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| Savage Tunnel from FR #320, AZ | | -
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| | Savage Tunnel from FR #320, AZ | | | |
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Savage Tunnel from FR #320, AZ
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| Hiking | 4.20 Miles |
1,171 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.20 Miles | 2 Hrs 28 Mns | | 1.70 mph |
| 1,171 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Looking for something new-to-us along with somewhat cooler temps, this one just happened to be within a 50 minute drive. While the temps were reasonable in the 80's the humidity was not reasonable at all, probably due to the evaporation of overnight rains. In fact we would cut our hike short due to the excessive humidity. On the positive side of that meant the tread was a softer on the feet, which helped traction on the steeper slopes.
Although I/we have hiked in the vicinity a number of times I knew of numerous old mining sites/prospects we had yet to check out, particularly in the area around Savage Tunnel Spring. I'd done a number if web searches in the last few years yet had never found information about Savage Tunnel specifically, so naturally that became the primary goal of the hike.
Not knowing if there actually WAS a Savage Tunnel which the spring may have been named after, still a mile from the spring we were quite surprised to actually find it. At first glance I thought it was just a small cave but the pile of tailings nearby gave credence to being an actual mine. While it appeared to be at least 50 feet deep, due to the low entrance I did not go inside. Within a few hundred feet we encountered another mine entrance,this one was probably filled in at one time but erosion left an open slit of maybe 4 x 12 inches. I could tell it went in quite some distance but without a flashlight to shine into it I could not confirm it.
In our wandering around by the mine we encountered an obvious ATC trail (reasonably fresh motorcycle tire tracks) where I was quite sure was illegal. We followed it for a while before deciding we did not want to continue in that direction, turning back where we found a shovel stuck in the ground along the trail. By heading the other direction, we followed the ATC trail for a half-mile before it re-connected with existing old roads.
On the way back to the car we took what we expected to be a short spur on another old mining road, only to see it was extended with another illegal ATC trail. We followed it for a half-mile until a steep incline at which time it was in the mid-90's so we called it quits and headed back.
Checking with the Globe FS office after-the-fact, they confirmed the ATC trails are in fact illegal and they would be out to inspect/document them... probably when it's cooler? We'll probably return when conditions are more suitable to further exploration of the ATC trails as well as old mine sites. |
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