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| Kentuck Mountain Ruins and Summit, AZ | |
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| | Kentuck Mountain Ruins and Summit, AZ | | | |
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Kentuck Mountain Ruins and Summit, AZ
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| Hiking | 6.06 Miles |
2,485 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.06 Miles | 7 Hrs 18 Mns | | 1.44 mph |
| 2,485 ft AEG | 3 Hrs 6 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | I did a longer hike in the Superstitions on Saturday and took advantage of the three-day Presidents' Day weekend to fit in a second hike. TboneKathy and I have visited a few of the peaks in this area over the past couple months but hadn't been to Kentuck yet, and this one had the added appeal of a few ruins sites. We parked at a pullout on the west side of Seven Springs Road just north of Rackensack Canyon, then crossed the creek and started the climb up toward Kentuck.
The first ruin site was situated among some rock outcroppings and had surprisingly well intact walls, with one rectangular room with doorway that's in better shape than just about any of the other ruins I've seen in this general area. The site also had a perimeter wall and some smaller rooms with lower walls built among the natural rock barriers. We saw a fair amount of pottery at this site, though not many large pieces.
[ youtube video ]
We continued up the slope, and we could see site #2 out on a ridge to the south. To reach that one, we had to hike down a steep slope into a grassy saddle and up a small rise. That site looked like a defensive lookout, with a thick wall along the north/west sides of the hill with viewing holes built in at several points. We could see Sears-Kay to the south, and that side of the hill had a steep cliff, with no defensive wall necessary. We didn't see any pottery at this one, and the construction and position reminded me a little of the eastern Cline Creek ruin. We took a short break there and then made our way back up the steep slope to continue toward Kentuck.
About a mile from the peak, the ridgeline we were following became increasingly rocky, and TBoneKathy waited while I headed for the summit. Along the way, I stopped briefly at the third ruin site. There appeared to be several rooms, one on the side of a hill with two fairly tall walls and a doorway built in, and a few scattered pot sherds.
From there, I made the steep final climb up to the peak. I'd brought a jar for a summit register, but there was already one up there. It was placed a year ago to the day, on 2/20/22, and I recognized the name as the same person who placed the newer notebook on St. Clair Peak, which we visited recently. Looking back at pictures, he also placed the St. Clair register on 2/20/22...busy day for him. The most recent entry in the Kentuck register was from earlier today, by another guy named John and with my same last initial...no shortage of coincidences on Kentuck today  .
I found the two Buford reference markers and had read that the benchmark and other disk had been stolen. I looked briefly but didn't see the metal stub where the Buford BM was once attached. The views from the top were very nice--snow on Four Peaks and some nice clouds that added to the scenery.
[ youtube video ]
On the way down, I took a short detour over to a ridge where I saw what looked like possible ruin walls from the summit, but it wasn't anything interesting. We'd planned to make this a loop hike, but with TBoneKathy waiting where she was, we switch it an out-and-back. I rejoined her, and we stopped at the first ruin site on the way out and relaxed and ate lunch in that nice spot before we finished. It was a short hike, but it packed in a lot of elevation gain over six miles with three ruins sites and peak along the way. When I looked at photos later, I realized I'd zoomed in and taken a picture of a fourth ruin out on another ridge without realizing it, so I have a reason to return . |
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