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| Cold Spring Canyon Overlook, AZ | |
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| | Cold Spring Canyon Overlook, AZ | | | |
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Cold Spring Canyon Overlook, AZ
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| Hiking | 5.10 Miles |
1,139 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.10 Miles | | | |
| 1,139 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | This was our third hiking day of a 7 night camping trip to Aztec Peak area of the Sierra Ancha. Our plan was to hike off trail along the south rim of Cold Spring Canyon to reach views down into the canyon. This canyon has 4 known cliff dwellings listed in Lange's "Echoes in the Canyon...", but we wanted to see if we could locate some he may have missed. After that we planned to cross over to the south side of the ridge separating CS Canyon from an unnamed box canyon to get some views down into that canyon. From there we would proceed along the box canyon rim around its west end and then east out to its south rim. Again we were searching for cliff dwellings on the southeast facing cliff wall of the box canyon and also looking for the location of the Big Buck Uranium mine which is located somewhere in this canyon.
We started our hike from the Murphy Ranch Trail Head. The road, FR487A, to this TH had been blocked by fallen trees from winter storms up until that Thursday, April 28, when someone did a nice job of clearing at least two fallen trees, probably to get access to the Murphy Ranch. The hiking trail was in good shape except for a few fallen trees and we soon reached the Rim Trail where we turned north. After following the Rim Trail for a short distance we started off trail heading more or less east along the crest of the ridge on the south side of CS Canyon. The ridge top was mostly open beneath a canopy of pine, oak and alligator junipers. Getting over to the cliff top rim of the canyon required some bushwhacking through manzanita but the spectacular views were amazing and well worth it. We had a good view of the south facing cliff and I took lots of zoomed in photos of alcoves, overhangs and caves looking for signs of ancient habitation. We didn't find anything new at the time nor upon closer examination of the photos after getting home. Crossing over to the north rim of the box canyon we proceeded around the end of that canyon towards the south rim finding open clearings on top of the cliff lined canyon walls which provided excellent view points. We stopped for lunch near the edge of the cliff at the west end of the box canyon with a spectacular view of Cherry Creek Canyon and the hills to the east of that canyon. The patches of blue sky amid the storm clouds scudding across the sky made for just the right amount of sun to keep temperatures comfortable while we enjoyed the views. It was difficult to leave this magical place but the prospect of yet unknown discoveries to be made on the remainder of the hike got us up and going. Unfortunately again we would find no new signs of ancient habitation. However the views of the upper parts of these rugged canyons was reward enough. |
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