show the actual trail that was taken by other members of the group.

1 http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&ArticleID=36545

Sombert Lane to Little Horse Trailhead at Hwy 179

On 28 March 2015, seventeen Skyliners hiked from Margs Draw Spur A Trailhead on Sombart Lane to Little Horse Trailhead on Hwy 179. This hike included the following trails: Spur A, about half of Margs Draw, Broken Arrow and Little Horse. Along the way, we visited the Devils Dining Room, lunched at Submarine Rock (making a slight detour to do so) and paused briefly for the view at Chicken Point.

Having completely forgotten the ritual on last week's hike, we gathered for a group photograph today before leaving the parking lot.

Left to right: The author, Frank Lombardo, Jim Manning, Daisy Williams, Karl Sink, Lila Wright, Beverly Sass, Joyce Arregui, Ellen McGinnis, Dolly Yapp (front), James McGinnis, George Everman, Gilliam Ashworth, Betty Wolters, John Ashworth and Collene Maktenieks – photograph by Name Withheld

Passing by a Forest Service trail information Kiosk at the east side of the parking area, we immediately entered the Munds Mountain Wilderness area, climbed a steep, but mercifully short, section of trail and encountered our first flower of the hike, a bladderpod mustard (right). 

George was assigned as tailgater, to make sure we didn't lose anyone and I stayed with him so that he could identify the flowers we saw along the way. The warm days were working their wonders and, as we passed through a forest of juniper, manzanita, ceanothus and other high desert plants, we found a variety of flowers along the trail. One, called fineleaf woolywhite, was particularly intriguing. It first appears as a feathery looking clump of grass (left), but then unexpectedly shoots up a tall stalk and displays yellow blooms at the top (right) as though to announce its arrival to the world.

The distance on Spur A Trail from the parking lot to the intersection with Margs Draw Trail was 0.6 miles and we continued to find flowers such as the Indian root shown here (left) along the way.

Spur A had led us east, but when we reached Margs Draw Trail we followed it south for 1.1 miles to Morgan Road where a large parking area is provided. At this point Margs Draw Trail ends and Broken Arrow Trail continues south. Meanwhile, Morgan Road turns south and becomes Forest Road 179F, leading to such tourist attractions as the Devils Dining Room, Submarine Rock and Chicken Point.

As we approached Morgan Road from the north, we were faced with a large butte or mesa directly ahead, between us and Twin Buttes. I think the formation must be Battlement Mesa. Although I have been unable to find it on any map, Battlement is mentioned often in hiking and cycling reports and is generally placed north of Twin Buttes. From this angle it looks more like a butte than a mesa. But the top appears more table like when viewed from the Twin Buttes area.

Battlement Mesa

The area is shown in the map insert (right); the junction of Margs Draw and Broken Arrow Trails is shown at top right and I have placed a marker on what I believe to be Battlement Mesa.

We left Munds Mountain Wilderness area at Morgan Road, but we were never far from its boundary. At any point during the hike along Broken Arrow Trail we had only to look east across the valley floor to see Munds Mountain itself looming in the distance. The wilderness boundary runs down the valley floor to the west of Munds Mountain to Chicken Point, continues along the valley floor west of Lee Mountain and then swings west to encompass Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock near The Village of Oak Creek.

Although some flowering plants stand out boldly as though to say, “stop and admire me,” others are more modest, seeming to hide themselves like a shy child hiding his face in his mother's skirt. We almost missed the small yellow blossoms of the Wrights deer vetch (left) so well was it hidden

Since starting south on Broken Arrow we had seen a constant stream of pink jeeps ferrying tourists to and from the sights along the way. But our first intersection with the road they followed was not until we reached the Devils Dining Room.

Devils Dining Room

This site is not very interesting and I have a great amount of difficulty understanding why is is considered a tourist attraction at all. To me it just looks like a hole in the ground that only a geologist would love.

It was only 0.5 miles from Morgan Road to the Devils Dining Room and another 0.3 miles brought us to the turnoff to Submarine Rock, so named because it bears some resemblance to a submarine. It is about 0.6 miles to the top of the rock from the turnoff. The deviation we made from Broken Arrow Trail to visit Submarine Rock and then return to the trail was 1.2 miles and is shown below.

Showing detour to visit Submarine Rock

Submarine Rock is much more interesting than is the Devils Dining Room. From the top of the rock one has a great view up and down the valley and to Munds Mountain to the east. On this hot day, we also had a nice cool breeze to cool us off.

As shown on the map insert (above), we returned to Broken Arrow Trail at a different point, about 0.2 miles from where we had left it. We did this by following the jeep road (FR 179F) up a short but very steep hill until it intersected the trail. We cut about 0.2 miles off the length of the hike by doing this, but we would have expended much less effort by returning the way we had come.

                                     Desert hyacinth

Continuing on to Chicken Point, we found several more interesting flowers.

