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| Hiking | 4.89 Miles |
275 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.89 Miles | 2 Hrs 16 Mns | | 2.49 mph |
| 275 ft AEG | 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I finished off a productive winter of exploring the Agua Fria Monument with a trip out to Squaw Creek to see the ruins and the fabled red deer.
I hit the road early in the morning and benefited from a mostly frozen road, however, as I neared the Squaw Creek site the road became pretty muddy and a little soft in spots. As a result, I ended up parking at a campsite, just over a mile from the ruins and walking the final portion of the road in. This is not a road to test in wet conditions. The road was a bit of a pain to walk, as the clay was sticking to my shoes and the dogs' paws, so we paralleled the road at times and then cut cross country on the grass and rocks to avoid the mud. Off-trail travel was actually fairly easy going by monument standards and we ran across a minor dwelling and large grinding area along the way, so that was a plus.
The glphys at this site are superb and some of the nicest for the general area and central Arizona. There are panel after panels of intriguing glpys all along the basalt cliffs below the ruins and they can't be missed. The red deer was as impressive and intriguing as I thought it would be. The actual ruins are some of the nicest within the monument, with a unique outer wall and several discernible rooms sprinkled throughout a massive pile of rubble. Far below the ruins, Squaw Creek was flowing nicely and the mountains to the south provided a pretty stunning backdrop to tour the ruins and view the glphys.
We stopped in the Brooklyn Basin area on the way back and toured a couple of sites. I did not look for any glphys and it was just a quick stop. I will come back in the near future hopefully and explore the Brookyln Basin area some more, as well as take another walk along the basalt cliffs below the Squaw Creek site.
A nice ruin in a terrific setting with some pretty intriguing and unique glpys. I am glad I finally made it out here. |
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