Crazy Jug Canyon • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Sep 15 2023

pseudalpine

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

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Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Tapeats Redux, AZ

Backpack		Sep 15 2023
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Backpack	26.55 Miles	8,594 AEG

Backpack	26.55 Miles	3 Days
	8,594 ft AEG

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shelby147

Flora

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[ checklist ] Fremont Cottonwood

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[ checklist ] Chuckwalla

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[ checklist ] Parissawampitts Point Stina Canyon Thunder Spring

6 archives

Jul 23 2015

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Rim Trail #10 North End, AZ

Hiking		Jul 23 2015
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	6.70 Miles	1,032 AEG

Hiking	6.70 Miles	6 Hrs 58 Mns		0.96 mph
	1,032 ft AEG		15 LBS Pack

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Rainbow Rim Trail

Crazy Jug Canyon

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This was my third day car camped above the end of Crazy Jug Canyon on the North Rim Grand Canyon. I decided to do some exploring in the rim area near camp instead of descending into the canyon as I had done the previous two days. My Garmin Topo US 24k Southwest map showed an unnamed trail passing near my camp. My hard copy North Kaibob Ranger District map also shows this trail with it labeled as Rim Trail #10. This trail is shown on that map extending from a TH on FR206 about 3.7 miles east of Timp Point all the way north to another TH at the intersection of FR292 and FR272 about a half mile north of my camp. So off I went to find the north end of this trail and follow it hopefully all the way south to Parissawampitts Point. Not sure where the name for that point came from but it sounds like a derogatory description of Paris Hilton (there, that might help me remember how to pronounce it). This was the beginning of an off and on search for the remnants of this old trail over the next week as I worked my way south along the rim visiting some of the major view points I had not been too on my previous trip three years ago.

This started out as a pleasant walk through a green meadow sprinkled with blue Lupine and a red flower with tiny trumpet shaped blossoms beneath towering Ponderosa Pines. But then my route started up a small drainage towards a hilltop labeled South Big Saddle Point on the map. The drainage soon got choked with New Mexico Locust which appears to be taking over much of the forest areas on the north rim. So far there had been no sign of the trail. I started weaving back and forth trying to find clearings through the clumps of locust. Where the terrain started to level out on the hilltop I spotted a small red flag marker on the end of a wire stuck in the ground. There appeared to be a faint trail through the grass which I back tracked on and soon came upon a white reflective plastic diamond tacked on the trunk of a tree and another red flag. I had found the trail. I then followed this faint trail as it more or less followed the trail marked on my GPS map heading east through patches of open meadow. More red flags, rock cairns, two more diamond markers, and an old wood Trail #10 sign nailed to a tree, and an occasional "North Rim Trail" marker confirmed I was on track.

As the trail approached to within 50 yds west of FR272 it began to show signs of recent maintenance. The ground had been scrapped just deep enough to show the dirt and gravel in the soil below creating a narrow path no more than 1 foot wide. At this point I took a detour on an old logging road bed that was almost completely hidden by grass along the top of a ridge that extended towards the GC. The only clue to the existence of this road was a small sign indicating the number 3672 where this road crossed Trail #10. I would find a number of these road number identification signs at seemingly random locations in the forest marking roads that had long ago been reclaimed by the forest. One was even shown as a road approved for All Motor Vehicle Use on my Garmin GPS Kaibob NF MVUM overlay. The north Kaibob Nat. Forest was logged long ago resulting in a maze of old logging roads, many of which have been abandoned and are grown over. I'm not sure why the Forest Service found it necessary to go to the expense of posting signs on all these unused roads, especially when many of the signs are not within view of roads currently in use.

I continued to follow what appeared to be the beginning of restoration of the old Rim Trail #10 but it soon deviated from the route shown on my map and connected with the end of FR3637 (not on the map). From there I assumed it followed FR3637 to where that road branches off of FR272C. At this point the trail appeared to end and did not proceed on towards Parissawampitts Point as the old Trail #10 had. From here it was a long way by road to P. Point so I dropped that destination from my itinerary, stopped for lunch, and then headed back for camp the way I had come. On the way back to camp I found more trail markers at the other end of the trail and followed what I think is the old route of Trail #10 all the way to where it ended at the intersection of FR292 and FR272. Although a TH is shown here on my hardcopy map of the North Kaibob NF, there is no sign for the trail and it is obviously out of use at this location. I'm not sure if the Forest Service plans to restore this north end of the Rim Trail beyond the small amount that I observed. It appears that the only section of old Trail #10 which is regularly maintained is now called the Rainbow Rim Trail starting at Timp Point in the south and ending at Parissawampitts Point.

