| |
| Salt River Crossing Loop, AZ | |
|
| | Salt River Crossing Loop, AZ | | | |
|
|
Salt River Crossing Loop, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 6.10 Miles |
734 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.10 Miles | 3 Hrs 59 Mns | | 1.60 mph |
| 734 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This time of year, with the flow of the Salt River at its seasonal lows it reminded me it was time for another of my more-or-less annual trips (since 2017) across the river. While it's possible to reach my usual stops from the Blue Point Recreation Site, as I have a few times in the past, I'd much rather spend more time exploring to the West than the extra time & distance spent along the Blue Point cliffs.
Tracey hasn't been a fan of wet water crossings so I chose a day when she would be working and once again I'd be solo. Next up was which route I would take, dictated of course by the specific crossing point I chose. Having used a full seven different crossing points over the years, not wishing to waste time analyzing I chose to start with the my most used and most reliable crossing at the Foxtail Admin Site. Since one cannot park very close to the admin gate along Bush Highway, and to allow for the possibility of recrossing the river farther North on the return leg, I parked at the fence on the East side just past the right-left downward-twist along Bush Highway.
(I would have parked on the West side of Bush but two big-duallie pickups had taken up full residence.)
Due to the number of fishermen using the same 'trail' to the foxtail site the route was easy to follow, except for a few spots of thigh-high greenery which threatened to soak my pants, which at 42° F would not have been a great start to the day. Ok, so I took a few short detours, it was worth the peace-of-mind.
At the shore of the Salt River at Foxtail I slipped on overshoes for the crossing. Before leaving home I was unable to locate the 3" taller black pair I'd used in the past, but I was able to locate the lightweight milky-white plastic never-worn overshoes I had once purchased for Tracey. Thankfully they worked just fine, albeit requiring re-crossing at Foxtail again on the return. (Which will be explained later)
With so much green slime on the rocks it took a bit of extra care for the crossing, making sure I had solid footing before taking each step, which of course was aided greatly by judicious use of my trekking poles. Once safely across, I doffed the overshoes and set off on a bee-line in the direction of the Beeline Highway, albeit heading to the Lime Kiln which has been a requisite stop on every one of my cross-the-Salt trips.
From trips in the past all I had to do was follow one specific wash until within a few hundred feet of the kiln before turning directly Northward to reach it. Unable to explain it at this moment, but for some unknown reason I took more photos of the kiln than ever before. Part of that may be due my efforts to remove a large branch of a Palo Verde tree that someone had dropped into the kiln, preventing a clear shot of the inside. Without actually being able to drop inside, I was unable to safely remove it and eventually gave up.
Now having wasted a bit more time than expected, I decided to skip the Western part of my plan and just set off for Peak 1871, which is usually one of my last if not the last stop on the West side of the Salt River before heading back. As usual the ascent is misleading, with two points giving the idea they are the summit when there is still one more climb to go. Whatever, once at the summit, since I had cut off my planned Western loop as well as noting 'evidence' (scat and prints) of deer AND bighorn sheep in that direction, I took a side trip to the West end of the ridge. Nope, didn't see any of the aforementioned game, even after following their 'trail' on the contour back from the ridge.
Ok, now it's time to head back. Nope, I'm not going to add the side-trip to the 'other' more-visited kiln/oven, so the descent from 1871 will be a bit steeper. A bit?! If the forest of cholla wasn't enough of a hazard on the steep slope, the space between plants was dominated not only by loose rock, but loose gravel so footing took extreme care, and again, judicious use of the hiking poles.
Once safely down to the relatively level equestrian trail, I was rewarded by encountering the perfect spot to stop for a lunch break... a nice flat boulder with a view of Stewart Mountains, Blue Point and the Salt River. As i glanced over at a nearby rock outcropping I spotted a series of small openings which to my mind could be homes for small critters. Whether the case or not, it was at least a possibility. Break over, I began the return leg along the river to the next appropriate crossing point. Along the way I took the obligatory photo where the sheep used to be funneled onto the long-gone bridge across the Salt River.
Upon reaching the first anticipated river crossing, I remembered that while the crossing was very shallow, once on the other side there would be more than a small amount of thick vegetation to pass through before being able to continue back to the car. So I decided to continue on to the next waypoint, where I had crossed more times than all but the Foxtail crossing.
But weirdly enough, when I reached that point, it looked nothing like what I remembered when I last crossed it just over a year ago. Instead of an area of rocks just under or barely breaking the surface, which was conducive to a dry-crossing (with overshoes) there were no rapids and while barely moving, the water would have been too deep. So... it's back to Foxtail again, which again turned out to be the best choice, albeit a bit longer walk back to the car than if I could have taken the earlier crossing.
While the miles were less than planned, time-wise it was no shorter than on any of my previous crossings. Other than the addition and removal of overshoes for each crossing, I really do enjoy the hikes on the West side of the river. (Just as I enjoy mountain biking from the North end of Bush Highway all the way to this lime kiln and back. Ok, so all the sandy washes can temper that joy somewhat, but it's still worth the trip.)
Until next year... |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