Spring parsley

We paused only briefly at Chicken Point before continuing on our way, now on 

                              Indigo bush

Mountain sunflowers 

Little Horse Trail, to the trailhead at Hwy 179, still 1.8 miles away.  

George called my attention to one last flower along the way, a rattlesnake weed (below).

It had now become quite hot and we were reminded why we hiked at higher elevations during the hotter months of the year. By the time we reached the trailhead I, for one, was exhausted.

According to my GPS track we hiked 6.1 miles, the highest elevation was 4624 feet and the total ascent was 1054 feet.

Our track is shown in red on the included map (below).

Azurite Peak to Yavapai College

The name used to describe this 21 March 2015 hike may require some explanation. It starts at the foot of a small peak located near a hairpin turn in Forest Road 493 just below Iron King Mine. The peak itself, rising to a height of 5600 feet, is about 300 feet lower than Allen Spring Road at this point. At the very top of the peak is what appears to be the remains of an old mine. Azurite and Malachite appear in the mine tailings, giving the small but distinctive peak the unofficial name of Azurite Peak. Azurite is a deep blue in color, but over time tends to weather into malachite which is green. Both can be found at this site.

The site location, about 0.5 miles at a bearing of 3⁰ true from Iron King Mine, is shown below. The blue track, made on an earlier hike, leads steeply up the mountain to the top of the peak and then follows an old road to reconnect with the trail we followed today which is shown in red. The ascent to the peak was very steep, overgrown and quite rocky. It would have required much less effort, though perhaps a bit more time, to just continue along the path we were on and return along the old road to the peak.

Map insert showing the location of Azurite Peak

Our group numbered 17 hikers today and we were careful to make sure we kept track of everyone. Along the old mining road we followed for the first part of the hike that was relatively easy. There were few places where it was possible to take a wrong turn and we just stopped at those places until everyone was accounted for.

It was a sunny day and the views, looking across the Verde Valley and the red rocks along the Mogollon Rim to the San Francisco Mountain peaks beyond were, as we had hoped, spectacular. Closer in we found a few splendid early spring flowers on this second day of the season. Most intriguing was a large patch of yellow California poppies with a few mutant white poppies mixed in. There was some discussion as to whether these were California or Mexican poppies. I later learned that the California variety has yellow flower petals that shade to a gold center while the entire petal of the Mexican poppy is gold¹.

California poppies with white blooms mixed in – photograph by Akemi Tomioka

Looking at the hillsides as we passed along the mountain slope, we could see evidence of past mining activity all around us. Two mines were located close alongside the road. The first of these was the Hooker-Ewing mine owned by Jerome Copper Company Group. It is on the uphill side of the old road we were following and so close that one could step into the open vertical shaft were it not for a fence placed to prevent such an occurrence. The mine is mentioned in Western Mining History² and listed in Mindat.org³. However, I could not locate a listing for it in the Arizona Geological Survey Mining Data⁴ site. The Mindat.org entry indicated that the workings included “1,025 feet of tunnel & 1,800 feet of crosscuts & drifts”. Otherwise the sources referenced above provided just ownership, location, type of operation (underground) and land ownership (National Forest). We tossed a rock into the open shaft and waited several seconds to hear the sound of it hitting bottom, but made no serious attempt to estimate the depth.

Leaving Hooker-Ewing behind, we proceeded along the old road, passing an agave plant that had apparently served as a snack for a bear. The tender young stalk growing from the center of the plant had been ripped off at the base. Jim Manning provided a photograph (right) of the devastated plant. We noted no other bear sign on this hike, but have seen bears in this area in the past.

Other than the poppies shown of the previous page, there were few flowers to be seen, except for a veritable sea of white blooming, heavily scented ceanothus that surrounded us for most of the hike.

Approximately 0.5 miles north of the Hooker-Ewing Mine we came to the old Decatur Copper Shaft. This unfenced mine site, located just a few yards below the road, is listed by Mindat.org and Western Mining History as an “underground Cu prospect”. Some amount of work must have gone into this prospecting effort as the shaft seemed quite deep and there was a large quantity of tailings on the lower side of the mountain. Tossing a rock into the shaft resulted in a wait of several seconds and was followed by a splash, indicating water. The National Forest is listed as owner of the land.

We paused for a snack on the flat surface of the culm dump located at the mouth of the shaft.

Six of our hikers enjoying the sun along with a midmorning snack atop the culm dump at Decatur Copper Shaft– photograph by Jim Manning

The old mine road we were following continued for another 0.8 miles before ending on a ridge overlooking a gap that leads down into Mescal Gulch.

When we reached the end of our old road we would start descending and would lose our far-away views, so while avoiding the gradually encroaching growth that was doing its best to choke off the road, we took our last look at Jerome, seemingly within spitting distance but actually well on the other side of Mescal Gulch, and the San Francisco Peaks, themselves some fifty or so miles away.