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1 archive

Jul 22 2015

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Big Saddle Cowboy Trail, AZ

Hiking		Jul 22 2015
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	3.40 Miles	1,404 AEG

Hiking	3.40 Miles	6 Hrs 41 Mns		0.51 mph
	1,404 ft AEG		15 LBS Pack

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Crazy Jug Canyon

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This was my second day hike in as many days down the Big Saddle Cowboy Trail from my car camp on the North Rim Grand Canyon above the head of Crazy Jug Canyon. My plan for this second hike was to check out some alcoves for possible cliff dwellings along a ledge near where I had seen pottery sherds the day before. It was a short hike down the trail to where the ledge curved around the south side of a cliff overlooking the ravine where the trail descends down to the esplanade. Working my way along the ledge I passed a couple small alcoves with no sign of ancient habitations until I reached a larger one that would have been a good location for a small multi-room cliff dwelling. There were definite signs of previous habitation but no visible ruin remains. Unfortunately the signs of habitation were from cows. Numerous piles of cow dung, probably dating back to the previous century decorated the floor of the alcove and had been well preserved by the sheltering cliff overhang.

After this disappointment I edged my way along the ledge to where it ended at a point overlooking the esplanade below. This area of the esplanade was in the opposite direction (north) from the area I had explored the day before. Far below I could see what appeared to be the remains of an old trail that possibly descended from the esplanade down to the bottom of Crazy Jug Canyon. This aroused my curiosity so I went back to the Cowboy Trail and headed down to the esplanade. Reaching the possible trail location required some bushwhacking through thickets of Manzanita with some wandering around searching for evidence of a trail. Unfortunately when I got to the possible trail location there was none to be found but I did find a broken pint whiskey bottle probably left by cowboys. Numbers embossed on the bottom of the bottle indicated it was molded in 1964. I hadn't found what I was looking for but the views were awesome so the hike was still a success. As midday approached it was starting to get uncomfortably warm so I abandoned further explorations and returned to camp.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Crazy Jug Canyon Parissawampitts Point

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1 archive

Jul 21 2015

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Big Saddle Cowboy Trail, AZ

Hiking		Jul 21 2015
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

Hiking	4.30 Miles	1,658 AEG

Hiking	4.30 Miles	7 Hrs 52 Mns		0.55 mph
	1,658 ft AEG		15 LBS Pack

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Crazy Jug Canyon

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Headed to the North Rim Grand Canyon for 10 days of car camping and day hiking to escape the Phoenix heat. My first stop was to explore a mystery trail at the head of Crazy Jug Canyon. I found this trail on a previous trip 3 years ago but never followed it down into the canyon. Thanks to Dave1, I have since found out that this is an old ranching trail called Big Saddle Cowboy Trail which was constructed to provide a route for driving cattle to and from the esplanade along the east side of Crazy Jug Canyon. http://www.sixtymile.x... I set up camp on an old little used forest road which led to the edge of the rim from where I could see down the length of Crazy Jug Canyon and the esplanade. (Yes, the road is approved for "All motor vehicles" on the North Kaibab Motor Vehicle Use Map.) My campsite was in the Kaibab National Forest although it was just a few steps away from the GCNP Boundary. I ended up staying here for four nights and did not see another person. :GB:

I started off down the trail, which was a short distance from camp, at 8:00 am. My plan was to proceed several miles south along the esplanade looking for old cowboy camps that are supposed to be in this area and also look for any sign of an old trail which according to one account runs south along the esplanade all the way to Mauv Saddle near Powell Plateau. The trail was in good shape and must get some maintenance from random hikers to at least keep it clear of brush. When I was here three years ago there was evidence of recent brush pruning but I did not see any fresh cuttings on this trip. At about 0.6 mile down the trail I came to the old watering trough. The sides have collapsed and water no longer flows from the pipe. I could find no dates inscribed in the concrete. It may not be as old as it looks having crumbled due to poor construction rather than age. The 6 inch thick walls had a thin inner and outer layer of concrete with the space between filled with gravel and then capped with another thin layer of concrete making it look like it had massive concrete walls. This type of construction obviously would not hold up well to cycles of freezing and thawing in the winter and to the abuse from cattle hooves. Maybe the builders were trying to do the best they could with a very limited amount of concrete.

At about 0.9 miles I came to what I call the "water cache tree". Three years ago someone had left a quart plastic soda bottle filled with water in the fork of the trunk of a Juniper tree. This time the tree held a quart of water in an Ocean Spray bottle but the water was so old it was growing some green stuff in the bottom. At the base of the tree there were a couple pottery sherds and pieces of flaked rock possible from tool making. These had been collected by someone and left on top of a rock. I scanned the area for more sherds with no luck.

