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| Hiking | 1.00 Miles |
300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.00 Miles | | | |
| 300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Since I had Jack captive for the day, I decided to show him a few more things in the Sierra Ancha Mountains that he hadn't seen in previous visits. For starters I wanted him to see the historic buildings at the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest research station along Parker Creek that date to the 1930s. Last time I was there was 2012. We parked at the lower trailhead and did the approximate half mile hike to the cutoff to drop down to them. Well, since the Juniper Fire of last year, subsequent increased runoff and debris flow pretty much has obliterated that short section of connector trail. After we carefully worked our way down to the buildings, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of restoration work being done on them.  There was also some added runoff barrier protection around the more vulnerable buildings, as this spot is on a rather steep slope setting. Even so, there was ample evidence of powerful flows blasting through. For the most part though things there pretty much looked like always.  After looking around a bit, we walked the highway back to the trailhead.
I was wondering who was doing this restoration work, so I called the Pleasant Valley Ranger District office in Young this morning and got a recording saying they were only open on Thursdays due to budget cuts, but a suggestion to call the Payson District Office was given. I did this and got in contact with a helpful fellow named Chris who informed me the work is most likely being done by the Rocky Mountain Research Station folks out of Flagstaff, perhaps with some help from NAU or ASU, who have an interest in research in that area. I sort of figured that might be the case.
Chris and I had a fun conversation about how neat the Anchas are and among other things he mentioned that one of the things being considered for the fate of the lookout tower on Aztec Peak is to turn it into one of the "rooms with a view sites," that can be rented out as a cabin destination. I told him that if that happens, be sure to put some pictures of Ed Abbey up there.  To that, he let me know that he had been to a meeting with a group of old timers who had worked up there and knew Ed back in the day, and that listening to their stories of the days of yore was pure joy! He asked me if I knew how Abbey Way Trail #151 got numbered. I said no, and he said one of the stories is that it was for Ed's love of rum. It was said Ed used to go through bottles of 151 on a regular basis in his time up in that tower, and that every time he would finish a bottle he go out by railing and drop it to ground below. After a season in the tower there was a nice collection of broken glass below. yeehaw!
Chris also mentioned that there is an effort being considered to adjust the wilderness boundary along Cherry Creek so that it conforms with alignment of FR 203, and thus the road could remain open as always. He was in favor of this because in his opinion it has historical precedence, since it predates wilderness designation and has long been used by local hunters and ranchers, etc. Sounds good to me.
At any rate, it made me happy to see those classic old buildings getting some TLC. Nice start to the day. |
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Route Editor
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