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| Hiking | 5.62 Miles |
508 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.62 Miles | 2 Hrs 24 Mns | | 2.34 mph |
| 508 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | The 11 mile drive in on Rim Rd. was even bumpier and more rutted than normal. The summer monsoon really did a number on it.  
Because it is so short, after hiking down to East Miller Canyon, I planned to backtrack a bit on Hi Fuller, before taking an unnamed drainage back up, then complete the ~5 mile loop on FR 501A. Even if I had to canyon crawl the whole way, it wouldn’t be far.
The first mile of Hi Fuller Canyon had a fair amount of deadfall, but all of it either easily avoided or stepped over.
A mile north into the canyon, it dawned on me that I was not just hiking in Hi Fuller’s drainage, or on a shelf, but that I was in fact on a very old jeep trail. I could see the twin tracks, even though they were overgrown with grass.
There were two intermittent tanks, both dry, just south of Hi Fuller Spring. Oddly, the spring is downslope from the tanks. The ground in the spring area varied from moist to wet, but I never did find the spring source itself.
Hi Fuller Canyon got much tighter and deeper, with more deadfall, below Hi Fuller Spring. Still, I only had to low crawl once.
Two miles into my hike, a half mile north of Hi Fuller Spring, I was brought to halt by a series of pours too high for my old donkey to negotiate.
I figured I would head up a bit, to my right, then back down. I followed a game trail, but it kept going up and I did not feel like bailing to the ridge top.
I backtracked a bit, then followed a lower contour, but one still some 80 ft. above the floor of Hi Fuller Canyon, until I came to a draw that had a slope less than vertical. But I could not access the draw directly. 
It took me about 10 minutes to figure a route down the draw. The first step was to butt scooth along a small ledge for about 20 ft., to where I could step into the draw, rather than jump 10 ft. down. Once I was in the undergrowth choked draw, I had to step very carefully, to avoid catching a foot, while my momentum was going forward, causing a 80 ft. tumble. Plus, no way of knowing what holes or rocks might be under the weeds and vines, waiting to break my ankle.  🛰
I made it. Thankfully, there was no poison ivy.
The junction with East Miller Canyon, and thus the end of Hi Fuller Canyon was only another 100 yds on. I took a break at a good sitting log, then contemplated my options.
Like my egress from Middle Miller Canyon back in August, I found a game trail up a steep draw. It was not nearly as steep, nor as choked with undergrowth, as my pour bypass, so I made the top in only nine minutes.
From there, it was a quick cruise back along FR 501, past a couple of 5th wheel camp sites, to the trailhead.
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/495766059
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“Hi Fuller” is probably John Hiram Fuller, of the Fuller family of 1880s-era Mormon pioneers along Pine Creek. Click http://www.pine4az.com/view/pine-by-stan-brown.aspx for more info. Thanx to https://twitter.com/strawberry_az for the tip! |
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Autumn Foliage Observation None
Worth checking out around first full weekend in October. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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