Spur Cross Trail • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Cave Creek Indian Ruins at Chalk Canyon

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Aug 16 2025
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	11.40 Miles	1,290 AEG

Hiking	11.40 Miles	5 Hrs 26 Mns	2.12 mph
	1,290 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

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wallyfrack

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I picked this area because it's just a little higher than metro Phoenix so it's a few degrees cooler, especially with an early start. I did this hike 7 or 8 years earlier, but in the opposite direction.

We actually skipped the ruins by Chalk Canyon. Once we got out of Chalk Canyon, we headed north on the Cave Creek Trail for another mile and then got off trail to check out the plane wreck. Before we even found the plane wreck, Wally spotted the remains of some ruins, which I knew were in this area as well. After checking out the plane wreck, we made our way down to Cave Creek where what's left of a ranch is there. There is a cairned route down there that eventually turns into a primitive road, of sorts. This entire area is full of ruins and sherds all over the place. We could have easily spent hours checking out a huge area here of ruins. It looks like another pueblo and is within eyeshot of the Skull Mesa ruins up above. There area also several flat areas on the way down the hill that have a look of human activity, certainly not natural looking to have a flat area on the hill.

Once the cairned route turns into the road, there a very large petroglyph on a flat rock. A mile south of the ranch were we got down to the creek, we checked out the petroglyphs that are just below the Cave Creek Ruins by Chalk Canyon.

On the way back Wally kicked out 3 deer by a dwindling water source and we spotted a bee swarm hanging out on a branch by the junction of trails 4 and 247. On they way out and again on the way back Wally started hiking up Trail 252, which would have taken him completely off course. Fortunately on the way back I spotted him taking the wrong trail.

It was warm here and there on the way back, but there were several breezes that kept it pleasant. Stayed under 100 the entire time, which is unheard of for August.

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Apr 26 2025

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Rondo Spring Trail

Rondo Spring Trail

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Apr 26 2025
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	15.56 Miles	2,150 AEG

Hiking	15.56 Miles	6 Hrs 45 Mns	2.33 mph
	2,150 ft AEG	4 Mns Break

Linked

linked

Spur Cross to CCRA - Maricopa Trail

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none

no partners

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I planned this as an out and back to hike all of Rondo Spring Trail. The upper portion of this hike is rough with all the loose rocks on the trail (and even not so loose rocks). It's not all that steep or all much elevation gain, just slow going on the rocks. After the last junction to Elephant Mountain is where it gets really bad. I knew this going in and almost changed my mind to do the hike. I pushed through, taking my time. I when from 23 minutes miles to 40 minute miles on this 2 miles stretch at the top, which even includes the downhill parts. Much of this upper area looks to have had some recent trimming of palo verde trees to keep it clear. However, they left the dead branches on the trail, which kind of defeats the purpose and it increased the trip hazards.

After Rondo Spring I headed down Rondo Spring Trail. It remains steep and rocky for the first half mile or so. Once it hits the wash it's immediately more level and smooth and much easier to hike. soon after that there's a single trail that meets up with a jeep road. The last 2+ miles were pretty much jeep roads. There's no signage of any sort, so I'm assuming the track I used is accurate. There are several intersecting cattle trails along the way also.

Once I got to the end, I did not feel like going through the slog of the upper portion of these trails and descending on the upper portion of the Tortuga and beyond. I noticed that I was less than a mile from the Maricopa Trail that heads back on the south side of Elephant Mountain. I began to follow the jeep roads I found and they led in that direction.

In order to prevent a backtrack on the trail and save mileage, I took a cattle trail that headed directly due east from the dirt road I was on to the MT. Once I got there, I discovered I was on the wrong side of a barbed wire fence. With a half a railroad tie left nearby, I used to hop up over at a corner part of 2 perpendicular parts of the barbed wire and used the wire tied to the big railroad tie that was the corner anchor of the fence as a ladder. Almost 2 miles later, I discover that the MT crosses this fence at a cattle guard bike ramp, so I didn't need to go thru all that. I could have just followed the cattle trail that parallels the MT there the entire time.

