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| Seven Springs Rd Side Track, AZ | |
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| | Seven Springs Rd Side Track, AZ | | | |
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Seven Springs Rd Side Track, AZ
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| Hiking | 4.13 Miles |
1,237 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.13 Miles | 5 Hrs 24 Mns | | 0.85 mph |
| 1,237 ft AEG | 33 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | This hike starts as a side track off of Seven Springs Road to connect with the Maricopa Trail about 3.5 hiking miles south of the Bronco Trailhead. My Grandson and I had done a similar hike at that location which I posted under the same name 4 days earlier. @LosDosSloFolks informed me of a couple of nearby ruins after he read my triplog from that hike, That led me to re-visit the area this time dragging him along.
We followed the Maricopa Trail for about a mile to a convenient location to start the slog up the northwest side of Peak 4456. We soon encountered the first ruin located in a small level space between two rock outcroppings. There was one large room maybe 12 ft wide by 15-20 ft long and 3 to 4 separate smaller rooms. The walls of the large room were fairly intact and about 4 to 5 ft tall which is rare for ruins in this area which are mostly crumbled down piles of rock. The other rooms were in this latter category. We found one area roughly 3-4 ft square with lots of small pottery sherds scattered on the ground. Previous visitors had left a collection of four large pieces on a boulder. As usual for these type of ruins, there were great views in several directions.
After spending some time studying this ruin we proceeded on up the hillside of Peak 4456 which we would cross over to descend to ruin #2 on the south side. After checking out the very steep and rocky hillside leading down to the ruin we decided it would be best to just take zoomed photos of the ruin from the hilltop. It turned out to be a good decision, at least for two old geezers like us. The zoomed photos gave a good view of the single massive semi-circular wall but also revealed that the reward vs the risk and energy required to climb back up that steep hillside on the way back just wasn't worth it for us.
On the way back to the car I discovered why all the Mexican Gold Poppies my Grandson and I had seen along that same section of the Maricopa Trail had disappeared on this early morning hike. Evidently it hadn't been warm enough in the morning for them to open up but on the way back with the noon-time sun they were in full display. Who knew - evidently everyone but me.  It was even warm enough for a rattlesnake to give a warning buzz as we passed by although he wasn't sociable enough to show himself.
It was an enjoyable hike with good company - Thanks @LosDosSloFolks for joining me. |
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