From Squaw Peak Road to Salt mine Road

There are a number of interesting trails in the southeast section of the Black Hills Mountain Range south of Copper Canyon (the canyon followed by Interstate Hwy 17 going south from Camp Verde). I have hiked some of these trails beginning in early 2008 when I first started carrying a GPS to record my hikes with the Skyliners. I have written reports and recorded GPS tracks for the following hikes:

Chasm Creek #164

Tompkins Trail #513 (partial)

Ryal Canyon Trail #521

Goat Springs Trail #542

Lower Cedar Bench Trail #540

Oxbow Trail #163

Pine Mountain Verde Rim Loop (multiple trails)

We, Lila Wright and I, looked at the trails in the area while we were preparing the Skyliner's April 2016 schedule. We had two empty slots to fill on our schedule of weekly hikes. I did some online research, primarily using HikeArizon.com¹, as the Prescott National Trail descriptions are more noticeable for their lack of information than anything else. Usually they just provide the starting point, the ending point and the length of the trail. HikeArizon.com (HAZ), on the other hand, usually provides trail descriptions along with downloadable GPS tracks.

It appeared that we could complete our April schedule quite nicely by splitting Trail 511 at Box T Spring and hiking it in two separate sections. An alternative would be to hike on one section of Trail 511 (Box T Trail) on one weekend hike then complete the part of Trail 513 (Tompkins Trail) that we had not already hiked on the second open date. Because these trails were new to us we would need to scout them before actually leading hikes on them.

Our first thought was to do the two hikes on Trail 511 and we decided to scout what appeared to be the most difficult section of Trail 511 first. That was the section between Box T Spring and Salt Mine Road. From the available data, that appeared to involve hiking 2 miles on a forest road to reach Box T Spring and then hiking 7.1 miles on Trail 511 to its end on Salt Mine Road. The rest of this report describes our 2 March 2016 scouting hike on that selected portion of Trail 511

Leaving Cottonwood at 0700, Lila, Karl Sink and the author drove on SR 260 through Camp Verde, continued past I-17 for 0.7 miles, turned right on Oasis Drive and followed it for 0.4 miles, turned right onto Salt Mine Road and continued for 2.2 miles before again turning right and passing through a gate to park one of our two vehicles at position N34 31 30.6 W111 51 53.2. The wire gate was open and the end support piece to which the gate wires were attached was broken; we could not close it behind us as instructed by a posted sign, so left it as was. We then drove in the second vehicle back to I-17, entering at the General Crook Trail Intersection, and drove south to the SR 169 Exit. There, instead of turning west toward Dewey-Humboldt, we turned east onto Forest Road 732 and drove 2.9 miles to park at the junction with FR 9602G.

Forest Road 732 (also shown on some maps as FR 68D or even as SR 169), although dirt, was in first class condition for the first 2.5 miles. At that point it crossed a cattleguard and turned down a short, steep hill, becoming a lot rougher as it descended. It was still usable by a regular passenger vehicle; it would just require a bit of care. As we made our descent down the hill, we could see a thriving community, shown in the photograph (below), and a section of our road (denoted in the photograph by a red arrow) as it climbed the far side of a wash that empties into Cienega Creek. The dwellings and other buildings were nestled closely alongside Cienega Creek. I saw power lines between the various buildings in the community but no line leading into the area and at first assumed they operated a privately-owned generator. However, I did locate the supply line on a later hike.

Community of Flowerpot? - at least some of the buildings in the right half of the photograph are located on Bald Hill Ranch

The name of the community is unclear. Garmin's Topo U.S. 24K Southwest map displays the name “Flowerpot” at a point just 0.4 miles to the northwest and shows a Flowerpot Tank about 2 miles directly west. On the other hand, the location where the tank is situated is labeled Flowerpot Ranch on the National Topographic map.

Adding even more confusion, going straight ahead at the bottom of the hill, where the forest road turns left on entering the community, would take one through a gate (right) into Bald Hill Ranch. This appears to be the ranch headquarters. Bald Hill Peak, presumable the source of the name, lies over three miles south by east from this point.

After the short, rough section passing through the community, the road becomes fairly smooth again and follows along a short, pleasant stretch of Cienega Creek that actually has flowing water, apparently year round. The water emerges from the streambed at a clump of sycamore trees, flows strongly for a short distance and then is reabsorbed into the thirsty creekbed. Just as the traveler enters this oasis-like area, Forest Road 9602G originates, heading sharply up the steep bank on the left to make its way to Box T Spring.

Beginning of FR 9602G to Box T Spring. The road seen at left, running past the cattleguard, is FR 732 heading back to I-17; FR 9602G runs directly up the hill. Note that the sign indicates the distance back to I-17 is 4 miles. It is really only 2.9 miles.

