May 11, '08 Twin Buttes TH to Pine TH

(Click on photos to enlarge them .)

Not much to say about this segment; a lot of flat, rocky road through a pinyon - juniper forest . I did see a few deer .

Going down into Oak Spring Canyon was interesting . The trail was steep, but not dangerous . The vegetation changed to oak trees, and then cottonwoods and sycamores in the bottom . Near the bottom of the canyon was a small meadow .

Billy enjoyed the grass in the meadow .



At the bottom of the canyon

The riparian area of Oak Spring

An old water trough at Oak Spring

Climbing out of Oak Spring Canyon we saw a few more deer .

A mile or two after leaving the canyon the trail comes onto an old, unused road and passes a water pond .

No water in Pine Creek .

Now close to Pine, there are some residences near the trail .

Cross AZ Highway 87 and within 1/2 mile we were at Pine TH .



Reaching Pine TH comes to where Debbie Zinkl and I started riding last summer on our ride from Pine to Flagstaff . That adventure is also in the blog; look for Debbie's name in the blog list .

May 10, '08 Doll Baby TH to Twin Buttes TH / Hardscrabble Mesadscrabbl

(Click on a photo to enlarge it .)

Our camp was very near the East Verde River . Mature cottonwood trees and walnut trees gave much, cool shade ! But there were annoying gnats . Dick pulled his T-shirt up over his head so that his face was looking out the neck hole . Looked funny but was effective, so I did it too .

We could hear the gurgle of the shallow "river"; it was about ankle deep to knee deep .

East Verde River

the "river"

The first few miles of this segment follows a road into the LF Ranch; a ranch inside the Matzatzal Wilderness . The road climbs over a ridge where, from the top, it is possible to see the ranch to the west, and our camp from last night to the east .

LF Ranch

Looking back east toward last night's camp

First look at the LF

Looked to be an old ranch; wish I knew some of it's history ....



There were about a half dozen horses and a half dozen mules in the corral .
(enlarge this and read the sign .)



They were very curious about us too .


East Verde river crossing at the LF Ranch


Looking back across the river toward the LF Ranch


Gate into Polk Spring

Polk Spring is in a hilly country of ocotillos, prickly pear cactus, and juniper trees . Seeing a spring in such country was quite a surprise . Another surprise here, was a jungle of fig trees ! But the biggest surprise was ........ rose bushes, big ones !

Rose bushes at Polk Spring



Roses at Polk Spring . I wonder what the history is about this place ...?
A woman must have lived here; but I saw no remaining evidence of a house, or any structure .



A last look back at the LF Ranch and the Matzatzal Mountains .



Whiterock Spring, at the base of Whiterock Mesa



Beautiful, clear water at Whiterock Spring


These oddly shaped rocks on Whiterock Mesa looked like bones .



A cairn of "bone rocks"



They don't call it Hardscrabble Mesa for nothing ! *#~/^`* !!





Twin Buttes TH on Hardscrabble Mesa
This was the best, and only, shade tree anywhere nearby .



Jane found an elk legbone while waiting for Billy and me to get into camp .



Billy DESERVED a treat after all those *^#~/` rocks


This young bull wanted Billy's hay .


But "Matador Ricardo" drove him away .

Right after this photo, the bull attacked the small bush you can see behind Dick . While continuously sounding a low , rumbling bawl, he butted and pawed the bush to nothing left of it .

He never came back .

May 7 '08 Roosevelt Bridge: out & back

( Click on a photo to enlarge it to full screen.)

From Frazier Horse Camp we trailered to the north end of the Roosevelt Lake bridge. Just me and Billy McGee again on the trail.

Roosevelt Lake bridge . We did NOT ride across the bridge .

An opportunity for an off-side mount

The Vineyard Trail starts right across the road from the parking area and goes up through an area that was the first camp used by the workmen building the original Roosevelt Dam.

The huge vista of Roosevelt Lake opens up, with the Sierra Anchas in the background .

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Another magnificent view (but I can't remember if it's Apache Lake or Roosevelt ....)

As the trail crests the ridge, narrow Apache Lake comes into view. The twisting roadbed of the Apache Trail (AZ 88) is seen on the opposite side of the lake.

