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| Redman Mesa/tank Canyon/lower Turkey, AZ | |
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| | Redman Mesa/tank Canyon/lower Turkey, AZ | | | |
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Redman Mesa/tank Canyon/lower Turkey, AZ
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| no partners | | Back with Brian to this great area. We approached with a couple of things in mind. Driving toward JR ranch we took the map labeled jeep trail to Redman tank. The road is quite rocky but good and fades in the grass at the tank. Redman Mesa is a wonderful area! It has been "chained" but some large and majestic old growth junipers and oaks remain in rolling grasslands which are bordered by aprons of red rock. Part of it's fenced for the cattle; we passed the tank and followed a faint track that kept along the fence line then headed out onto a point. We parked under a massive tree promising excellent shade. The whole area is magical to me. As we hiked to get to where the canyon formed and dropped we passed some rock areas which Brian stated were probably ruins due to the arrangement and location. I couldn't see it but maybe they were.
Redman Tank canyon did not disappoint. This area of the Sierra Ancha is very steppy and it's rock cliffs are subtle and beautiful. There were a bunch of pour offs, of varying height. All bypassable or down climbable. The first pour off is in an area of sidewalk like slickrock. The second was small and in weirdly stained black rock. The third was huge and Brian downclimbed it but I didn't like it and went around. I have a picture of him looking like an ant at it's base. No water was running but there were quite a few pools.
Soon we got to the Crux, looking down a waterchute at some pinnacles at a 90 degree turn. Charlie found a work around I liked, and we successfully went right down the watercourse carefully on the polished rock. Just like that we were at the confluence with Turkey, where it turned to go into and meet Little Turkey. We walked up Turkey. The walls were big here and the sycamores turning. We had hoped for narrows but there were none. No water either. Where it widened out to pleasant pine benches we turned around and went up a drainage just off the Redman Mesa. It was a constant boulder hop and nothing to write home about. Brian led on a traverse of cattle trails through the manzanita to the red rock bench. Then we topped out on the gentle mesa top and to the car.
I wanted to camp on the mesa top with it's great views and pleasant open terrain but we had more to do and it was best done early--- |
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