Made my way back to the lot in 90 minutes less time than on the way out, and saved maybe a half mile of distance, if that. Saw 2 bikers once I was back in the park, then a few more hikers after that, but not many. No wildlife spotted.

Temperature was cool to start, warmed up after the sun hit, but it never got hot. 25 mph wind gusts were predicted, but did not grace me with an appearance.

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Mar 19 2025

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Spur Cross to Cave Crk Petroglyphs, AZ

Hiking		Mar 19 2025
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	7.52 Miles	614 AEG

Hiking	7.52 Miles	5 Hrs 47 Mns	1.69 mph
	614 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break

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This was a day hike with my cousin who was visiting from Washington State. Our destination was the well-known petroglyphs about 3.75 miles up Cave Creek from the Spur Cross parking lot. The route starts out on a section of the Spur Cross Trail which follows the old Forest Service Road #48 up Cave Creek passing into the Tonto National Forest and ending at the boundary to the long abandoned 6L Ranch. The petroglyphs are about 0.2 miles past the rusty gate and sign marking the old ranch boundary.

The trail is well worn and maintained as it follows the old road to the Spur Cross Park boundary. From there the trail is not maintained but easy to follow on the old roadbed until reaching a point about 0.8 miles past the turnoff to Cave Crk Trail #4. From there the old road has been washed out by numerous flash floods over the years but just follow the most worn of the various trails all leading up the canyon. The creek bed was dry with no wet crossings until we got to the last crossing before the intersection with Cave Crk Trail #4. There was water in the creek bed at the several crossings after that, but all could be easily crossed by hopping on rocks. There is an active cattle grazing lease starting at a barbed wire fence and gate just past the Trail #4 intersection. That area becomes heavily worn by the cattle approximately a half mile past the gate and the extreme abundance of their excrement results in a strong smell reminiscent of a cattle feed lot. Fortunately, my cousin grew up on a farm in the country and I'm not sure she even noticed the smell.

Other than the cattle stink, it was an enjoyable trek on a beautiful day.

Wildflowers Observation None
There were no wildflowers showing due to the long drought this winter.

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Feb 09 2025

Vashti

Guides 17
Routes 297
Photos 1,808
Triplogs 276

female

Joined Mar 11 2002
Gilbert, AZ

Skull Mesa Ruins

Skull Mesa - Cottonwood Creek Loop

Skull Mesa Ruins

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 09 2025
		Vashti • Triplogs 276

Hiking	14.96 Miles	3,143 AEG

Hiking	14.96 Miles	10 Hrs 15 Mns	1.76 mph
	3,143 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break

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6 linked trail guides

Skull Mesa from Spur Cross TH

Skull Mesa Trail #248

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partners

DesertNymph

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Headed out at 6a for a 7a start. It was nice and cool with a bit of wind. After paying our $3, we were off! We saw the Rangers just getting things set up.

We opted to take the shortcut to shave off a mile. Not sure if this area is closed? The posted sign seems to point to yes, but if you took the shortcut going towards the parking lot, you would never see the closed sign, only a cairn marking the start of the trail from Cottonwood trail 247. From the Spur Cross trail/road, you turn right following the signage for mariposa hill.

The shortcut follows the park boundary fence line for quite a while. There are good views of the mansion houses and their roads during the climb up the ridge. The trail is mainly well defined with only a few sections that are faint. After the shortcut lets out onto Cottonwood trail 247, it is not too far until the gate and junction with skull mesa 248. At the beginning, there seems to be multiple trails, but after a while they all merge, and up to the Mesa you steeply go. The trail is good, but I was definitely happy to be heading onto the flat ground of skull mesa. We had a quick snack break and headed off across the mesa through dry grass, rocks, and prickly pear. The game trails are much appreciated. I was thinking how fast and pleasant this trip would be on an actual trail, ha! Of course then there might be hordes of people. We made it across the Mesa without incident and started over to the ruins. Everything was relatively uneventful except for a 15 ft long section of exposure which I didn't love while passing the last mound on the left (southeast) side before the ruins. This appeared the best way to go, but 5-inch wide trails plus dropoffs are not my fave. After the sketchy section, we enjoyed the ruins.