We saw another gila monster in the trail. It was in no hurry. When it finally moved off under a prickly pear cactus, Billy moved ahead. The gila monster hissed; that startled us; Billy flinched and so did I .

One of the sidehill traverses has 3 crossings of talus slope. The shifting rocks under Billy’s feet were a little unsettling on the first one but by the time we had done the third one we were feeling confident.

Mill Ridge TH was lunch and the turnaround point. Everyone I had talked to said that from there on across the shoulder of Four Peaks the trail was very overgrown with heavy brush. I didn’t want to fight that, so I just went to Mill Ridge TH . I will do Four Peaks another time, when it is cleared .

Four Peaks, from the southeast

On the way back, as we were coming across the head of a canyon that comes steeply up out of Apache Lake. There were turkey vultures working the thermals rising out of the canyon. They swept across the hillside below us, barely clearing the tops of the bushes. Eventually they would gain enough altitude to shoot over the top of the ridge and be gone. A pair of red-tail hawks flew through the vulture squadron, kreee-kreeing as they went.

As we were coming very slowly down the steep road/trail back toward the bridge, I saw Dick (the truck and trailer) come across the bridge. He was waiting with a cold A&W for me when I came off the trail !

May 8 '08 Cross F TH south to Sycamore Cr. Crossing

As Bushnell Tanks TH is now closed to all vehicular traffic, and there is not even a horse gate to give access to riders, we camped at the trailhead near the Cross F Ranch on the old section of AZ 87 that travels along Sycamore Creek near Sunflower .

This camp area is very near the creek, with big sycamore trees shading it. At night when the breeze and the birds quiet down, the gurgle of the creek is a nice accompaniment to the soft sounds of the campfire .

A big Arizona Trail sign is along the road just above the campsite. Across the road is the spur trail that leads to the AZT.

Initially the trail is easy to follow, to a gate. Beyond the gate there are cattle trails everywhere!! When we were there the Cross F ranch had just finished branding the new calves. Momma cows and their calves were all over this area. The cows were very tame and unafraid of us so Billy had to go right up to them before they would move over and let us pass.

I did put up some cairns but the cows may inadvertently knock them down, so my advice to future travelers in this area is to go west until you come to the creekbed, and then stay on the east side of the creek as you go north until the trail becomes identifiable again.

The creek was pretty, with clear water flowing under the big juniper trees that hung over the banks. There were big hackberry trees too, and some stunted sycamores .

The trail climbs up into red rimrock type of country where it joins the AZT .

An unusual barrel cactus

I turned left, south, and headed toward Sunflower.

The trail in this area is singletrack for a mile or more and then it joins a seldom used 2 track which eventually travels along the western edge of some very nice homes with pastures and horses.

Clear water moving over solid rock

After passing through two gates, and approaching another one, we saw loose horses ahead. Loose horses usually are at least inquisitive, hopefully not aggressive, toward another horse (or mule) that comes into their view.

I dismounted, because I could be more aggressive toward these other horses if need be, while still keeping control of Billy. There was no trouble, but I did have to drive them away several times.

After going through one of the flimsiest (is that a word?) gates I’ve ever seen, we went under the two double lanes of AZ 87 and came out immediately west of the buildings at Sunflower.

From here on south, until it crosses Sycamore Creek, the trail is all newly constructed

Milage markers hung on a burned juniper

. Well up on the hillside, the view is east, down into the extensive riparian area along the creek. There are so many trees down there that I could hear the wind blowing through them from way up on the hillside where I stopped for lunch. There is a constant twinkle of sunlight on water as it is glimpsed through the trees.

Sycamore Creek as seen from the trail

The trail works it’s way down with gentle grades to a crossing of the creek; watercress and willows in the creek.

Looking upstream from the crossing

The creek crossing was my turnaround point. I decided to go back to Sunflower by following the old roads along the west side of the creek. It was good! An occasional creek crossing, but mostly shuffling through the old sycamore leaves from last year, and passing under the spreading arms of the huge old trees themselves. I think I’ve mentioned that I like the smell of sycamore leaves!

Backtracking under the highway, dealing with the loose horses again, some confusion at a cattle tank, slowly moving through the momma cows and their babies, building a few more cairns, and we were back. A day of easy terrain, some challenges; altogether good .