We parked our vehicle here and started our hike up FR 9602G to join Trail 511 at Box T Spring. A 4-wheel drive vehicle could easily handle this road, although there are some areas of close-growing brush that might add a few scratches to one's paint job. There was some climbing along the way as the road descended into and climbed out of washes and we encountered a few stretches of loose rock, making walking difficult. The distance to the spring turned out to be 2.0 miles as advertised. The road actually intersects Trail 511 about a 100 yards west of the spring and we didn't even see it on the way through. We did investigate the spring more closely a week later while scouting the rest of Trail 511. On first approach, no spring was visible, just a large rectangular metal tank setting in an open grassy area. However, a closer look disclosed that the tank actually formed part of the spring. There are no above-ground pipes feeding water to the tank; it has apparently been fitted over the mouth of the spring so that the water flows into the bottom of the tank and fills it up before overflowing from the top as shown in the below photograph. I suppose it is possible the spring might be located farther up the mountain and the water piped underground to the tank. But we saw no signs of that.

Box T Spring – the tank is fitted over the opening of the spring

There were no cattle in the area when we passed through on this 2 March scouting hike and we saw no wildlife other than a few birds.

However, when we again visited the area a week later, we did see a jackrabbit. He seemed entirely undisturbed by our presence and loped on down the trail in a leisurely fashion, giving me time to take my first ever jackrabbit photograph (left).

We left the spring following Trail 511 up the mountain to Box T Tank. The trek up the mountain was along a steep, well-defined trail that was littered with loose rock much of the way. We found a few flowers along the way and I stopped to photograph a particularly striking patch of Indian paintbrush (right) hiding under some brush.

We climbed over 800 feet in 1.7 miles to reach the tank. With still another hundred feet to go before we reached the summit, we paused to look at the tank before continuing our climb. The tank, shown below, is actually located about over 100 yards from the trail.

Box T Tank

Look closely at the photograph above and you can see a fence that crosses the tank in line with the dead tree, neatly dividing it approximately in half and permitting watering from two different pastures.

Leaving the tank behind we climbed the remaining 100 feet in the next 0.2 miles and were at the summit of the Black Hills Range. The elevation was 5867 feet, we had climbed over 1200 feet and hiked 4.1 miles. From here we would descend 2574 feet to the end our hike at an elevation of 3293 feet.

After a short rest stop we started our descent, at first descending quite rapidly along a trail that was littered with loose rocks (below left), eventually leveling off to a more moderate descent with fewer rocks (below right).

After the first 0.4 miles of steep rocky trail, we found ourselves descending at a somewhat more leisurely pace along the upper slope of Allen Canyon. None of us had seen the Verde Valley from this perspective before and we paused occasionally to try and pick out points of interest that were familiar to us. About 1.2 miles from the summit at an elevation of 5362 feet, we passed along the brow of a high ridge that separates Allen Canyon from Ryal Canyon. It was now time for lunch and this looked like an ideal spot, so we detoured a few yards to a good viewing area and stopped to eat.

After lunch I managed to get in a quick nap and take photographs to stitch into a panoramic view across Verde Valley to the Mogollon Rim. In the scene below, looking northeast down Allen Canyon, the San Francisco Peaks can be seen at left and Wingfield Mesa at right.

Looking across the Verde Valley from a ridge between Allen Canyon and Ryal Canyon. The elevation is 5362 feet

As we continued our trail turned at first northwest and then north and finally east as we descended into Ryal Canyon at the spring. Some maps refer to it as just Spring, others call it Ryal Water. I supposed it would be accurate enough if one were to just call it Ryal Spring and be done with it. The descent into the canyon, like the initial descent from the summit, was quite steep and the trail surface was composed of gravel or small rocks. I slipped twice and sat down heavily. Luckily I am practiced in the art of sitting down suddenly and as always

managed to do it with grace and little damage. Lila and Karl are shown here (left) picking their footing carefully as they descend Trail 511 just above the junction with Ryal Canyon Trail #521.

From their Junction, Trails 511 and 521 run together for a few yards down toward the stream below Ryal Spring. There Trail 521 ends while Trail 511 continues along the bank of the stream for a few yards and crosses the stream at a tidy, well-constructed little bridge.

Bridge over the stream below Ryal Spring

I had hiked to Ryal Spring with the Skyliners before. However, we had just accessed the stream where Trail 521 ended and never even saw the bridge. Now, following Trail 511, we crossed the bridge, climbed out of Ryal Canyon, crossed over the dividing ridge and followed along the Allen Canyon side of the ridge down the mountain. Along the way we passed an old mine site that I could not identify in the literature. A gorgeous stand of California poppies was growing on the bank below the mine works and they continued along the trail for a considerable distance, culminating in the dense stand seen here (above right).

The trail now descended steeply from the mine site (left) and was covered with loose gravel, again making travel pretty precarious. Ceanothus (white lilac) shrubs lined both sides of the road and were in full bloom, enveloping the area with a distinctive lilac-like scent.