I was hoping for us to do a loop with Cave Creek trail 4 after coming down from the ruins. Well. A lot of triplogs go up/down by the ruins. These people are part mountain goat and FAR more fearless than me. I was studying the way down based on the route I downloaded. And any way I looked at it, it looked frightening and steep! Apparently, I am not part mountain goat!

It just looked like a scary cliff to me. We decided to head back the way we came. I had really wanted to make that loop, but we just couldn't find a way down that we were comfortable traversing. I was looking forward to being on trail after the scary down, but instead it was back across skull mesa and down down down back to the car. We passed very few hikers all day. We saw no one during most of the day, only a few people within a quarter mile of the parking lot plus one solo hiker headed up to the top of skull mesa as we headed down.

I was mighty disappointed not to have seen a single Petroglyph on skull mesa. I kept looking to no avail!! I will have to research more for next time.

It was an adventure on a new trail! A beautiful day to be out exploring!

Dry

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3 archives

Dec 14 2024

Nightstalker

Routes 189
Photos 7,236
Triplogs 1,740

57 male

Joined Apr 25 2011
Goodyear, AZ

Spur Cross Dragonfly Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 14 2024
		Nightstalker • Triplogs 1,740

Hiking	5.30 Miles	575 AEG

Hiking	5.30 Miles	2 Hrs 45 Mns		2.67 mph
	575 ft AEG	46 Mns Break	8 LBS Pack

no routes

Linked

linked

Towhee Trail - Spur Cross

Partners

none

no partners

Great hike with Carey, Christina, and Yolanda. Ran into Park Ranger Kevin who took us on a side trail to some petroglyphs. Kevin also showed us a cool mountain lion video from one of the parks trail camera's. Didn't see anyone on the first half of the hike, plenty of hikers and 4 bikers on the second half. Stopped to chat with the horses on the way back to the parking lot.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gallydoll Pose

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Mar 19 2024

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Trail 1533 Loop TNF, AZ

Hiking		Mar 19 2024
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	6.78 Miles	734 AEG

Hiking	6.78 Miles	4 Hrs 45 Mns	1.70 mph
	734 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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This hike started in the parking lot of the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area and was an attempt to follow one of @LosDosSloFolks favorite routes so I used the triplog name he coined for this hike. It was a last-minute change in plan after asking about creek crossing conditions at the toll booth. I didn't have his GPS track on my ancient Garmin Oregon 450 so relied on my memory - always a risky but sometimes rewarding endeavor.

The hike proceeds up the Spur Cross Trail and follows old FS48 along the creek after exiting the park into the Tonto National Forest. The trail crosses the creek 4 times after exiting the park on the way to its intersection with Cave Creek Trail #4 (also marked with an old sign for FS1533). The 4 creek crossings all had strategically placed rocks to enable a dry crossing. At that intersection the track starts a loop, if going counterclockwise, following Trail #4 to an intersection with an old mining road. It then follows that old road north along the east side of Cave Creek Canyon and eventually drops down into the canyon to connect with the trail which follows old FS48 to close the loop and return to Spur Cross. I decided to take the loop in the clockwise direction so proceeded north along the creek on old FS48. After a short distance I came upon an intersection with an old road which starts a steep climb up the east side of the canyon. The ancient topo map in my Garmin shows this road connecting with Trail #4 and the old road used by @LosDosSloFolks.

It was at this point where I decided to explore up this old road to change my loop direction to counter-clockwise. There was an interesting area to explore part way up the trail so I went off-trail to look for evidence of ancient habitation and what appeared from a distance to be a small arch in a rock outcropping part way up the hill. No evidence of the ancients was found and the arch turned out to be the skeleton of a Saguaro which had collapsed against the side of the rock outcropping. After getting back on track I followed the remainder of the loop with excursions to two viewpoints overlooking the canyon. A boulder with a few interesting ancient petroglyphs and some initials scratched in it from more recent times was found on the 2nd viewpoint.

