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| Black Mesa - Cave Creek Explore, AZ | |
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| | Black Mesa - Cave Creek Explore, AZ | | | |
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Black Mesa - Cave Creek Explore, AZ
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| Hiking | 11.38 Miles |
2,921 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.38 Miles | 9 Hrs 29 Mns | | 1.61 mph |
| 2,921 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 25 Mns Break | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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none
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| no partners | | This was another hike to search for evidence of ancient Indian habitation on the high hillside benches above Cave Creek. My destination was a bench protruding from the southwest side of Black Mesa which overlooks both Cave Creek Canyon and the Cline Creek drainage to the west of Cave Creek Canyon. I could have accessed this bench from the Cline Creek side and possibly shortened the length of the hike but it would have been completely off trail from that approach. Instead I chose to hike from the Spur Cross trailhead on the Black Mesa - Cave Creek trail, hence the name for this hike. I did not hike to the top of Black Mesa.
My hike followed the Black Mesa-Cave Creek trail for 4 miles to where I started off-trail to the top of the ridge which forms the southwest edge of the bench and looked like a likely location for hilltop ruins. This ridge top looks down on the Cline Creek drainage, an area I had recently searched for Indian ruins with some success. (See my three Cline Creek Meander triplogs from 2/22/16, 2/25/16, 3/01/16) The ridge top was covered with clumps of banana yuca which were all in various stages of blooming making some very picturesque scenery. After following the ridge top for 0.4 miles I found the first ruin. As usual, it was just a pile of collapsed rock walls and appeared to have had only one or two rooms. Pottery sherds scattered outside the walls gave some assurance that it was an Indian ruin. This ruin was unique in that it had been built with red stones. This was the first of 7 ruins sites I found on this high bench. All were small, the largest may have had as many as four rooms, and all had pottery sherds scattered nearby. Perhaps these had been seasonal field houses for tending dry land crops on the high bench during the rainy season.
As I continued my search I kept seeing more areas on this bench that looked promising for ruin locations. As a result I ended up extending my stay beyond the planned stop time. My excuse was that I would connect up with the Black Mesa trail which passed through the center of the bench and would give me a quicker exit route. That was not the case. The trail across the bench is rendered invisible by ankle deep grass hiding grapefruit sized rocks which attempt to twist your ankle at every step. However I made up for lost time on the lower part of the trail which is in better shape and got back to the parking lot just as it was getting dark. Another successful day of ruin hunting in the springtime beauty of the desert foothills north of Phoenix. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Lots of blooming Brittlebush and blooming banana yuca. |
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