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| Forest Road 167 Lasso Loop, AZ | | -
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| | Forest Road 167 Lasso Loop, AZ | | | |
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Forest Road 167 Lasso Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 6.50 Miles |
1,427 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.50 Miles | 3 Hrs 22 Mns | | 1.93 mph |
| 1,427 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Get-out-of-town-hike #3
Another Forest Road hike, only this one I had never driven so it would be a new experience for both of us. The first time I attempted it there was a washout in the first quarter-mile and I never got around to trying again.
This time, while it would have been possible to drive all the way through with the 4Runner, we parked just before the wash. When we began we had no must-do goal, just the possibility of checking out a water tank by Cottonwood Spring and/or an unnamed water tank at the head of Reed Gulch.
While the first 2 miles was pretty much a continuous climb along the ridge, the first two ascents were steep enough to get the heart-rate up. As we continued we saw cattle in the washes far below on either side of the ridge and we wondered which one would be best for our return leg, you know, because we like loops.
The wash to the north appeared it would be more difficult along with nothing of much interest, whereas the south wash looked more interesting. So as we continued up we kept looking for a reasonably easy route down into the wash on the return trip. Nothing looked very promising until above a steep and rugged pour-off just below the tank at Cottonwood. I figured the slope down to the spring was doable because it used to be a road, but being above the pour-off it wouldn't be much help. Oh well, we'll figure something out on the return leg.
As we closed in on the unnamed water tank a herd of cattle across the drainage seemed to think we were herding them and they ended up racing ahead toward the same tank we were but from a 90-degree angle. Near the tank they finally stopped, turned and almost like old movies, they circled-the-wagons facing outward. Not wishing to cause them any further anxiety we skipped the tank and headed up a peak with an elevation of 3507 feet. It was a bit weird because on the map there is no 'x' or elevation listed at the top, but simply '3397' about one-tenth mile down the eastern slope.
Although too soon for lunch we were both hungry enough to dig into our food stores. After a quick snack we headed back along the road until just past the deep pour-off, where we just started down the least-steep, least-thorny descent. Just over half-way down it appeared the last 50-75' was almost a direct drop-off so with a bunch of huffing-and-puffing we were back on the road upon the ridge. Whew! 
As we continued we knew we needed to find a descent route soon because the next few miles would be steeper. Within an eighth-mile it was do-or-die, so after a second snack break to finish our lunch, we just went-for-it. After plenty of zig-zagging to avoid the thorny bits and/or loose terrain we eventually made it down into the wash.  {Yahoo}
In general this wash was quite wide so there were points where we had to decide, which way looks more interesting and/or easily passable. A couple times we made the wrong decision, not so much because it wasn't interesting, but the cowpaths led us into thickets only cattle could like. (Who knows, maybe they don't, they just don't-give-a-pumpkin and bull their way through some of the thick-and-thorny vegetation.
At one point we were lucky enough to scare up a deer, but when it stopped to take a look back at us, all I could see was it's head between the arms of a Saguaro and by the time I could get the camera to focus on the head and not the Saguaro, it had turned its head and took off. Oh well, we both saved a mind-picture.
No other 'drama' after that, just finding a nice brushed-terry fabric camo-hoodie in great shape... and just my size. Nope, Tracey wasn't about to allow it into our home so it's now folded nicely and waiting to be claimed. 
Stats for the day:
Number of cattle encountered = Buku... scatter all around there were too many to count
Number of deer encountered = One
Number of skunks smelled = One
And best of all, for our third straight hike...
Number of Homo-sapiens encountered today = ZERO |
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