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| Hiking | 10.51 Miles |
3,161 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.51 Miles | 9 Hrs 49 Mns | | 1.42 mph |
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| 3,161 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 26 Mns Break | | |
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| no partners | | I found a low-res map on the internet that shows a dot south of Perry Mesa labeled Squaw Creek Lookout. I've had this map a few years but the other day I spotted it on a satellite picture. That gave me two reasons to drop off the south end of Perry Mesa because I also had filed away a rumor that there were petroglyphs down below the Squaw Creek Ruins.
I knew this wouldn't be too easy...I'd struggled up that steep mesa edge before...but it didn't look that far and I figured I could do it.
I started near Squaw Creek Ruin and dropped off the edge. A good way to go as there are decorated boulders well below the rim that probably few people see. Continued down to N.Squaw Creek then downstream to where Squaw Creek comes in...lots of water coming in there. On my previous trip here I hoped that the pool just up Squaw Creek would show signs of being an ancient hang-out...but no. I did find the hang-out this time further downstream...a really great petroglyph site.
Then it was time to head up to the lookout. In retrospect I picked a bad route. It's steep and unpleasant no matter how you do it but I spent a lot of time climbing and traversing.
The lookout (actually a fort) was very nice. There are quite a few of these in the area but I think this one is the most well preserved. It wasn't easy to get by the big wall blocking access from above. It's a mystery to me why they worried about people coming from that way and also I wonder why it was here To my knowledge all the big villages were on the other side of the creek....I didn't see any pottery or other habitation signs.
On the way down I walked into a group (a dozen or more) of Javelina who startled me with their huffing and showed no sign that they would yield the right-of-way to me. It was particularly steep getting down to the creek here.
I walked up stream for a mile or so (knee deep in water some of the time) to a ridge I followed up to an abandoned mine (passed a small ruin). From there I took the defunct mine road and then the jeep road back to the car.
Much tougher hike than I expected - got back well after dark. |
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