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| Cienega #145 McFadden Horse #146, AZ | |
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| | Cienega #145 McFadden Horse #146, AZ | | | |
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Cienega #145 McFadden Horse #146, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.10 Miles |
2,416 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.10 Miles | 4 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.80 mph |
| 2,416 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Hike #4 of 4 from our Sierra Ancha 2022 camping/hiking trip.
The original plan before our trip was to hike the McFadden Horse Trail all the way to Elephant Rock overlook as we did 6 years ago.
However, since we had just pulled up stakes from our camp up at Billy Lawrence we figured we'd just stop at the Cienega Trail/Forest Road #145 intersection and hike the same route we last hiked just a week shy of 7 years ago. With the added distance from Cienega we decided to skip the trip out to Elephant Rock and just hit summit and return.
Of course, by following this route along FR #145 (which is now open to vehicular travel again) we would get another chance to visit the uranium mines along the way. Looking at my photos from 7 years ago very little of the mines has changed, the most notable being only one piece left of the original half-dozen rusted corrugated metal sheets which had been covering the largest of the mine entrances.
As usual, Tracey waited outside while I went in solo. Just inside a couple adits I was greeted by the sound of what appeared to be a swarm bees but was just a bunch of flies, which thankfully just moved away without bothering me. Being almost scrupulously clean there really wasn't anything worthy to highlight other than my EMF meter sounding a warning at the entrance to one mine.
(In later research , as long as one did not spend days and days in the same location the milliGauss readings were not high enough for any long-term danger... I hope)
Moving on...
Now on McFadden Horse Trail we began the slog to the top. After while on the ascent Tracey wondered aloud why there weren't any switch-backs... only for a few to appear, not that it made things much easier. But no matter, soon it eased off and we were in the shade for most of the way to the summit. We found a nice viewpoint just west of the summit with a nice view of Jack Mountain as well as the more distant Boneyback and Greenback peaks. With shade, a scenic view and a breeze we had the perfect lunch spot.
On the return trip we stopped by the only mine we had missed on the way up... how we missed it was a mystery to both of us as it was actually the largest, where the corrugated sheets used to be.
Back to the trailhead Tracey wandered over to the Cienega Creek water tank to rinse her out her neckerchief and called over for me to "check this out!" and sure enough it was worthy of another 100 foot walk to get a few photos of three spotted toads hanging around the tank. One was perched on the pipe Tracey had just rinsed her neckerchief in the water running from it without disturbing the toad.
And that wraps up our 2022 trip into the Sierra Ancha.
At four years since our last camping trip in the Sierra Ancha we both felt it had been too long so hopefully we won't wait that long again, but at a time a bit cooler than this trip... it was getting into the warm end for Tracey, but for me, heck I'm out in the triple digits almost every day. As long as the humidity single-digits/teens with a breeze and I'm wearing wicking gear from head-to-toe and keep everything damp it's all good. |
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