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| Hiking | 1.90 Miles |
717 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.90 Miles | 3 Hrs 34 Mns | | 0.53 mph |
| 717 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I was out on a motorcycle ride in December of 2023 along FS236 and decided to follow FS236A to see where it would lead. I soon came to a blown out section of road and decided to go for a walk. I came across an old cowboy camp complete with a metal bed frame, some 1960s coors beer cans, and a great view of a cliff face which held a cave. Looking through my binoculars I felt it was quite large and also not too far off. I began walking north following the road and then a bit of a horse trail until cutting right over into the greenback creek bed. I soon discovered that I was not dressed or prepared for the amount of boulder hopping and plant dodging this hike was going to require. I turned back towards the bike and decided to keep that hike on my ever growing list for another day.
April 18th 2026 turned out to be that day! I was once again out for a ride on the dirt bike and decided it was time to inspect the cliff side cave. This time I had plenty of water and more forgiving boots and riding gear on. I had discovered HAZ sometime in between these two excursions and was now aware that the cave in question did in fact hold ancient treasure! I did not take into account the difference in vegetation between December and April in TNF. I found myself in several tangles of downed trees and over grown plants of all kinds along my trek in Greenback creek. I ventured out of the creek bed along a game trail to the east up the hillside for a while but soon it became to overgrown and I was forced back down into my boulder hopping ankle twisting waterway. It is only around half a mile from the roads end to the base of the hill below the cave but I will venture to say it is the longest 1/2 mile I have ever traversed! I eventually found myself below the cave in the creek bed staring at an impassable fence of plant life and downed trees separating me from the scree field that leads upwards. I backtracked several yards and found a passable option leading me up a different scree field to the edge of some rock faces that would eventually lead me over to the drainage which would take me up to the cave. The scree was as always loose and unforgiving and in this particular area extremely steep! The yucca, cacti, and other plants were not my friends as I scampered through them clinging to anything I could to stay upright along the side of the steep slope. I reached the drainage very discouraged after this initial uphill side slope bushwack. Then I looked up and saw to my dismay that I had only just begun the ascent. The over grown, even more steep, loose rock filled drainage before me was not fit for human passage. But, I had come this far so I was absolutely going to find my way through! When I reached the cave I was struck with awe and extremely happy I had trudged on. The opening must be 30-40ft high and maybe 15ft wide! There is a pine tree growing inside and several crevices which I believe to be man made. I spied the metate right away and was surprised more artifacts didn’t remain in the cave or surrounding area but history is a mystery! The cave paintings were interesting, I usually find petroglyphs in TNF not pictographs. The modern human graffiti seems to be from 1897? So hard to tell especially in noontime light. It definitely predates Arizonas statehood by many years in any case. The views and rock formations along the hillside did not disappoint! I will call the hike a success but will also say that if it were a ski hill it would be labeled a triple back diamond! What a workout! The trip back down the mountain side consisted of one slip which led me to put my hand down directly onto the one and only cactus growing through the scree which was so small the odds of me landing on it were ridiculously slim but I managed the feat!!! I took a slightly different route through the creek beds hoping to find an easier path but it was a failed attempt, the boulder hopping continued along with the downed tree detours. I was able to locate the old coors cans from my original hike but couldn’t find the metal bed frame. I also managed completely by accident to take a few pictures from exact places I had in 2023 and a few inside the cave from the same vantage point @ssk44 and @grasshopper had taken theirs 14 years ago! I put a few of these “then and now” comparisons in my photo set. There are a lot of worthwhile sites to see up greenback creek but it is not an easy hike in any sense of the word. The pictures of course will not do the steepness of the climb justice but I’ll add some anyway. Another hike off the list for this year  |
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