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| Hiking | 6.60 Miles |
600 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.60 Miles | | | |
| 600 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Hiked to Indian Mesa with two friends using Dave Wilson's route from his book "Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen, 2nd ed." Access to the trailhead is from the parking area at the west end of Table Mesa road, exit 236 on Highway 17. The parking area is within the Lake Pleasant Regional Park and has a $6 per car fee box. We parked in the parking area closest to the white gate at a spot overlooking the river bed which I would NOT recommend - it had many nails laying on the dirt surface. On the way in we hiked across the dry Agua Fria River bed and up the far bank to a power line road and followed it down river to where it connected with what Dave calls the Boulder Creek Ranch road (there are no road signs or markers). This road connects with the Cow Creek Road (again no signs) which leads you up to a saddle on the north side of Indian Mesa. The trail to the ruins is marked by two rock cairns on the south side of the road and is fairly easy to follow. The entrance to the top of the mesa is up a notch in the cliff on the south side which requires a very short climb with plenty of rocks to use for steps and hand-holds.
The ruins were impressive as was the view and blooming Candlewood added some color. We had lunch while enjoying the views and pondering why the Hohokum built on top of the mesa. Was it a permanent residence, was it only used as a defensive retreat in times of attack or was it just a lookout?
On the way back we returned the way we had come up the hill but walked down the west side of the dry river bed all the way back to where the car was parked. This route was slightly shorter than our route into the mesa but walking in the soft sand of the river bottom was tiring. |
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