| |
| FR 701 J-Slash-X Turkey Creek, AZ | |
|
| | FR 701 J-Slash-X Turkey Creek, AZ | | | |
|
|
FR 701 J-Slash-X Turkey Creek, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.10 Miles |
838 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.10 Miles | 4 Hrs 6 Mns | | 1.82 mph |
| 838 ft AEG | 12 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | Back for another Sierra Ancha hike, but being a weekday and the need to bypass the US 60 construction by Superior, it had to be somewhere in the Western Sierra Ancha, so what better than a rerun of near the same time two years ago... Forest Road 701 to the J-Slash-X Ranch (apple orchard) and returning along Turkey Creek.
It only took two hours for the 80 mile drive, the last 30 minutes being an ongoing shake-rattle-and-roll along Forest Road 609... the kind of drive when Tracey wonders if her head will hit the B-pillar. Better wear a helmet next time!
But I agree with her, I hate FR 609, especially the part ascending toward Picture Mountain.
Ok, we're finally at the trailhead, let's hit the road... FR 701 that is. Almost everything was familiar so nothing seemed changed from two years ago, except the temperatures were consistently 10-15° cooler than in mid-June 2023. 
For the most part FR 701 is flat and easy, but the two main descents were steep & rocky enough it brought back thoughts of our brutal hike four days ago. At least these were short, and on the last one we took a short detour along an elk trail.
At the J-Slash-X ranch everything looked the same as before... the apple trees looked as healthy as one could expect with most of their innards dried and gone. Looking closer, it appears to be a bumper crop of tiny apples.
It's been a dozen years since we visited the ranch during harvest season, and it was worth it... nice red apples. But being wild the moment you cut them open they turn brown... nothing like the genetically engineered ones you buy at the store.
Moving on... although we passed by the corrugated tin cabin near the ranch, having visited numerous times in the past we saw no point and continued on, immediately dropping into a mostly dry Turkey Creek.
As in the past, there had been enough cattle traffic that for much of the time along Turkey Creek we were simply following cow (or later, elk) paths. Only when presented with heavy overgrowth did we stay in the creek bed.
At one spot where cattle stayed out of the creek bed and which I recognized very well, I said to Tracey I remember this and moments later my subconscious mind was awakened, bringing my conscious mind into high alert, just enough to realize the round cow-patty was actually a perfectly coiled Arizona Black Rattlesnake, barely a step and a half ahead.
I don't remember actually saying a word, but it was enough for Tracey that if I stopped short, it was for good reason. Good enough to take a few photos and hope for a video.
Unfortunately as Tracey was taking a photo I was trying to bend a small branch to the side for a clear shot in preparation for a video, the branch snapped back and the rattler slid back into the dense brush.
And so out of 37 seconds of video, barely 10 seconds was in focus of its rattling tail. Oh well. Hazard averted, time to move on.
From there on much of the time we were hiking in the rocky creek bed itself so every step had to be planned, will the rock move or not before taking the step.
At one point there was a wide opening in the canyon walls for a feeder that we had always ignored in the past but decided today to see how far up it can be traversed. As it turned out, it went barely a few hundred feet before a series of very arrow pour-offs put paid to any efforts. The only item of note was Tracey scaring up an owl.
Back in the creek we were gradually gaining altitude with a number of small to medium pour-offs, all of which we were able to climb this trip due to low water levels in the pools. And then we reached the Big Kahuna pour-off, which REQUIRED taking a 250' detour back up the West side along a couple switchbacks before continuing. Now above the large pour-off, we had some nice flat boulders in the shade so it was time to stop for a lunch break and set-a-spell.
After a very peaceful break, rather than take the climb along an elk trail back up to FR 701 as we did last year, we continued along the creek until reaching the small feeder canyon we had taken back to the start eight years ago. But instead of following it (looked choked with thorns) we ascended a ridge that I knew at one time had an old road which led back out to FR 609. As we ascended we ended up spooking a large black bull, which wasted no time skedaddling away... no harm, no foul.
From there it took a bit of thrashing through Manzanita and holly before connecting with the old road, which was wide and flat, and by far the easiest part of the whole hike... better than even the 3/4 mile road-walk along FR 609 back to FR 701.
Another great hike with perfect weather.
Now time for the shake-rattle-and-roll return trip. And no heads were bashed in. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
