| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.70 Miles |
2,269 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.70 Miles | 7 Hrs 7 Mns | | 1.08 mph |
| 2,269 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Buckle up and grab a libation this one may take a while! This hike started an unknown number of years ago when @ssk44 found a very remote ruin on GE in Del Shay Basin. He and @grasshopper never made the plan or the hike to get there and decided to recently let me in on the location. Grasshopper took the time to plot out a course to the ruin and send me the route plan. I had been spending some time on my various map apps and with my TNF atlas also plotting a course. It seemed the shortest and easiest route was the one Hank sent over. My husband and I decided to go scout it out and possibly do the hike last Wednesday. Travis (husband) was exactly 3 weeks out of the hospital following a dirt bike crash resulting in 11 broken ribs and a collapsed lung. We took FS604 out to FS649 through the deep very very rocky and bumpy washes through the many gates and up the extremely rough 4x4 road towards the proposed parking area. It had been about 3 years since either of us had been out that way and the road seemed a lot less friendly than we remembered. It came to the point where we were driving much slower than we could walk so we parked the truck and began our hike knowing that we were adding an additional 1-2 miles each way by parking where we did and heading for the start of the hike but it couldn’t be avoided due to the road conditions. We were 1.5 miles up the very unforgiving steep rocky hill when Travis had a bit of a slip on the loose terrain and reinsured his broken ribs. Wednesdays hike was cut short and we took the very long walk/drive back out to Tonto Basin. Along this little adventure we did find some painted pottery and 2 ruins along side of 649. We also discovered that this hike was going to require a lot more time and effort than originally thought. On our way back to town my truck began making a terrible vibration every time I stepped on the brakes which on this road was often. Back at home it became obvious the truck would need a trip to the shop for what we believed was a broken motor mount. Travis was in need of some rest and ibuprofen and I was left wondering how I was going to make this hike work with the added 2-4 miles RT plus the 1-1.5 hour drive each way.
With my truck in the shop and my husband in the recliner I decided to take my dirt bike out to the only other access point I could see being feasible for this expedition. The 604/649 route is only 8 miles long but they are extremely rough miles. My new idea of 609/1938 was 15 miles long but not near as rough and the hike begins only .5 miles from where we park rather than 2-3. But it’s 6 of 1 half dozen of the other here because either way the hike ends up being around 8 mi RT it just depends which 8 miles you want to hike  I had previously hiked from 1938 to Horse Canyon ruin and felt I could just drop into the basin a bit farther down than Jumping Off Spring for this hike. It looked good on paper anyway. I rode out the 40 minutes to the unnamed Mesa I thought I could descend into the basin from. The ruin was visible through my binoculars from the mesas edge and I knew this would now be my TH for this off trail bushwhacking journey. It’s always fun when you can keep your eye on the prize as you trudge along on completely off trail hikes. The down side here is that in order to get to the ruin from this location there would be 2 massive descents and 1 massive ascent on the way there and then the reverse on the way back. What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment! Both routes would be around 8 miles RT for the hike and then there was the 4x4 drive to the TH to consider…. A lot going on for this 1 ruin but I couldn’t not go to it especially after seeing it through binoculars and knowing it was really real. I think no matter which route you decide to take you are in for an adventure! I’ll be posting both routes here and anyone needing a good dose of off trail hiking abuse can indulge in whichever they see fit! And if you are doing the hike in April plan to just throw away your socks and shoes at the end if you do not wear something to protect them from fox tails, they are plentiful and relentless little ankle biters this time of year out here!!!
With my truck back and Travis feeling better we headed out for the hike yesterday morning bright and early.
It was 1 hour from FS71 up 609 to the decided parking area on 1938. We left the truck at 7:50 am it was a breezy 51 degrees blue sky and sunny! The 1st half mile was an easy walk across a fire damaged field leading us to the cliff edge where we dropped down to the basin below. The hill was quite steep but only about half a mile long and had well defined cow paths to follow. At the bottom the walking was mostly flat and easy still following cow paths up to a fence line along the bottom of a large Mesa. We made our way around the large Mesa and up the backside of a small hill where we could then see the hillside leading up to the ruin. It was a doosie! Quite steep and full of loose rocks but again had well defined cow paths to follow. As we were contemplating our best option for getting down to Del Shay creek to begin climbing that hill we began finding pot sherds and then discovered a large ruin directly in our path! We decided not to spend much time there and revisit on our way back. We eventually made it down to Del Shay creek bed after a very steep switchback traverse down the hill. The climb up the next hill was brutal, the cow paths lead the way but there was some bushwhacking involved and the slope of the hillside was intense! We did however find a treasure along the way that broke up the misery of the climb. A giant old elk shed lay directly across our path! Neither of us had ever found an elk shed before and we took it as a sign of good luck! After another 10 minutes of huffing and puffing up the hill we came to the top and immediately saw the ruin off to our right several yards on the adjacent hilltop. Victory at last! 3.9 miles and 3 hours into the adventure. The ruin was quite ruined there were a few small pot sherds scattered around the edges but the real rewards lay inside of 3 separate rooms. Metates! One very deep fractured in half with its mono, one very large and complete but half buried, and one fragmented. We had lunch in the shade and plotted our return course. Turns out no matter which way you go it is a 1/3 of a mile knees burning descent followed by an equally perilous 1/3 of a mile ascent. We reached the top of our hill and relocated our 1st ruin. It holds many large pieces of pottery of all kinds including polychrome and I have not seen so many sherds of such large size since Horse Canyon which coincidentally can be viewed from this ruin. There are at least a dozen rooms possibly more as we discovered some slightly down hill from the main structure. Excellent find for our long exhausting hike! We made our way back to the truck mostly along our original route, too much veering in either direction and we would end up tangled in manzanitas. We did find pottery in obscure places along the way leading me to believe there is more out there yet to explore. Closer to the hill that leads us up to the truck we found 2 campsites where the campers had left without all of their tent stakes. On our final climb of the day I noticed a cave in the small valley of the hillside that I will be returning to explore. After 7.7 miles and 7 hours and 7 minutes we returned to the truck exhausted and sore but wow what a day!!! |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
I had previously hiked from 1938 to Horse Canyon ruin and felt I could just drop into the basin a bit farther down than Jumping Off Spring for this hike. It looked good on paper anyway. I rode out the 40 minutes to the unnamed Mesa I thought I could descend into the basin from. The ruin was visible through my binoculars from the mesas edge and I knew this would now be my TH for this off trail bushwhacking journey. It’s always fun when you can keep your eye on the prize as you trudge along on completely off trail hikes. The down side here is that in order to get to the ruin from this location there would be 2 massive descents and 1 massive ascent on the way there and then the reverse on the way back. What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment! Both routes would be around 8 miles RT for the hike and then there was the 4x4 drive to the TH to consider…. A lot going on for this 1 ruin but I couldn’t not go to it especially after seeing it through binoculars and knowing it was really real. I think no matter which route you decide to take you are in for an adventure! I’ll be posting both routes here and anyone needing a good dose of off trail hiking abuse can indulge in whichever they see fit! And if you are doing the hike in April plan to just throw away your socks and shoes at the end if you do not wear something to protect them from fox tails, they are plentiful and relentless little ankle biters this time of year out here!!!