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| Skull Mesa Ruins from Cave Creek TH, AZ | |
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| | Skull Mesa Ruins from Cave Creek TH, AZ | | | |
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Skull Mesa Ruins from Cave Creek TH, AZ
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| Backpack | 18.40 Miles |
3,560 AEG |
| | Backpack | 18.40 Miles | 1 Day 8 Hrs 14 Mns | | |
| 3,560 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was an overnight backpack from the Cave Creek TH at Seven Springs to the fortress ruin on Skull Mesa and ending at the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area parking lot where we had left a shuttle car. My son-in-law, Lloyd, would join me on this trek. The plan was to hike to the top of the mesa the first day, set up camp, and then hike to the ruin the following day. The main reason for this plan was that I really wanted to see these ruins but the 14+ mile roundtrip from Spur Cross was beyond my capability for a day hike. This was my second winter in Phoenix as a snowbird from Oregon so I was still fairly new to hiking and backpacking in AZ. I had discovered hikearizona.com and found the information that could save the life of a newbie like myself attempting such a trek. Because we knew there would be no water available for the duration of this trip we carried two gallons of water each. Barely enough but the cool weather in January significantly reduced the amount required. All that water plus extra clothing for cold nights and early mornings make for very heavy packs.
We started up the Skunk Tank Trail at about 10:00am the first day after dropping off a shuttle car at Spur Cross. I wimped out about 3 hours into the hike and had to let Lloyd carry 1.5 gallons of my water in addition to his two gallons. Actually, it was his suggestion. Best son-in-law a guy could have! That 7.5 mile trek took us almost 8 hours and we had just reached the top of the mesa as the sun was starting to set. We quickly set up our solo tents, enjoyed the views and the sunset, and hit the sack. Rising refreshed in the morning we continued across the mesa for a mile where we cached our packs and started the 2 mile hike northwest across the mesa to the ruin carrying only a bottle of water each and our cameras. Without that heavy pack I felt like I was walking on air, at least for the first 100 yds. The tall grass with hidden miniature prickly pear cactus were only a minor obstacle. The fortress ruin was impressive with its tall thick walls. Seeing the remains of a small pueblo style compound at the base of the fortress and scattered pottery sherds indicated this site housed numerous people and was probably more than just a lookout type fortress.
On the return trek across the mesa we encountered numerous petroglyphs in a boulder field and some embedded metates. The metates would seem to indicate there was some serious food gathering, maybe crop growing, going on up there. Our route from the top of the mesa took us down trail #248 and #247 past Cotton Wood Spring on the way to Spur Cross. I did not yet know about the 247A cutoff trail that would probably have reduced the length of our return by a half mile with less AEG. We made it to the Spur Cross parking lot at 6pm. It was an enjoyable adventure for this AZ newbie but I decided it was best to restrict any future backpacking treks in AZ to locations where there was water spaced at intervals close enough together so I would never have to carry more than about 4 liters. |
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