| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 6.67 Miles |
1,609 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.67 Miles | 4 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.40 mph |
| 1,609 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Three weeks ago I was on the summit of South Butte (along the Gila River). While up there, I spotted this area below to the south, and I thought it looked amazing. So I went out there and explored around.
I went north on Cochran Rd and turned left onto an unnamed dirt road at 33.07114, -111.16264. The unnamed road started getting rough after a quarter mile, so I found a place on the side and parked. I walked the rest of the road to Donnelly Wash, which is the eastern boundary of this area.
There are no designated trails, so the hike became off-trail after leaving Donnelly Wash. I went up a canyon and had to scramble up around a couple of pour-offs. Then I hiked up to some alcoves and small arches. I was happy to find one small ruin under an alcove, but there was not much left of it. The hiking here was much more difficult than I imagined. Slopes were steep and covered with fine loose rock. A few times I came upon narrow canyons with no safe way to descend, and I had to hike up their ridges and go around them.
After poking around several alcoves, I left the area at the north end and spotted an interesting cave up the side of South Butte. I went up there to check it out. It was tall and pretty cool, about 20-30 feet deep.
Saw plenty of cholla cactus flowers and a few saguaros starting to bloom. Turkey vultures were circling throughout the day. Even though the hiking was not that easy, I will probably come back here and explore more. The scenery and terrain were amazing. |
|
Wildflowers Observation Light
cholla and prickly pear flowers, a few saguaro blossoms |
|
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
