Fossil Creek rescues

[Dschur]

Hiking accidents on rise in Fossil Creek
By Carol La Valley, Roundup staff reporter

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

More and more people are taking a hike and more are also getting injured.


Tammy Miotto, Scott Davidson, Greg Reed, a Pine Strawberry Fire Department EMT and other members of Tonto Rim Search and Rescue recently participated in a Fossil Springs carryout.

Tonto Rim Search and Rescue (TRSR) has had a nearly 30 percent increase in rescue missions to Fossil Creek in 2007 as compared to 2006, and the year still has four months to go.

Since Jan. 1, volunteers have mobilized for 25 rescues, nine of those rescues were to Fossil Creek between April 28 and Aug. 19.

"Most rescues are for people from out of the area, usually the Valley," Tom Pitterle, TRSR commander, said.

The upper Fossil Creek trailhead is about a five-mile drive down Fossil Creek Road in Strawberry.

Valley newspapers and AAA have been touting the creek as a destination since June 2005 when Arizona Public Service turned off the motors at the Child's Power Plant and thus returned the creek to its historic channel.

"It is a beautiful place," Pitterle said.

"But, I don't think people prepare for the length of the hike, the 1,900 foot elevation gain or the temperature change," TRSR member Kathy Baas added.

Pitterle estimates the temperature at the top of the trail is eight or nine degrees cooler than at the bottom of the canyon four miles later.

Elevation at the upper trailhead is 5,560. Elevation at the springs is 4,260. Undulations in the rocky terrain makes the 1,390 descent or ascent actually 1,900 feet.

The nine rescues that TRSR mobilized to the area for include two broken and one injured ankle, one injured leg, two calls for lost hikers and two calls to help dehydrated hikers.

The calls for assistance have generally come around dusk. By the time 10 to 15 of the 50 TRSR squad members drive to Fossil Creek, the carryout becomes an all-night affair.

On May 27 TRSR had just located a couple of people, who had hiked too far upstream and missed the parking lot when the sheriff's department called them back out to retrieve a hiker with a broken ankle.

"Carryout is not a fun thing," Pitterle said.

The litter is not well-padded and it leans and tilts as rescue workers pull it up and down.

"There is no place to land a helicopter at Fossil Creek, although in an urgent situation we might do a land line where we drop a rope down," Pitterle said.

One of the nine TRSR brought out of the wilderness was a pre-teen girl with heart problems. A helicopter picked her up from a field in Strawberry and took her to a hospital.

"We don't want to discourage anyone from going, we just want our tourists to be safe," Baas said.

Search and rescue recommends hikers:

• Wear better foot-gear, with good treads on the bottom and ankle protection;

• Understand that the trip is at least eight miles and there are significant temperature and elevation changes; and

• Take adequate food and water for the trip.

On one mission, Pitterle said he saw two men carrying a cooler down the trail. Two weeks later when he was on the trail for another call, he spied the cooler abandoned.

Other common sights on the trail are abandoned flip-flops, cans, beer bottles and broken glass.

[rally_toad]

no surprise to me. Every single time I do this trail I see people with very little water or no water at all. Last time saw a lady hiking with only a purse.

Most are able to hike down but the hike out is killer. I usually go through 2-3 quarts of water in only 3 and a half miles.

[JoelHazelton]

Yeah, fossil creek is getting mighty trendy. Six summers ago when I went for the first time, few people seemed to trek down there. Every summer since (it's an annual trip for my brother and me) there have been more and more people. Going down, the hike seems like cake, but coming back is completely different. Two years ago I brought a group of friends and they practically killed me on the way out. Actually, they probably would have hurt me somehow back at the trailhead, but nobody had enough energy.

The worst was when one of them kept exclaiming "I could be at home playing video games right now! This sucks!" What a disaster.

[rally_toad]

I went to Fossil Creek over the weekend. Doing it fairly often makes me more prepared for the trek back up. I think it is definitely worth it. The Water was refreshing and perfect this weekend. But it was way too crowded!!

[Dschur]

Packers return Fossil Springs to pristine state
Thursday, 13 September 2007
By Jim Keyworth, Gazette Editor

The Payson Packers annual post-Labor Day trash cleanup focused on Fossil Springs this year. The “event,” held in conjunction with the first hike after the Labor Day holiday weekend, was a big success—if finding a forest full of trash can be considered a success. “We found trash from aluminum cans, to used diapers, tampons, flip-flops, underwear, condoms, cigarette packages, plastic bottles, etc., etc.,” said Gene Sampson, one of the participants.
But if there’s a silver lining behind this dark trash-filled cloud, it’s that the hikers also got to enjoy some spectacular scenery.

“We were able to enjoy a nice hike to the beautiful waterfall and felt very fulfilled in keeping such a treasure as beautiful as it was meant to be,” said Payson Packer photographer Mary Smith.

The Packers annual cleanup generally focuses on the area’s lakes, but other groups had already cleaned up Willow Springs and Woods Canyon, so Fossil Springs seemed the logical alternative.

“It seems that it is the hot spot this year for Search and Rescue call outs,” Smith said. “Since our group has several Search and Rescue volunteers, we decided to use our resources to pick up an area that is so frequently visited.

“As an added bonus and since there was such a large amount of cans, we bagged them separately and dropped them off at the (Payson) Humane Society.

The Packers covered the area from the parking lot near the power plant up to the falls area a couple of miles upstream, as well as major areas along the road back up to the upper parking lot.

So Fossil Springs is once again pristine—at least until the tourist hordes return next year

[te_wa]

good for the Packers. Thanks fellas, that area really needed it. \:D/ :thanx:

side note:
one of the areas Im interested in starts at Hardscrabble and follows an old trail down to the confluence with the Verde. If ya'll are interested in seeing a part of Fossil Creek that many never see, let me know, Im thinking mid/end of next month. It might be feasible to make a hike with a shuttle all the way down to Doll Baby ranch using the E. Verde river as your return route, but that would make for a 3-4 day trip. http://www.public.asu.edu/~cjcrosby/05_ ... verde.html

[Hoffmaster]

one of the areas Im interested in starts at Hardscrabble and follows an old trail down to the confluence with the Verde. If ya'll are interested in seeing a part of Fossil Creek that many never see, let me know, Im thinking mid/end of next month. It might be feasible to make a hike with a shuttle all the way down to Doll Baby ranch using the E. Verde river as your return route, but that would make for a 3-4 day trip. http://www.public.asu.edu/~cjcrosby/05_ ... verde.html

I'm interested in this!