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| Hells Hole Ruins and Boyer Cabin Trail, AZ | |
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| | Hells Hole Ruins and Boyer Cabin Trail, AZ | | | |
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Hells Hole Ruins and Boyer Cabin Trail, AZ
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| Hiking | 14.28 Miles |
2,888 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.28 Miles | 9 Hrs 53 Mns | | 1.66 mph |
| 2,888 ft AEG | 1 Hour 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | We started from Reynolds Trailhead just after 8AM heading for Boyer Cabin--or as least as close as we could get depending on time/trail conditions. Getting all the way there and back would be a longer hike (~18 miles) even if the trail wasn't overgrown, so we knew reaching the cabin might be a long shot but figured it would be a fun and scenic effort either way, and neither of us had been on Boyer Cabin Trail before.
Hell's Hole Trail was a little overgrown with manzanita and some catclaw near Armer Ranch, but not too bad. The water level in Workman Creek was a very low, and we could walk across easily on the rocks. A sign near the trailhead says Boyer Cabin Trail is two miles away, but it was a little over three miles in when we reached the intersection and headed into new territory.
The first mile on Boyer Cabin is generally flat and easy, though the trail can can be a little tough to spot in some areas, but occasional cairns helped. We passed some spring boxes and pipes at Hopkins Spring which only had a hint of water...the map shows Hopkins Spring along Boyer Cabin Trail but another one farther north along Hell's Hole Trail?
For a while, we were making good time and thought we might have a shot at reaching the cabin if the trail conditions continued. But as the trail started descending into a drainage, it got really overgrown. I had gloves and clippers out, and our pace slowed as we cut/pushed through thick overgrowth...it was equal parts hiking and landscaping for a while. Things opened up again as we reached a grassy meadow near Peak 5404, with nice views of Roosevelt, Four Peaks, and Dutchwoman Butte to the south. As our pace improved again, we still had a little hope of making the cabin...
But the trail dropped down into another drainage, and it got very brushy again, with catclaw and some poison ivy mixed in. We still had a little over 2.5 miles to the cabin, and we took a break and decided to turn around there and save time to visit the Hell's Hole ruins on the way out instead of using our remaining time battling brush. A little disappointing, but we started back...the clipping I'd done on the way in made things a little easier, but the brushy areas still slowed us down, and I continued clearing more trail on the way out.
We eventually detoured over to the ruins--we hiked down to Hell's Hole last year but didn't learn about the ruins until later, so we'd been looking for a chance to get back there. It was an impressive location with fantastic views of Hell's Hole, and the site has a thick, tall perimeter wall on the hilltop and toppled remains of multiple interior rooms. We didn't have a lot of time to explore the site, but we found some pot sherds--mostly thicker pieces ~ a quarter inch thick.
We returned on Hell's Hole Trail and ended up finishing by flashlight in the dark a little after 6PM, and we didn't see any other hikers all day. Even though we didn't reach the cabin, we were happy with the choice today and enjoyed the scenery and ruins. Lacking the type of vehicle needed to access the cabin the "easy" way via driving the forest roads, I plan to return and give this route another shot sometime--it would be a long day, but the eastern half Boyer Cabin Trail is probably as good as it's been in a long time with all the clearing I did on the way in... |
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