An excellent example of the ceanothus is shown here (below left) along with a hardy desert hyacinth (below right), the hyacinth thrusting its way out of a safe spot between two rocks while the ceanothus stands boldly alone.

Still about 2.2 miles from the end of our hike and a little over half a mile above Cottonwood Spring, the trail turned to follow in an easterly direction along the spine of a gently-sloping ridge. It then turned north to descend the flank of the ridge, crossed the wash and climbed out the other side heading northwest. It then turned north by east in a straight line to where we were parked just 0.4 miles ahead.

I have described the twists and turns of the lower portion of the trail in some detail because there are several places where one can go wrong in this area. The trail follows along old roads, signage is nonexistent and there are several side roads that would appear to be a more direct route. It is best to refer to a good map or, as in our case, a GPS track to avoid wrong turns.

When we arrived back at our vehicle, we found that the gate had been repaired, using a short length of iron pipe and duct tape to bind the two pieces of the broken post together. It worked well and looked quite sturdy.

We decided that this section of Box T Trail #511 was not a good candidate for a Skyliner hike and that I should go ahead and write a report describing our this scouting hike for inclusion in the Skyliner library of reports. That meant, of course, that we would need to scout both of the other alternatives discussed at the beginning of this report, the section of Trail 511 from Joe Best Spring to Box T Spring and the section of Trail 513 from Box T Spring to the end of a 12 February 2008 hike on Trail 513 hike that ended above Tompkins Tank. For scouting purposes we combined those two alternatives into a single hike which Lila and I did on 9 March 2016. That hike is the source of the description of Box T Spring included above.

Our GPS track is shown in red on the included map (below). The track includes the short side trips (to inspect Box T Tank and to a view point at lunch) we made along the way. The total hike distance was 9.9 miles, the highest elevation was 5867 feet, the total ascent was 1675 feet and the total descent was 3047 feet.

1 https://www.bing.com/search?q=hikearizona.com&qs=LC&pq=hike&sc=8-4&sp=1&cvid=2C5EB71C71A3474ABB18206F0595E19E&FORM=CHRDEF

Aerie-Cockscomb Loop

The Aerie-Cockscomb Loop is well-used by both bikers and hikers and we had been advised a couple of days before our scheduled hike that the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival would be underway on 4-6 March 2016. Our hike was scheduled for the 5^th, right in the middle of the festival. We gave some thought to rescheduling. However, it was too late to change the notice in the newspaper, so we chose to forge ahead. The trails were, after all, intended for multiple use.

From Cottonwood we drove to Sedona, turned left onto Dry Creek Road, drove 2.9 miles to the stop sign at the junction with Boynton Pass and Long Canyon roads (Boynton Pass Road to the left; Long Canyon Road to the right), turned left onto Boynton Pass Road, continued for 1.6 miles to a stop sign, turned right onto Boynton Canyon Road and continued for about 0.1 mile before turning into the Boynton Canyon Trailhead parking lot on the right.

We arrived at the parking area around 0830, early enough to be sure we would have no trouble finding parking space. Generally speaking, the trailheads around Sedona start filling rapidly after about 0900. The Aerie Trailhead (right) where we started our loop hike is located at the toilet facility, just across the driveway from the more prominent Boynton Canyon Trailhead.

We had expected to share the trail with a large number of bikers and were a bit surprised to find that we had the trail to ourselves for the first 1.4 miles when the first biker passed us. After that lone rider, biker traffic slowly picked up, increasing steadily for the remainder of the hike. We were a rather large group, 13 in number, and were pretty well spaced out. Knowing that passing us all would otherwise be a very tedious affair for bikers, we passed the word down the line each time we met one and all stepped off the trail until the biker or bikers had passed. The words “biker ahead” brought back an old memory from my time on the USS Hornet. While practicing for the 24 July 1969 Apollo 11 splashdown, we steamed around in circles in the Pacific Ocean searching for pieces of plywood previously tossed overboard and shouting out “chips ahoy” each time we spotted one.¹

But back to the present. After leaving the trailhead, we had paused briefly for a group photograph (below) using the yawning mouth of Boynton Canyon for the background.

Left to right: Loren Pritzel, Karl Sink, Jim McGinnis, Ellen McGinnis, Lila Wright, Collene Maktenieks, Joanne Hennings, Jim Gibson, Beverly Sass, Daisy Williams, Akemi Tomioka and George Everman

We crossed Boynton Pass Road and then a dirt road before coming to our first trail intersection. There are a lot of crisscrossing trails in the area and these, at least in our case, required frequent use of a map or GPS track to make sure we took the correct path. The weatherproof plastic map signs (below) posted along the way were very helpful.

Donated maps posted at many trail intersections in the area

The trail junctions were uniformly and reliably signed as shown in this photograph (left). The signs varied a bit in size, depending on the lettering required, and in age but they were all similar in style and all were firmly planted so as to remain pointing in the correct direction.