After leaving the "water cache tree", the trail starts to switch back down a steep cliff sided ravine to the esplanade below. The trail is fairly easy to follow until it reaches the bottom of a small drainage which had a trickle of water running down it. This water most likely originates from springs in the canyon wall above, one of which is named Crazy Jug Spring. After crossing the bottom of the drainage the trail soon disappears and some bushwhacking through Manzanita is required which slowed me down considerably. By noon I had reached the top of a knoll on the edge of Crazy Jug Canyon where I hoped to find Indian Ruins but no luck. Although only 1100 ft below the canyon rim, the temperatures were starting to get uncomfortably warm for strenuous hiking. At this point I decided to call it quits and head back trying a different route across the esplanade that avoided most of the manzanita thickets and was probably the route of the esplanade trail if there ever was one. I never did see any sign of cowboy camps. On the way back I spotted a ledge along the cliff near the trail that appeared to have some alcoves possibly big enough for cliff dwellings. I decided to come back the next day and explore along this ledge looking for the source of those two pottery sherds left at the base of the water cache tree. The climb back up out of the canyon in the heat of the day was tiring and I ended up going through 5 quarts of water on this relatively short hike. This area has some great views with complete solitude. It would be interesting to do some more exploring along the esplanade in cooler weather.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Crazy Jug Canyon Crazy Jug Point Crazy Jug Spring Fence Point Parissawampitts Point Saddle Canyon

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1 archive

Jul 17 2012

Oregon_Hiker

Guides 9
Routes 473
Photos 8,433
Triplogs 626

79 male

Joined Dec 07 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Crazy Jug - Esplanade, AZ

Hiking		Jul 17 2012
		Oregon_Hiker • Triplogs 626

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Crazy Jug Canyon

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I just returned from a 10 day car camping/hiking trip to escape the Phoenix heat. This triplog covers the seventh and eighth days of that trip near Crazy Jug Point in the north Kaibab Nat Forest on the rim of the Grand Canyon. My exploration of the area started with visits to some of the canyon view points accessible by forest roads including Timp Pt, N. Timp pt, Indian Hollow, Crazy Jug Pt, and Monument Pt. Near the end of my second day of wandering the forest back roads I was looking for a secluded place to camp. After driving about 2.5 miles on a seldom used track I discovered a great place to camp on the canyon rim between Crazy Jug Point and South Big Saddle Pt. The view from the rim at this location includes the length of Crazy Jug Canyon, Steamboat Mountain to the south and a string of canyon rim points including Parissawampitts pt, Fence Pt, N. Timp Pt and Timp Pt. In the opposite direction away from the rim is an open Ponderosa Pine forest with grassy meadows. Needing a down day to do some laundry and liking the beauty and solitude of this location, I decided to stay two nights.

On the morning of the second day at this site after stringing up my laundry to dry I decided to do some exploring near the campsite. Proceeding along the rim to the east I noticed that the ancient barbed wire fence across a section of the rim had a gate. Walking through the open gate I discovered a foot trail heading down the side of the canyon wall. The trail was not marked and not on either of my two GPS maps of the area. This always raises my curiosity so off I went down the trail feeling secure since I had my day pack with 3 liters of water and my emergency Spot locater. The trail was cut in to the steep talus side wall of the canyon and had a gently downward grade. About a half mile down the trail was the remains of a concrete watering trough so old the walls had crumbled despite steel reinforcing rods. A pipe visible on the steep canyon side above the trail must have supplied water but was now dry. The pipe disappeared underground but was headed in the direction of Crazy Jug Spring about a half mile away.

A short distance from the water trough the trail crossed a point protruding about 150 yards into the canyon. Here I discovered someone's water cach (a Diet Rite Pure One coke bottle) stuffed in the crotch of a juniper tree. Although I had not seen any fresh tracks on the trail, the bottle did not appear to have been there very long and the water smelled fresh. I had also noticed freshly cut branches on a bush that had been partially blocking the trail. Someone had been using this trail, but why, where did it go???

After taking a side trip to explore the point and finding nothing but a good view, I proceeded on down the trail. It abandoned its gentle grade and began a series of steep switch backs straight down a narrow 20-30 foot wide slot towards the canyon floor below. Someone had put alot of effort into building this section of the trail. After proceeding a shortway down the slot the heat wafting up the slot from below overcame my sense of adventure and I reluctantly returned back to camp. It appeared that the trail may provide access to the upper end of Parissawampitts Canyon and Crazy Jug Canyon or at least to a bench between the North Rim and the bottom of P. Canyon. Was the purpose of the trail to provide cattle grazing access to the canyon below? There were barbed wire fences and the old watering trough along the trail which might add credence to that theory. Or, was the trail used to provide access for prospecting? Or, is it just an old hiking trail abandoned by the Forest Service? And who's been using the trail? In Oregon where I come from the users could be pot farmers even in the desert if there is a spring near by (like Crazy Jug Spring) Maybe I'm overly paranoid but that was on my mind when I decided to not proceed further.

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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