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| Hiking | 25.15 Miles |
4,645 AEG |
| | Hiking | 25.15 Miles | | | |
| 4,645 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I squeezed in a quick over-night backpack between my coachiing obligations, a nasty cold and my more ambitious hike this weekend. Cup was still on the mend from the Supes so it was just a father son trip. Oregonhiker/Larry had given me several leads on some ruins and petroglphys in the area. The plan was to hit up as many of Larry's sites as I could, visit the Skull Mesa site, and loop back via Quien Sabe and skunk creek.
I got a late start Wednesday. I was fighting a cold and spent most of morning mulling over whether I should go, I chose a little more sleep and a later start time. I started hiking just after 10 and actually felt pretty good, although, it was an artificial sense, as I knew it was most likely the Sudafed and cold medicine.
Cave Creek Trail was a beauty, great trail and great views of the creek, which is really pushing some water right now. I noticed a set of ruins marked high on a hill top to my left and even though they were not in my plan I decided to go for them. After a very steep climb I was about a tenth of a mile from the ruins. It was at that point that I realized I had climbed up the backside of Skull Mesa and those were the ruins I intended on visiting the next day ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") I could not believe my error! I just glanced at GPS noticed Larry had a spot marked "fortress" and climbed up to it like a mad man. Of course the dangerously high dosage of sudafed I was operating on may have contributed to the poor decision and the subsequent vigor at which I attacked the 700 plus foot off trail scramble. Oh well at least I knew I could go off back end of Skull Mesa if I did not feel like back tracking on the second day. Blanco and I slid back down the steep slope and continued down Cave Creek Trail where I explored some real nice ruins and petroglyph sites. From our last ruins site we scrambled down to the creek and enjoyed a nice campsite along the flowing creek and just off "road 48." We were both too tired to complete our tradition of feats of strength, but I enjoyed a gratuitous amount of holiday themed candy and sweets around the fire.
A chilly night but no frozen water in the morning. I packed up camp to a beautiful Christmas day sunrise and started hiking at 8:15. I took the rather drab Cottonwood to Skull Mesa Trail and Skull Mesa. The climb really kicked my pumpkin and I thought of about the ten other options I could have did other than lugging an over-night pack up the Mesa and across to the ruins. However, the ruins were amazing and certainly worth the extra effort. I was thoroughly impressed with the ruins and spent several minutes looking at them with awe and pondering about the people who built them. After making it to the final fortress, the prospect of backtracking across the mesa to the maintained trail did not sound appealing to Blanco or myself, especially, when Cave Creek Trail #4 sat just about .25 miles down the backside of Skull Mesa. So once more Blanco and I slid, surfed, cursed, slipped, bushwhacked and scrambled to Cave Creek Trail via the backside of Skull Mesa.
After Skull Mesa the hike out was pretty standard. This is just a really scenic area. The flowing creek through the desert landscape coupled with some great views of the narrower sections of Cave Creek from the trail high above and the finish under the trees really make this a trail worth getting out to this time of year.
HAZ appreciation to Larry for some great leads and Richard who also shared one of his gems ;)
Its funny when I decided to do an over-nighter in Cave Creek I worried about not having enough to do, now I find myself wishing I had one more day up there.
Props to Mr. Blanco who never ceases to amaze me. It was only 25 miles, but that is some deceptively rough off-trail terrain out there and he did admirably. He climbed Skull Mesa from the back side only to go right back down again, then dodged the prickly pear and navigated the rocky ridge line to reach the fortress on the second day, only to have to slide back down that same steep slope again, but with a pack on for good measure and not one complaint. |
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