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| Hells Hole to Ruin Site, AZ | | -
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| | Hells Hole to Ruin Site, AZ | | | |
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Hells Hole to Ruin Site, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.61 Miles |
1,759 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.61 Miles | 4 Hrs 15 Mns | | 1.79 mph |
| 1,759 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | With another string of days off Tracey thought of going back to SE AZ, but between the Stronghold Fire and the long drive we decided on the Sierra Ancha instead. Due to the high rain probability, we decided against camping so another Air BnB it would be. With limited options in the vicinity we settled on 4 days/3 nights in Young.
In order to avoid the US 60 construction issues we left home on Sunday, and would return by some other route, to be determined based on where we end up hiking on the last day.
Having been 3 years since hiking Hells Hole/Boyer we figured we were due for a return, and as convenient as the trailhead is (adjacent to AZ 288) it easily made the top of our list for this trip.
We dawdled a bit getting going, took our time on the drive, stopped in Globe to top off with 'cheap' gas, and spent a bit of time behind a truck pulling a large horse trailer on the climb so it was just a few minutes before 10 am before we began the hike. Just as we were heading out, two vehicles pulled into the parking lot. It appeared they were together but it would be later before that was determined.
With the weather looking like possible rain or sprinkles, we made sure to have our rain gear ready if needed. The temps ranged from 50° to 59° with little wind so the conditions were quite pleasing.
The water flow at Workman Creek was just a babbling brook so it was easy enough for a dry crossing... as long as you don't step on a wobbly rock.
The climb up from the creek, as usual, seemed to take forever, just when we see daylight through the trees, we aren't even halfway up. Add in a bit of discomfort from hips and knees and it felt so good to reach the Boyer junction. From the junction until starting our off-trail ascent the tread was decent, albeit a bit rocky at times.
When we reached the waypoint where we headed off-trail last time, all we could see was a wall of newer Manzanita, so nothing doing there. After a quick look a few hundred feet ahead I chose the most open spot right next to the trail and we set off on the ascent. After a few short backtracks/detours to avoid some pesky cat's-claw we happened upon a cattle/elk trail (like last time) which although it angled a bit along the contour, would take us relatively easily until reaching the rock walls. I meant to go around the Southwest end of the wall (which was how we returned last time) but where met the wall was at the center... the exact same spot as last time. Rats!
Oh well. Looking thick and thorny toward the SW end, so the middle of the wall it is. Although it was easy stepping up on the large rocks, the 3' drop on the other side took extra care, but we made it over safely. Once 'inside' the site, having walked two loops around the perimeter walls last time I just wandered aimlessly through the middle before walking along the Eastern wall and back to our entry point.
For the descent we stuck reasonably close to our ascent route, with the only issue being the batch of cat's-claw, which managed to snag Tracey. And of course, upon turning around to extricate her with the hand trimmers, I got snagged as well. But with a bit of careful clipping we were both free, with no snags to either of our hoodies.
Back on the Hells Hole Trail the weather ahead looked quite ominous but it would be a few minutes before the first sprinkles. Just enough to don our rain gear, but not enough to get wet.
Shortly after we began the descent from Boyer junction we met the folks from the trailhead. They were slow, which is why we were on the return leg. Although they hiked together all the way up to this point, it appears they just happened to hike together, and would split up shortly.
As it turned out, the father and two early & mid teen kids turned back shortly after we met them, and they would catch up to us when we took a break at Workman Creek. The gal with a kid and a dog had continued on, so we never saw her again. She had complained about how bad the trail down to Hells Hole was a few weeks ago and was back to see if it was any better. To which my first thought was... so why the heck would you expect it to be any better now? Especially with more time for vegetation growth and no trail maintenance!
Whatever...
We would end up almost catching, then ultimately re-passing the father and kids when they took breaks on the uphills, which didn't seem to cause me any discomfort on the return.
A half-mile before the TH I had to take the obligatory side-trip to the steel hatch to the underground water tank. (We totally missed it on the way out, so I was a bit more determined to check it out again. (Tracey wasn't in the least bit eager)
Wow! That 3/8" (maybe 1/2"?) steel plate is HEAVY! Either I forgot just how heavy it was or I have lost a lot of strength in 3 years. It took both of us to open it far enough to see there was no water inside, and then dropped it with a loud CLANG! (Possibly loud enough to wake the dead within a half mile or more)
It was to be expected to be dry due to the pipes no longer being connected to any catchment farther uphill, and it was in fact dry.
I kind-of wanted to drop down in to see if there was added graffiti, but like last time, I had no flashlight, and even if I wanted to make the extra 1 mile round-trip to grab a flashlight, Tracey was having none of that.
Avg/Max HR = 105/142 |
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