Photo-op highlights of the trek included a standoff with two Javelina who were blocking the trail, A Mallard and his mate perched on a small boulder in a pond-like section of Cave Creek, and a Gila Monster encounter along the Metate Trail. The desert greenery was at its spring-time best with the hillsides covered with green grass and all the desert plants thoroughly enjoying the temporary end of the drought. However it was still a little early for the wildflowers but I did encounter a few patches of Mexican Golden Poppies.

People encounters were few to none after passing into the TNF. However in the Park I encountered a group of horse-back riders following a crusty looking guide who kept his Chiwawa guard dog perched behind him on his horse's back. I mentioned to one of the young ladies trailing behind out of his earshot that only his seeing-eye dog knew where they were going. She replied without smiling, "Yes, I know!" In another attempt at trail humor, I asked two Park trail maintenance employees, who were trailing the horses with shovels in hand, if it was their job to follow the horses and clear the trail of horse poop. One of the two, who looked almost as crusty as the horseback guide, responded loudly "I don't shovel s***!" My attempts at trail humor are possibly an explanation of why most of my hikes are solo.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mexican Gold Poppy

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gila Monster Javelina Mallard Duck

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A few patches of Mexican Golden Poppies on south facing hillsides.

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Jan 20 2024

emilystardust

Routes 386
Photos 49
Triplogs 792

43 female

Joined Jun 23 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Black Mesa - Cave Creek

Black Mesa - Cave Creek

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 20 2024
		emilystardust • Triplogs 792

Hiking	11.14 Miles	3,255 AEG

Hiking	11.14 Miles	7 Hrs 30 Mns	1.65 mph
	3,255 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

no photosets

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

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Jan 16 2024

Routes 70
Photos 3,081
Triplogs 601

70 male

Joined Feb 10 2019
Cave Creek, AZ

Spur Cross Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 16 2024
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	4.38 Miles	541 AEG

Hiking	4.38 Miles
	541 ft AEG		6 LBS Pack

Linked

linked

[ checklist ] Gila Petroglyph Style (Abstract) Gila Petroglyph Style (Anthropomorphic) Gila Petroglyph Style (Zoomorphic) Trail Signs and Markings

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no partners

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Nice close to home hike this afternoon just to do something after my dental appointment. Still some fall color at the Jewel Of The Creek Preserve to start off this CW loop. I normally don't hike here in the afternoons and the trails were very busy with both people and dogs. The normally full Dragonfly pond was bone dry which was sad to see. Lots of bird activity though.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elephant Mountain

_____________________

"If you wait, all that happens is you get older"

Dec 25 2023

Routes 70
Photos 3,081
Triplogs 601

70 male

Joined Feb 10 2019
Cave Creek, AZ

Trail 1533 Loop TNF, AZ

Hiking		Dec 25 2023
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	6.79 Miles	897 AEG

Hiking	6.79 Miles	3 Hrs 22 Mns		2.18 mph
	897 ft AEG	15 Mns Break	6 LBS Pack

Linked

linked

[ checklist ] Black Mesa Cave Creek - SPRCA Elephant Mountain Metate Pond New River Mesa Skull Mesa

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no partners

Christmas morning hike. I had to get out of the house today to stay sane. CCW double lasso loop close to home that has good vistas and a show of fall color. The high point has a nice rock ledge overlook with great views. It was always a favorite of Cathy's.

1533 is actually a forest road but I refer to it as a trail since it is 95% single track. The Forest Service has awarded a new 10 year grazing contract to someone and the trail has been udderly destroyed by the cows. Pardon the pun. Not to mention all the nice smooshy cairns that are now all over the place.

Still a fun hike but the tread is treacherous. Had the trails to myself and didn't see anyone until a got back in on the Metate Trail close to the parking lot. Saw a handful of people gold panning at the first crossing as I was finishing up. I doubt that it is allowed but I hope they struck it rich on Christmas. The parking area for The Jewel of the Creek was an absolute cluster wad as I drove out. There were maybe 25 cars vying for 12 spots. Cue the Benny Hill music.

Huge lot just 300 yards to the north.
Merry Christmas to everyone!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Sycamore

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Autumn - Color Foliage

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
Substantial as far as Cottonwoods and Sycamores go.