Doe Mountain, which we circled in a counterclockwise during this hike, is shaped roughly like a triangle with points to the northeast, southeast and southwest. Our path, following Aerie Trail led us, on a dogleg course, partway up its northeast slope to an elevation of about 4730 feet. From there we had an excellent panoramic view of Red Rock Country to the northeast. Unfortunately, the sun was in our eyes and did not provide good lighting for photography. However, we soon rounded the northeast corner of Doe Mountain and had an excellent view to the northwest from Mingus Mountain, hidden behind the tree at left, across Woodchute Mountain on the horizon, to the forbidding shape of Bear Mountain to the right.

Looking northwest from the east slope of Doe Mountain

A little farther along the slope of Doe Mountain as we turned toward the pass between the mountain and the Cockscomb Formation, we could see across Verde Valley to Black Mountain and Casner Mountain and between them the mountains beyond Sycamore Canyon.

Looking across Verde Valley from Aerie Trail – Black Mountain is at the left, Casner Mountain is right of center with the faint red splotch of Robbers Roost along its slope and Loy Butte is seen at right across the shoulder of Bear Mountain.

It was interesting as we walked along to consider how the maze of trails we observed had come into existence. It appears that the older sections of trail follow the course of old roads that were intended to move people and goods from place to place. These, although generally following land contours, did give some consideration to the shortest distance from point to point. Newer trails, on the other hand, appear to have been designed more for the trail experience than to connect any specific points, winding often through washes and around hills that could have been avoided.

As previously noted, biker traffic increased throughout the hike and we encountered an estimated total of somewhere between 125 and 150 along the way. This, however, turned out to be no problem as most of the riders were in groups of four to six and passed quickly, with a courteous greeting, when we stepped off the trail. Sharing the trail with the bikers today was even less trouble than during an October 2014 hike to Cathedral Rock. The numerous bikers on that hike were also quite courteous but had seemed to be traveling singly rather than in groups and so had to be contended with individually.

As for other hikers, I remember only a man with a dog, a single woman hiker who passed us along the way and two women who apparently hiked only a short way on the trail before turning back.

After we rounded the south side of Doe Mountain and headed north along its eastern slope, we once again had panoramic views of the Red Rock Country to the northeast. This time the lighting was much more favorable and I snapped several photographs for a panoramic view.

Looking into Dry Creek Canyon and the mountains beyond. Capitol Butte is shown at right and Chimney Rock is barely visible between the butte and the tree at the right edge

Our GPS track for this hike is shown in red on the following map. The total hike distance was 7.2 miles, the maximum elevation was 4728 feet and the total ascent was 777 feet.

1 Price, Ellis F, At Sea & Ashore During Vietnam. Createspace, 2011, Print, Page 73

Yeager Mine Trail

Fifteen Skyliners hiked on Yeager Mine Trail on 27 February 2016. The day was perfect for hiking, with the merest dusting of wispy clouds on the far horizon. We left the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot just a couple of minutes after 0800 and headed across the mountain, traveling south on Hwy 89A. About 21.3 miles from the parking lot, we turned left onto a dirt road. This road is identified as Forest Road Road 643 on the Motor Vehicle Use Map¹ but as Forest Forest Road 151 on another Prescott National Forest map². It may also be referred to as Powerline Road. In any case the first 0.9 miles of the road, to the junction with FR 9002S (Yeager Mine Road), is heavily traveled and maintained in excellent condition.

At the Yeager Mine Road turnoff we found the following signage.

Signs posted at the Yeager Mine Road turnoff

The Mingus Mountain Academy sign shown in the photograph (above) elicited some curiosity and after a little research I found it describes itself as a “residential treatment center for emotionally and behaviorally at-risk adolescent girls.” The mountain lion shown on the sign is the symbol of “a student-run organization, similar to a high school student government.” I have never actually visited there but the campus looks quite impressive from afar. The below photograph was taken at a distance from Forest Road 643, perhaps half a mile south of the sign.

Mingus Mountain Academy – photographed from FR 643 on 20 February 2016

Forest Road 9002S (Mingus Mine Road), although less well-maintained than the dirt road from Hwy 89A had been was still navigable by passenger cars for the first 0.3 miles. We then came to a fork in the road with a sign (right) indicating that Mingus Mine Road veered off to the left and became a private road. We still had not reached the old Yeager Mine site and according to the maps I consulted in planning this hike, the forest road continues well beyond that point. That could only mean that Mingus Mine Road and the forest road split at this point with FR 9002S continuing straight ahead.

However, I had scouted the area earlier and noted that the road ahead, although still suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles, was quite rough. In addition, a trail sign (left) at the fork indicated that Trail 501 (Mingus Mine Trail) started there. I had been surprised at finding the sign at that spot because all of my maps showed the trail starting about 0.8 miles ahead at the end of FR 9002S.

Parking where the private road branched off, we hiked 140 yards up the forest road to the old Yeager Mine site for a group photograph.