The town of Jerome across Mescal Gulch – photograph by Jim Manning

Looking toward the San Francisco Peaks – photograph by Jim Manning

The 0.2 mile section of mountain slope between the end of the road and the gap was very thickly overgrown with manzanita, scrub oak, ceanothus and other assorted plants. There was no trail at all along this short section and we just had to force our way down the slope through the thick growth. This was the third time I had traversed this section, the first being in company with George Everman. On that trip, we had taken turns covering our faces and throwing ourselves down the slope to break through the growth. I still remember peering very carefully ahead to make sure I didn't throw myself off a hidden cliff on the other side of some particularly thick growth. This time I was quite content to let Jim Manning lead the way; it was a lot easier following someone else.

From the gap leading down into Mescal Gulch, the trail (left, photograph by Jim Manning) follows the path of an old road. It is a bit rocky but otherwise in good condition. Our lunch spot, the culm dump formed by the tailings from Verde Combination Mine is represented by the slightly raised flat area in the upper left of the photograph.

According to Mindat.org, the Verde Combination Mine (right, photograph by Daisy Williams) had “a 1,300 foot deep shaft and older shafts at the South end at 640 feet and 500 feet deep” and provided the following minerals: “'Chlorite Group', Muscovite (var: Sericite), Pyrite.” Western Mining History lists the National Forest as owner of the land.

After lunch and, for me, a very nice nap we left our sunny spot on the culm dump and completed our descent to the bottom of Mescal Gulch. To be sure, I think most of our hikers had long since abandoned the sun in favor of the shade of small trees growing nearby. The day was now quite warm, but I do like a nap in the sun.

In the photograph below, hikers are shown following the path of an old road that once provided access to the mine. The road descended to the bottom of Mescal Gulch and then ascended along the other side (see the faint, diagonal trace running diagonally up the side of the mountain at the bottom right quadrant of the photograph). After climbing out of the gulch, the road connects with Allen Spring Road and continues on to Jerome. This would have been the route the ore trucks took to the smelter.

Looking down into Mescal Gulch from Verde combination Mine

In the small, flat meadow at the bottom of the gulch we found a small herd of cattle. This was not an unusual event in itself, but one of the cows had just given birth and Akemi Tomioka managed to get a shot of the still-bloody calf (left). Meanwhile the mother cow, her work done for now, headed down the gulch with the rest of the herd.

Some of the hikers were concerned that by following the herd down the narrow gulch we would cause the mother cow to abandon her newborn calf. Having grown up with cows, I knew that the herd was heading downstream as part of their daily migration and that the mother would return for relief when her udder became uncomfortably full. In my experience, it is not at all unusual for a cow to leave a newborn calf, often hidden in some secluded spot, to return to the barn (or other feeding area) at the end of the day. Unless we heard dogs prowling in the area or just were in a hurry to see what the new calf looked like, we never bothered to go looking for it.

Following a cow trail down the gulch we did finally see a few more flowers, essentially the first since we stopped to admire the poppies at the start of the hike. Akemi provided a photograph of a gorgeous claret cup cactus (right) and Daisy contributed a brilliant Indian paintbrush (left).

We shortly came to a second small meadow where we bypassed the cattle we had been following down the gulch. We then continued without the danger of stepping in fresh cow manure. There were deposits left from the daily pilgrimage up the gulch that morning, but these were now pretty well dried out.

A little over half way down Mescal Gulch to where we were parked alongside Haskell Spring Road we came to a circular ring of rocks that I think must be some sort of shrine. I have passed this way a number of times and have noticed different objects (possibly offerings to some deity) tied in the tree above the circular area, but there were none today. I didn't get a photograph today, so am recycling one taken in January 2011.

Circular shrine (?) in Mescal Gulch – photograph from a January 2011 hike

The shrine is located only 1.2 miles from where we were parked, so we were soon enough at the end of our hike.

As with the beginning of the hike, the end point, Yavapai College, given in the title requires some explanation. Although we ended about 0.6 miles short of the college, it is the closest generally recognizable landmark.

My GPS track shows a total hiking distance of 6.9 miles with a maximum elevation of 5387 feet and a total descent of 1862 feet. We hiked an additional 0.2 miles and climbed an additional 185 feet to visit the cave. The GPS track for the entire loop is shown in red on the included map (below). The map also shows, in blue, the track that will take one to the top of Azurite Peak; We did not visit the peak on this hike.

Finally, having failed to take a photograph to identify the 17 participants in this hike, I will list them here:

Lila Wright

Jim Manning, hike leader

Dave Beach

Daisy Williams

Mark Purcell

Gary Jacobson

John McGinnis

Ellen McGinnis

Dolly Yapp

Joyce Arregui

Anita Jackson

Betty Wolters

Akemi Tomioka

John Ashworth

Gilliam Ashworth

George Everman

and the author

1 http://delange.org/WhiteCalPoppy/WhiteCalPoppy.htm

2 http://westernmininghistory.com/mine_detail/10113170

3 http://www.mindat.org/loc-50711.html

4 http://minedata.azgs.az.gov/content/mining-collections