Cave Creek - SPRCA

Pools to trickle

Metate Pond

76-100% full

_____________________

"If you wait, all that happens is you get older"

1 archive

Dec 10 2023

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Cottonwood Trail 247-247A Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 10 2023
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking

Hiking

Linked

linked

Mariposa Hill

Partners

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no partners

My daughter requested that I recommend a trail for a family hike and I came up with this one out of the Spur Cross Trailhead thanks to a triplog posted by @LosDosSloFolks. It was one of the few trails out of Spur Cross that they hadn't done before. The Spur Cross parking lot was nearly full when we started at 11:00am but once we got on 247A we didn't see another person until returning on the Spur Cross Trail following Cave Creek. I tested my fitness by trying to keep up with my 2 grandkids on the first uphill sections and had some success. But I was lagging behind on the last half of the loop and got back to the parking lot about 15 minutes after them.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elephant Mountain

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Sep 26 2023

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Sep 26 2023
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	3.00 Miles	200 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles
	200 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Took David and Ben to Spur cross for another wander round.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Sep 25 2023

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,347

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Sep 25 2023
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,347

Hiking	3.00 Miles	200 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles
	200 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

Linked

linked

Partners

none

no partners

Took David and Ben to Spur Cross for a wander round.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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May 14 2023

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		May 14 2023
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	11.68 Miles	1,349 AEG

Hiking	11.68 Miles	4 Hrs 27 Mns	2.75 mph
	1,349 ft AEG	12 Mns Break

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johnlp

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

we wanted a hike near cave creek so john picked out the [ Cave Creek Indian Ruins at Chalk Canyon ]
set out around 0520 or so on spur cross trail, then cave creek trail
everything past the 1533 turnoff at the gate was new to me
we had shade for the first few miles, pleasant temps and a nice breeze which helped keep the gnats at bay
there is a large cairn at the turn west to the ruins
given the amount of foxtails and other types of stickers, we decided not to cross the mesa
instead, we continued north on cave creek trail for awhile and then retraced our steps
there were enough stickers to pick out of our shoes and socks just from the trail
also an annoying number of gnats
we took the metate trail on the return and started seeing a few people
still a good hike, but we'd like to go back for the ruins, petroglyphs and the ranch
the highlight of the trip was seeing a rattlesnake and a gila monster
after the hike we had a great visit with cathy and greg, aka @losdosslofolks
followed by brunch at the brass rail
pretty nice morning

thanks, john

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

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hazhole

1 archive

May 14 2023

johnlp

Guides 1
Routes 14
Photos 7,202
Triplogs 5,208

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		May 14 2023
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	11.68 Miles	1,349 AEG

Hiking	11.68 Miles	4 Hrs 27 Mns	2.75 mph
	1,349 ft AEG	12 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

linked

Partners

partners

trekkin_gecko

Our initial plan was to hike one of two loops off of Cave Creek #4. Due to the tremendous amount of foxtail etc., we ended up just doing an in and out. The use trails down to the creek and ruins looked like murder.
The Good:
Nice scenery & weather, rattlesnake and gila monster sightings
The Bad:
Missed out on the ruins, petroglyphs, and ranch
The Ugly:
Foxtail and gnats.
After the hike we had a great visit with @losdosslofolks, followed by breakfast at the brass rail.
Very nice day. Thanks Kelly, Cathy and Greg.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Rock Squirrel

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Mar 20 2023

Routes 70
Photos 3,081
Triplogs 601

70 male

Joined Feb 10 2019
Cave Creek, AZ

Trail 1533 Loop TNF, AZ

Hiking		Mar 20 2023
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	6.93 Miles	897 AEG

Hiking	6.93 Miles	3 Hrs 37 Mns		2.18 mph
	897 ft AEG	26 Mns Break	6 LBS Pack

Linked

linked

[ checklist ] Anna's Hummingbird Mourning Cloak Butterfly

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no partners

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

This close to home double lasso loop hike is one of our favorites in the Tonto National Forest. Rain in the forecast over the next couple of days so today was the day. The creek was flowing strong and after the first few crossings out of Spur Cross I gave up trying to stay dry and just waded across on the remainder.

