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| Hiking | 3.50 Miles |
799 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.50 Miles | 2 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.69 mph |
| 799 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Worn out from several finally-completed projects around the house the day before, our day began with a non-committal where-we-gonna-hike? It's a Sunday and we didn't want to deal with the racetrack Apache Trail has become or the Ren-Fest traffic on the 60 so we'll just head up 87 and see what comes to mind.
Just past Sunflower as we approached the Forest Road 385 turn-off to Kitty Joe Canyon I realized we hadn't been out that way in 4+ years so let's see what we can come up with.
We parked at the first open area on the left after crossing the now-dry Kitty Joe wash. We began with the idea of doing an out-and-back North along FR 385 followed by an out-and-back East across Colcord Canyon toward long-decommissioned Forest Road 23.
Halfway to the end of FR 385 we saw a good-sized mule deer heading up the slope to the left. When we reached the locked gate at the Private Property, rather than turning back to retrace our steps along FR 385, we set off up the hill along the somewhat 'new' fence-line (new since the Bush fire) not having any idea of which direction or how far we'd go. After a while we tired of being limited by the fence so we doffed our packs and scooted under, only to eventually wish we were back on the initial side. At least the second crossing was at a boulder so I was able to step over the fence.
Once we reached a saddle we turned around and began to head back along various game trails and/or cow paths. And wouldn't you know it while aimlessly wandering Tracey said Look, ruin walls! With enough vegetation growth one had to look pretty close to realize that is what they were, especially since the rocks were not shaped conducive enough to stayed stacked through hundreds of years. I was a bit skeptical until Tracey came up with a number of pottery shards. Now with the knowledge it was some sort of ruin, taking a closer look we could make out quite few walls, and even what appeared to have been a terrace.
Leaving the ruins we headed farther along the ridge seeking out a nice picnic spot. Upon locating a few flat boulders we sat down for a short lunch. Afterward we continued on, wondering if we may happen along the deer which had gone up in this direction earlier. While we encounter many fresh deer tracks over the course of our wandering, we would not see any further wildlife.
At the South end of the ridge we worked our way down a steep slope to the road, and from there it was just a road-walk back to the car. Although short in both time and distance, neither of us cared to extend it going the other direction so we called it a day.
In the end, coming across another ruin in this area made it a worthwhile endeavor. |
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Route Editor
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