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| Hiking | 4.01 Miles |
628 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.01 Miles | 4 Hrs 25 Mns | | 1.20 mph |
| 628 ft AEG | 1 Hour 5 Mns Break | 16.1 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | After visiting the main Coon Creek Ruins earlier in the morning [ triplog ] , we drove a little farther down Cherry Creek Road and parked in the lot just past the water crossing, then headed for the Coon Creek Lower Ruins. There's no trail or defined route, but we stuck pretty closely to the official GPS track moving south/southeast, choosing the path with the least brush whenever possible. That area has a lot of large, mature saguaros, which was nice.
The hill where the ruins are located is visible for nearly the entire hike, and it was easy to zoom in and see the terraced walls near the top. We got our first views of the Salt River once we reached the ridge on the final approach. We passed through the "Gateway", a gap in the barbed wire fence marked by two tall posts, then stayed on the west side of the fence line and followed it the rest of the way to the top of the hill. It's not a difficult or strenuous hike but was slow at times between the rocky terrain and dodging foliage.
The ruins were very spread out along the the hilltop and the surrounding slope, with quite a few different levels among the structures. There were multiple perimeter and interior walls scattered around the area, and it was tough to discern some of the specific rooms because it's so overgrown. There was one area, especially, that had a concentration of pottery sherds of varying thickness, with a some white mixed in among the red pieces.
The 360° view from the top was excellent, overlooking the Salt River, Redmond Flat, and the more distant peaks of the Salt River Canyon Wilderness. It's obvious why the natives chose this spot for a defensive lookout, and this site is very different from the typical Sierra Ancha Salado ruins--it's more reminiscent of some of the defensive ruins in the Cave Creek area. We spent some time at the top enjoying the views and the sound of the rapids down below and ate a snack before heading back the same way. Combining this with a hike to the the main Coon Creek ruins makes a nice day trip to two very different ruins sites, and we didn't see anyone else all day.
[ youtube video ] |
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