Left to right: Gary Jacobson, Bob Rauen, Floyd Gardner, Lila Wright, Dolly Yapp, Loren Pritzel, Colleen Maktenieks, Daisy Williams, the author, Jim Gibson, Karl Sink, Dave Beach and Jim Manning – two hikers not shown

Yeager Mine was an underground Cu-Au-Ag mine, owned by the Shannon Copper Company, and was in production during the period 1890-1949. “Workings included an inclined shaft to the 1300 level, drifts extending mostly to the East a maximum of 750 feet. Production was 9,627,987 pounds of Cu; 2,466 oz. Au; and 77,134 oz. Ag (to 1919). Additional 800 tons of Cu-Ag ore in 1922”³.

Little is left of the Yeager Mine site, just some indentations in the earth and a few battered found-ations where massive machinery once stood (right). The shafts have been filled in for safety reasons and the slag piles have largely been flattened and eroded so as to largely blend into the terrain.

From just above the mine we could look back across it and on across Prescott Valley to the mountains beyond.

Looking across Prescott Valley, Yeager Mine is visible at left (see bare spot)

After visiting the mine we trudged on up the forest road, crossing a property boundary line and entering Prescott National Forest. We passed the remnants of an old abandoned dwelling with associated outbuildings on our right and, just across the road from it, what appeared to be a old filled-in prospect site.

About 0.8 miles after leaving Yeager Mine we came to a fork in the road. The road to the left was quite distinct and appeared to be fairly well traveled. The right fork (red arrow below), showing less sign of travel, led straight up the spine of a ridge that separated two washes.

The arrow just above the resting hiker points to the correct trail

This is the point where, according to my reference maps, FR 9002S ends and Yeager Mine Trail starts. A Trail # 501 sign (left) was posted to show the way and this sign, unlike the one we had seen at Yeager Mine, prohibited all but hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers. Jeeps, ATVs and other motorized vehicles are prohibited. However, someone has pretty well obliterated the part of the sign that prohibits ATVs. There is left only a faint end of the red line that ran through through the ATV symbol.

Another 0.4 miles, consisting of a steep 400-foot climb along the spine of a ridge, brought us to the junction of a short side trail that leads to Tunnel Spring. I had noted this spring on the map and was determined to explore it. The distance to the spring turned out to be about 0.1 mile and the first 100 yards was wide, clear and easy to hike. The rest of the trail was a little overgrown in a few spots but never difficult to follow. What we found when we arrived was a seep spring. A closer examination indicated that the seep had at some time in the past been dug out by tunneling into the side of the mountain and a pipe had been inserted to channel the flow of water into a series of narrow watering troughs. Although water no longer flows from the pipe (below right) and the troughs (below left) are now empty and discarded, there is enough left to tell the story of what once was.

We paused for a short time at the spring before returning to the main trail to resume our sharp climb up the mountain. On the way out I stopped to photograph two of our hikers (right) making their way through the most overgrown portion of the short Tunnel Spring Trail.

Back at the main trail we took a head count and found that we were missing a hiker. This had so far been an easy-to-follow trail except for the single somewhat confusing spot where the trail had turned up the ridge spine between washes. We had thus not worried too much about being a bit spread out. Now, we were in a quandary. Had the missing hiker gone ahead, had he turned back or had he wandered off the trail for some unknown reason? We called his name, sent a hiker back to the spring to look for him and sent people ahead to see if he had continued up the trail. Finally, we found that he had turned back without telling anyone when he reached the overgrown section of Tunnel Spring Trail and, rather than wait for the group, had continued on up the trail by himself.

While waiting for our lost hiker to be found, I took a series of photographs that I could stitch together for a panoramic view across the valley from the trail junction, an elevation of 6340 feet.

View from the junction of Mingus Mine Trail and Tunnel Spring Trail

Once we were all back together we headed on up the trail for lunch at a saddle above Mingus Springs. To reach there we hiked another 0.7 miles and climbed about another 450 feet, ending at an elevation of 6893 feet. I found a sunny spot with a cushion of grass and had a nice long nap after lunch.

Someone asked whether it would be possible to access the upper Yeager Mine Trailhead by vehicle. The answer is yes with a caveat that the last 0.7 miles requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle. I had, as a matter of fact, done just that last November. It is therefore possible to position passenger vehicles at both ends and hike this trail one way. This would be a short hike of only 3.2 miles. That distance would include the 0.7 miles required to reach the upper trailhead from a place where a passenger vehicle could be parked as well side trips to explore Tunnel Spring and Yeager Mine.

To reach the upper end of the trail by passenger vehicle from the Cottonwood Safeway parking lot (map below), travel south on Hwy 89A for 15.2 miles, turn left onto Forest road 104 and go 1.5 miles, turn right on FR 413 and go 2.3 miles, turn right on FR 132 and go 0.4 miles then turn right onto FR 105 and go 0.7 miles and park at the intersection with FR 9626A. From there it is another 0.7 miles by foot or by 4-wheel drive on FR 9626A to the upper Yeager Mine Trailhead.

