Had never done Parsons, but I don't prefer to do out and backs, so I decided to see if we could possibly make a loop out of this w/ Packard. Throw in a sprinkle of Ruins, and the hike was on.

I did not expect a lot from Packard, but was pleasantly surprised. The views while climbing, were very nice. The hike across the Mesa, while not exciting, was nothing as bad
as I'd expected.

We got to the spot for the side trip to the ruins. Joe though about waiting for me, but reluctantly followed me uphill. Not checking these out on site ahead of time, I wasn't expecting much. Maybe a few stones piled up here and there.

I was in awe by what I saw. Not only were the ruins (rookie ruin explorer here) incredible.,
but the views...oh man the views! New #1 lunch spot. We didn't want to leave. First because of the views and second, because it was much cooler out of the sun.

But we needed to go, because the question mark for this hike was up next. I hadn't seen a track or read were anyone was successful in negotiating a path from the top of Packard to Sycamore creek below. Once in Sycamore it would just be a rock hop to Parsons. Looking at the Topo and Satellite views on HAZ, I came up w/ 2 options. The first was a mile down a drainage, and the second a 3 miler that would have taken us around the north side of Packard.
We opted for the shorter hop to the east.

*** If exposure or loose ground are not your cup of tea, do not attempt this route ***
There was probably 5 or so drops that we had to traverse, but they all actually worked out.

A Short Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydfhW0VLQtk

It was nice finally reaching Parsons spring and the cover of trees. This was a pretty area.

We stopped by and said hi to the HAZ gang that was spending the night. Liz, Mike, Steve, Todd and good to meet Travis. The rest of the hike was under cover and next to water. There looks to be some nice swimming areas. I especially enjoyed the ledge walks next to the water.

I'm 83% sure Joe enjoyed himself