FR 1533 is a single track so I refer to it as a trail rather than a forest road. The northern sections have been decimated by newly introduced cattle. The Forest Service recently signed a new grazing lease with someone and the cows are really tearing things up.

The lower areas south of the fence line are still in good shape. The horseback ride concessionaire has been doing some wonderful maintenence on Cottonwood Trail 247 so hopefully they find the time to give 1533 some much needed love.

Saw no hikers after leaving Spur Cross but ran into the unwashed masses on the Metate Trail towards the end of the hike.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chuparosa Desert Phlox Hopbush

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Camelback Mountain Cottonwood Creek Sugarloaf Mountain

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Lots of Lupine, Poppies, Fiddleneck. Scorpionweed,and Chuparosa. Brittlebush and Desert Globemallow soon to bloom.

Cave Creek - SPRCA

Heavy flow

Light flow

Metate Pond

76-100% full

_____________________

"If you wait, all that happens is you get older"

Feb 27 2023

Routes 70
Photos 3,081
Triplogs 601

70 male

Joined Feb 10 2019
Cave Creek, AZ

Spur Cross Mud Bog, AZ

Hiking		Feb 27 2023
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	4.04 Miles	548 AEG

Hiking	4.04 Miles
	548 ft AEG		4 LBS Pack

Linked

linked

[ checklist ] Gila Petroglyph Style (Abstract) Gila Petroglyph Style (Anthropomorphic) Gila Petroglyph Style (Zoomorphic) Gila Plain Hohokam Surface Structure

Partners

none

no partners

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

My plan for today was a trek up to the 6L Ranch. The weather was perfect but the trail conditions were not. The recent rain and snow has Cave Creek running strongly. The farther north you go the more water there is. There are about 8 crossings in each direction for the 6L trip. I don't mind rock hopping but shoe and sock removal that many times didn't sound enticing.

Plan B was a short loop in Spur Cross with Cathy. They had the wood bridges in place for all two of our crossings. Things were OK till we got on top of the plateau above Black Mesa Creek. The trail turned to mud and stayed that way for the remainder of the loop. Quite a bit of snow still in the shady areas of the trail. The slog through soft mud was less than fun but the day was gorgeous and my company was superb.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dichelostemma capitatum

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cave Creek Elephant Mountain

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Snow

Black Mesa Creek - SPRCA

Pools to trickle

	Cave Creek - SPRCA	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Over a foot in depth in many places even this far south.

_____________________

"If you wait, all that happens is you get older"

Feb 04 2023

DarthStiller

Guides 27
Routes 669
Photos 12,096
Triplogs 856

56 male

Joined Jul 05 2006
Mesa, AZ

Elephant Mountain Trail - Spur Cross

Elephant Mountain Trail - Spur Cross

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 04 2023
		DarthStiller • Triplogs 856

Hiking	10.22 Miles	2,043 AEG

Hiking	10.22 Miles	5 Hrs 33 Mns	1.88 mph
	2,043 ft AEG	6 Mns Break

Linked

linked

Limestone Trail #252 - Spur Cross

Partners

partners

mt98dew

I hadn't hiked the Elephant Mt. trail a good 20 years, and my memories were of it being extremely steep with very loose scree. This turned out to be much easier than I remember. Good idea to go back to trails after so many years (decades?) to refresh your memory.

I met Brian at the Spur Cross TH at about 6:30am. It was still very dark and just windy enough to want to wear gloves, which I took off after a half mile, as usual. We did a clockwise loop from Spur Cross on the Spur Cross Trail to Elephant Mt, then Limestone to Cave Creek and back to the TH. On the way out to the bottom of the Elephant Mt trail, we met several trail runners who were running the Aravaipa race that day, which was either a 50 or 35 MILE route from the CCRA.

At the saddle of the Elephant Mt Trail we took the "closed area" spur to the lower peak and checked out the views and the ruins. The views there were the highlight of the day. From that peak there were good views to check the route to the Elephant Mt summit, which looked doable, although still challenging. the visible trail at the bottom was encouraging. 20 years ago I don't know that any of these trails or routes existed, but I may have easily missed them if they were there as I was a novice then.