How to access the upper Yeager Mine Trailhead by road

On the map shown below the two short sections of blue track at either end of the trail (red track) are the forest service roads by which Yeager Mine Trail may be accessed. The road accessing the lower end of the trail is Forest Road 9002S and the one accessing the upper trailhead is Forest Road 9626A. The lower trailhead is accessible by passenger vehicles; to access the upper trailhead, passenger vehicles should be parked at the junction of FR 105 and FR 9626A. From there it is only 0.7 miles by foot or 4-wheel drive to the trailhead.

For the lower end of the trail, the map shows a “new trailhead” and an “old trailhead”. The old trailhead is where all the maps I found indicated the trail started; the new trailhead is where we found the first posted sign indicating that we were on Trail 105 (Yeager Mine Trail).

The red track on the map shows our track on the way up the trail and includes side trips to the old mine site and to Tunnel Spring. It measures 2.5 miles in length. Our return journey, without the two side trips, was shorter and the entire hike measured only 4.3 miles. The highest elevation was 6893 feet and the total ascent was 1365 feet.

1Motor Vehicle Use Map, Prescott National Forest, 01 August 2012

2Prescott National Forest “map”, published 1993, revised in 2000

3 http://www.mindat.org/loc-41726.html

Grapevine Gulch Trail Update

This is an update to the report of an 18 February 2015 hike on Grapevine Gulch Trail. That 2015 hike was made by the author, Lila Wright and Karl Sink for the purpose of scouting an unfamiliar trail.

This updated report, based on a 20 February 2016 hike by the Skyliners identified below, will add some information on an old mine, identified only as Cobalt shaft; Cobalt prospect; Walker prospect [?]¹, we saw along the way and show a photograph of the water level in Concrete Spring.

We paused at Grapevine Well, a spot marked by a corral, a windmill and a large metal water storage tank, for a group photograph. The photograph was taken with the authors camera by a hiker who chose to remain unidentified.

Left to right: Floyd Gardner, Karl Sink, Dolly Yapp, Lila Wright, Jim Gibson, Dave Healey, Daisy Williams, Joanne Hennings, the author and Jim Manning

About 1.2 miles up the gulch from the windmill, we came to the misnamed Cement Spring, misnamed because it really is more of a well than a spring. I leaned into the opening and took a photograph (below left) showing the water level. About 0.5 miles on up the gulch from the spring we came to a mine tailings pile on the left side of the trail (below right). This marks the site of the old Walker cobalt prospect mine.

Looking into Cement Spring
 (or well)

Mine tailings at Cobalt

prospect mine

 We had only looked at the tailings pile last year. Now we explored a little further and found that an opening still exists at the apex of the tailings pile. Floyd is shown crouched in the opening (below left). The 28-foot opencut leading to the mine entrance is completely filled with rubble. By inserting my camera into the opening and using a flash, I was able to photograph the partially-filled tunnel (below right).

Floyd at mine entrance

Inside the mine

According to the Prescott National Forest web site, Grapevine Gulch Trail is 2.3 miles long, begins at Forest Road 9002V and ends at Trap Spring. The site provides no additional information. In fact the trail shows no indication of ending at Trap Spring and apparently continues on to Ash Creek just below Mingus Springs. From there it follows, according to a report I located on HikeAZ.com², down Ash Creek almost to Ash Canyon before looping back to rejoin the trail in Grapevine Gulch just 0.2 miles above Trap Spring. Overcome by a bout of curiosity, I used a GPS track included in the HikeAZ.com report to measure the distance from Trap Spring to the point where it intersected with the track of a 07 November 2015 Skyliner hike on Ash Creek. It was just 2.2 miles.

While on the 2015 scouting hike we actually continued for another 0.7 miles beyond Trap Spring; when we turned back, the trail was still clear and appeared to be well-traveled. The map published with that report shows the point where we turned back and also includes the GPS track for the trail on to Ash Creek.

The red GPS track on the new map (see below) included here shows only our track for this update. Additionally, it corrects the location of the Walker cobalt prospect mine. The earlier map shows the mine as being co-located with Concrete Spring when it is, in fact, located another 0.4 miles upstream from the spring.

NOTE: The February 2015 report which this report updates can be found at http://ellisfprice.blogspot.com/2015/07/scoutinggrapevine-gulch-trail-ihad.html

1http://www.mindat.org/loc-46250.html

2 http://hikearizona.com/map.php?PSID=33313&GPS=27782

Kel Fox Trail - Update

On 6 February 2016, the Skyliners hiked Kel Fox Trail. We had previously hiked the trail on New Years Day in 2011. I wrote a report for that hike, so I will simply add a few additional comments here and republish that 2011 report,.

