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| Cold Spring and Pueblo Canyon Ruins, AZ | | -
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| | Cold Spring and Pueblo Canyon Ruins, AZ | | | |
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Cold Spring and Pueblo Canyon Ruins, AZ
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| Hiking | 9.98 Miles |
7,479 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.98 Miles | 6 Hrs 26 Mns | | 1.66 mph |
| 7,479 ft AEG | 25 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After camping at Devil's Chasm TH, we awoke for a second day of adventure, tackling the Cold Spring and Pueblo Canyon Ruins.
While we were eating breakfast, a couple hiked by along the road, headed toward the Cold Spring TH. After we packed up camp, we piled in the Suburban for the rough 1.5 mi. drive down the road to the TH. Along the way, we caught up with the couple that had hiked by earlier, and offered them a lift.
There is a huge boulder that has broken away from the wall and landed on the road about half way from Devil's Chasm to the TH, making for a very tight squeeze for a suburban. We barely managed to get through unscathed.
Made it to the TH and hiked with the couple for the first 1/2 mile or so. They pointed out to us the Copper Canyon Ruins across the valley. A hike for another day ....
The couple was on their way to Pueblo Canyon, but first up for us was Cold Spring, so we went our separate ways and thought we might cross paths again somewhere in the Pueblo Canyon area.
I underestimated the amount of bushwhacking and scrambling required to access these sites. Definitely regretted leaving my long pants and gloves in the car. ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
That said, it was worth the effort. The Cold Spring ruins were our favorite. What a cool structure! Especially the surprise balcony out the other side of the cliff face. There is a lot of "dwelling" packed in that little crack!
After enjoying the "crack house," we made our way back to the fork and then on to Pueblo Canyon. Once you get around to the first section of the north-facing side of the canyon, the vegetation gets pretty thick, and even with a gps track, it gets a bit difficult to follow the route. We ended up bushwhacking a fair amount in this area, and the going was slow. (We did much better on the return trip.). In this area, as a general rule, when in doubt, stay closer to the cliff face.
At the mine/north-facing ruins, we stopped for lunch and admired the 3 ruin sites which were our destination on the opposite side of the canyon wall.
The mine is not much for exploring. Doesn't go too far back, and was choked with flies/bugs.
At the crossover to the north side of the canyon, I was a bit surprised to see the waterfall flowing. Pretty magical place. Would have made a nice prehistoric shower :-).
We enjoyed all three ruin sites on the south-facing side of the canyon. These must have been impressive structures in their day, and it was fun to look around. Though frankly, at that point, we were a bit low on energy reserves and looking forward to getting back to civilization.
Speaking of which, I'm amazed and puzzled how the inhabitants of these structures actually lived on a day to day basis. Not so much in Pueblo Canyon, where water was close by and the navigation not so gnarly. But Cold Spring and Devil's Chasm? What a pain it must have been, not just to get building supplies up there, but a major daily grind to get water, food, and other necessities of life.
In any event, the return hike was uneventful.
Once back at the car, we piled in for the rough road to Cherry Creek. At the "boulder," we weren't quite as lucky as going in, and just when we thought we were in the clear, the rear wheel slipped a bit and we earned a little AZ pinstriping on the back of the Suburban  Oh well; I guess that will be part of the memory of the trip ....
Speaking of the suburban, just as we got to the Cherry Creek crossing, the check engine light came on and the engine went into "reduced power mode." It didn't have enough power to get up the hills. We pulled over and let it cool down; put some water in the radiator and nursed it back to pavement. After a couple more stops, it started to run fine and we made it back to Phoenix without incident. ($425 later and a new "throttle body," we are back in business ...).
All in all, a fabulous overnight Sierra Ancha trifecta with my son.
P.S. As the track shows, Route Scout had a heck of a time trying to track us in Pueblo Canyon. So, not sure what our actual mileage/aeg statistics should be, but they are both definitely off .... |
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