Once we got down off Elephant Mt we headed out on the Limestone Trail which we almost immediately regretted since it's so rocky and slow going. the further we got along, the more I remembered from my previous hikes the last 4 years. My main takeaway was that I knew why I decided to do this route clockwise so that we weren't burnt out by the time we got to the base of Elephant Mt.

We only saw 2 hikers on Limestone, a couple with their dog who were from out of state visiting. On the Cave creek trail on the way back we ran into several people, many of whom asked for directions to the trails they wanted to get to. It was very strange that the temperature along the Cave Creek Trail seemed cooler than the higher elevations on the Limestone.

We finished up around noon and I had lunch at the picnic tables there before I headed out. Very nice weather for the day and very cool to check out an area I had never been to before.

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2 archives

Dec 27 2022

Routes 70
Photos 3,081
Triplogs 601

70 male

Joined Feb 10 2019
Cave Creek, AZ

Up the Creek, AZ

Hiking		Dec 27 2022
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	5.19 Miles	418 AEG

Hiking	5.19 Miles
	418 ft AEG		4 LBS Pack

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

We needed to get in just a few miles to meet some year end goals so we went out today just in case the forecast for rain over the next couple days came true. Cathy wanted something without a lot of gain so we decided to just follow Cave Creek north from Spur Cross and then turn around and return using the Metate Trail to take in the Mesquite forest and the little oasis pond.

Temps were cool at the start but got warmer than expected very quickly. More info in the photo captions and the parking lot was getting loaded up by the time we returned. We saw lots of folks heading out for hikes with no hats or water and improper footwear.

Common sense is not very common.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Hopbush Saguaro

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Lowland Leopard Frog

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Hohokam Mano and Metate

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cave Creek New River Mesa

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Autumn - Color Foliage

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

Cave Creek - SPRCA

Pools to trickle

Pools to trickle

Metate Pond

76-100% full

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"If you wait, all that happens is you get older"

Dec 27 2022

muskybankr

Routes 34
Photos 313
Triplogs 42

86 male

Joined Dec 11 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Spur Cross Loop with Mariposa Hill #247 CC#4, AZ

Hiking		Dec 27 2022
		muskybankr • Triplogs 42

Hiking	6.75 Miles	1,239 AEG

Hiking	6.75 Miles	3 Hrs 4 Mns		2.53 mph
	1,239 ft AEG	24 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Mariposa Hill

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This is one of our favorite loops in the Spur Cross Mountains, utilizing some well-worn trails that don’t appear on my map but are obviously well known to the horses in the area. Start down Spur Cross about one mile to Mariposa Hill, following that as it joins the Tonto National Forest trails. At about the 2 mile mark you will arrive at a cairned intersection; the trail to the right leads to the old concrete water trough on Cottonwood but we turn left and go up the hill, less than a mile, on what we call the Shortcut trail which intersects Cottonwood trail at the 2.65 mile mark, just below Skull Mesa, where we turn left, reaching the Skull Mesa TH on the CaveCreek #4 trail, at near the 4.3 mile mark and from there it’s about 2.5 miles back to the parking lot. This shortcut cuts about 3 miles off the alternate route and about 1000 feet of AEG, both very helpful attributes of this trail, yet not side-stepping any of the scenic views in the Spur Cross Mountains. All photos by Phil

Autumn Foliage Observation None
Cottonwoods in Dragon Fly are golden

Wildflowers Observation None
Some sort of pink ratany ground cover, if there is such a plant. Other than that, nothing I saw.

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Dec 19 2022

Routes 70
Photos 3,081
Triplogs 601

70 male

Joined Feb 10 2019
Cave Creek, AZ

Cottonwood Trail 247-247A Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 19 2022
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	6.78 Miles	1,068 AEG

Hiking	6.78 Miles	3 Hrs 26 Mns	2.12 mph
	1,068 ft AEG	14 Mns Break

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Mariposa Hill