The first comment concerns the start of the hike. In the original report I provided directions to the paved parking area and described the start of the trail. I have now added a photograph showing the gate (see red arrow, below) intended for hiker use. Apparently, hikers are supposed to use this gate, to exit to the road right of way along CR 78 (Beaverhead Flat Road), follow a non-existing trail for about 100 yards to the intersection with Old Beaverhead Flat Road (a dirt road) and then recross the fence through a similar gate located adjacent to a cattleguard in the dirt road. However, it is much easier to just pass along the left side of the gate, follow along the inside of the fence and access the dirt road just beyond the cattleguard.

Hiker gate leaving parking area

On the return hike we saw a large, isolated boulder, lying in the center of a clear, grassy area. The boulder seemed somehow out of place, lying there in splendid isolation. This was the fourth time I had passed this way, the last time just a couple of hours earlier, but the first time I had taken note of the boulder. It is located in the saddle above Fuller Tank about 1.1 miles from the trailhead on Arabian Road and some 85 yards west of the trail. It was now almost noon and this area afforded us clear views north into the Red Rock Country and south all the way to the distant mountains in Tonto National Forest, so we decided to stop for lunch.

On approaching the boulder, we found that it contained Indian petroglyphs, some sort of abstract (at least to me) design along with a picture of an animal (see red arrow, below) such as might have been made by a small child. The abstract carving, composed primarily of neat, straight lines was rather appealing. On the other hand the Indian who drew the animal needed a few more art lessons.

Isolated boulder with Indian drawings

On the 2011 hike we had stopped for lunch just 160 yards from our present location and had then turned back without continuing to the Arabian Road trailhead. This time, we hiked the entire length of Kel Fox Trail . For this reason, as well as to show the location of the petroglyphs, I have included a revised trail map.

The actual one way trail distance, starting where we parked off Beaverhead Flat Road and ending at Arabian Road in the Village of Oak Creek, is 3.5 miles. Our round trip hike distance, including the detour to the petroglyphs and another small detour, was 7.2 miles, the maximum elevation was 4277 feet and the total ascent was 1285 feet.

Our GPS track, including the detour to the petroglyphs, is shown in red on the below map.

NOTE: Starting below, the entire 2011 hike report is appended to this update.

Kel Fox Trail

To start the New Year off right, eight Skyliners hiked on Kel Fox trail on New Year’s Day, 2011.

I was asked to include in the hike report some information about the rancher for whom the trail was named. With a little research, I unearthed SCR1012 - 441R, Kel Fox; death resolution¹, a concurrent resolution of the Arizona Legislature:

The Honorable Kel Fox passed away on May 15, 1998, at the age of eighty-five.

Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1912, Kel Fox moved with his family to Arizona in 1922 where his family established the Foxboro Summer Camp near Sedona. As a rancher and farmer, he served as president of both the Yavapai and Coconino Cattle Growers Associations and was active in the Arizona Cattle Growers Association and the Arizona Game Protective League. He also was active in the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and the San Francisco Press Club.

Known as a gentleman and a scholar, Kel Fox graduated cum laude from Princeton with a baccalaureate degree in history in 1935. He later attended the University of Arizona where he received a doctorate degree in agricultural sciences. During World War II, he ably served his country in the United States Coast Guard.

In 1939, Kel Fox embarked on more than fifty years of public service to the State of Arizona through his efforts as executive secretary for Governor R.T. Jones. He was subsequently elected to both the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate, serving from 1946 to 1954. As a legislator, Kel Fox was a main force behind the construction of Interstate 17 and providing rural counties with electricity. In addition to his outstanding legislative service, Kel Fox also served the state as a member of numerous commissions and boards, including Water Quality Control, the State Board of Appeals, and Watershed Management.

Kel Fox will be sorely missed by his family, many friends and the citizens of the State of Arizona. Therefore.

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring.

From Cottonwood, we traveled north on Hwy 89A, took Cornville Road through Cornville and, just after passing milepost eight, turned left on Beaverhead Flat Road (sometimes labeled Beaver Flats Road).

We continued on Beaverhead Flat Road about five miles before turning left to park in a paved lot just a few yards from the road. We paused here to take a group photograph before starting our hike.

Left to right: Daisy Williams, Lila Wright, Betty Wolters, Donna Goodman, Jim Manning, Gordon Bice – the author and one other hiker are not shown

A clearly visible trail leads east from the parking area passing, several yards ahead, between two plaques, one on either side of the trail. The plaque mounted on the left side of the trail (see right), describes the Chavez Trail running from Prescott to Winslow. The Sunset Crossing mentioned in the plaque was near present day Winslow. As a matter of fact, until just a couple of years ago, the overpass (west of Winslow) that carries Interstate Highway I-40 over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway had a sign that identified that spot as Sunset Crossing.

I assume this plaque, mounted on the right side of the trail (see left), is intended to credit those listed thereon with providing the parking area. Information available on the website of a local inn² indicates that the section of trail starting here and following a natural gas pipeline east to the bottom of the hill where the pipeline then turns north is Beaverhead Flat Trail. However, the Verde Valley Regional Trails Plan (VVRTP)³ doesn’t show Beaverhead Flat Trail extending that far to the east.

Trail names aside, soon after passing between the two plaques we arrived at a fence fitted with a pedestrian gate. However, instead of passing through the gate we continued on by and traveled more or less parallel to the fence for about 100 yards to come out on a dirt road running parallel to Beaverhead Flat Road and the gas pipeline. (NOTE: One can access this road by vehicle just a few yards from where we turned off to park, approximately at milepost 5.2.) Counting from the parking lot, we followed this road for about three-quarters of a mile to a fork in the road. The natural gas pipeline ran along the road to our left and we went that way, continuing for another seven-tenths of a mile to the end of the road at Fuller Tank. This road is marked as FR 9500N, identified by the same local inn website quoted previously, and is so labeled on the Verde Valley Regional Tails Plan. An article in Sedona Monthly⁴, on the other hand, identifies the road as FR 9501L all the way from Beaverhead Flat Road to Fuller Tank.

Whatever the official road designation, it is an easy hike and can be driven in any high-clearance vehicle all the way to Fuller Tank. As a matter of fact, most descriptions of Kel Fox Trail that I have seen are based on driving to the tank to start the hike.

The presently existing Kel Fox Trail (see right), as shown by the Verde Valley Regional Trails Plan runs from Fuller Tank to Arabian Road in the Village of Oak Creek. The VVRTP also shows a proposed Kel Fox loop that would cross and run parallel to and east of Hwy 179, connecting the trailhead at Fuller Tank to the trailhead at Arabian Road in the Village of Oak Creek.

Looking ahead from FR 9500N as we approached Fuller Tank, we could see outcroppings of red in a rock-capped mountain straight ahead of us. Fuller Tank is located to the left of this mountain that forms one side of the saddle that contains it.

Looking ahead from FR 9500N. Kel Fox Trail starts at Fuller Tank, located in a saddle to the left of the mountain shown here.

FR 9500N ends at the dike creating the tank and Kel Fox trail starts there. To access the trail from the road one has only to walk across the dike and follow the pipeline markers along the hillside toward the crest of the saddle. It is tempting to continue along the east side of the tank from the end of the road rather than crossing over, as there is a well trodden cow path there; however, as we could see while hiking up the other side of the draw, it eventually fades away and would have left us to bushwhack on up to the crest.

Before leaving the area, we paused for a short break at the tank to catch our breath, look around at our surroundings, look back at the way we had come and look ahead at where we would go. The tank was nearly dry at the time of this visit. We had expected that it would be brimming with water after the recent rains, and we could only surmise that it is no longer maintained and thus does not hold the runoff. At least it does still serve as a miniature wetland, retaining at least some moisture.

Following are a few photographs of the area and a shot of the view behind us.

Jim Manning shown on the dike at Fuller Tank. Kel Fox Trail leaves the end of the dike beyond Jim and follows the pipeline along the slope to the right.

Looking down into Fuller Tank from the dike. At least a small wet area remains.

Looking back the way we came from the dike at Fuller Tank

Continuing on for about eight-tenths of a mile, we approached the saddle crest.

Looking out over the Village of Oak Creek to the snow-capped red mountains in the distance

Leaving the trail we climbed a short distance up the west flank of the saddle to find a sunny lunch spot with a good view:

Looking across Oak Creek Village to the snow-capped red rocks beyond. Cathedral Rock is visible in the upper left section

The Village of Oak Creek, Courthouse Butte and Snow-capped red rocks beyond

Kel Fox Trail is only about one and eight-tenths miles long and from where we stopped it was still a mile to the trailhead on Arabian Road in the Village of Oak Creek. However, including our hike up FR 9500N to reach the start of the trail, we had already almost two and one-half miles to reach the spot where we ate lunch, and we decided to turn around there and make an easy day of it. After all it was New Years Day and we didn’t want to start the new year by tiring ourselves out.

According to my GPS track, this hike was five and four-tenths miles round trip and the elevation change (highest to lowest) was around 635 feet.

To access the trail from the Village of Oak Creek, turn off Hwy 179 onto Rojo Road, go about two-tenths of a mile to a fork and turn left. According to the map I consulted, you will still be on Rojo Road. Continue for just over 200 yards and turn right on Arabian Road. You should find the trailhead on the left just over 100 yards ahead.

On the below map, I have shown our hike in red and sketched in the part of Kel Fox Trial that we did not hike in green.

1 http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/44leg/1r/bills/scr1012s.htm

2 http://innofsedonaconcierge.everythingsedona.com/hiking/

3 http://www.co.yavapai.az.us/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=59600

4 http://www.sedonamonthly.com/activities/hikes/kelfox.html