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18 triplogs
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Jan 30 2020
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Garden Valley LoopPhoenix, AZ
Garden Valley Loop
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Jan 30 2020
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking5.25 Miles 660 AEG
Hiking5.25 Miles
660 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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Out of here.
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  5 archives
May 30 2018
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
The Ruins Near Gisela Ruins, AZ 
The Ruins Near Gisela Ruins, AZ
 
Hiking avatar May 30 2018
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking2.50 Miles 240 AEG
Hiking2.50 Miles
240 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Gisela Ruins
Partners none no partners
I wanted to see the actual 'Gisela Ruin' [ [ Gisela Ruins ] ], but didn't bring my Jeep and the water was too high, so I wandered around on the plateau on the west side of the river and found the ruins of a whole pueblo there! I've attached pix. I suspect everyone in the area is well aware of it, but it was news at least to me.

I suspect that the ruin Preston Sands visited was both a lookout and a refuge for all the people living below, to which they could flee if under attack. There are a LOT of such forts, from here all the way over to the area north of Lake Pleasant and areas to the north as well, and they usually have line-of-sight connections with similar forts.
 Culture
 Culture [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  HAZ - Selfie
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  1 archive
May 24 2018
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
East Fort Drone Shot, AZ 
East Fort Drone Shot, AZ
 
Hiking avatar May 24 2018
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking2.10 Miles 30 AEG
Hiking2.10 Miles
30 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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To all the previous photos, I'm adding a drone shot from above the fort in the attached Photoset.
Check it out!

The trail there is very clear and nicely cairned and the view is fabulous, coupled with the fascinating archeology.
The original post says there's a "Jeep trail" down from 52 but it's way too far gone now for a Jeep, though some quads seem to have handled it.

I'd originally planned to catch the South Fort by taking my Jeep up the road from the south, but that road is pretty far gone as well, and I had to give up that idea eventually.

I'm of the opinion that this fort is a major communication hub protecting the Perry Mesa settlements. If any of the many lookouts south of the mesa in sight of this fort gave a warning, particularly the big fort on the south tip of Black Mesa, all the forts on the Agua Fria plateau could immediately see the warning relayed from here.

I suspect the South Fort was added to monitor any warnings from the big fort on Dutch Mesa, which can't be seen from this "East Fort".
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  5 archives
May 19 2018
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Bull Tank Ruin Area Archeological Adventure, AZ 
Bull Tank Ruin Area Archeological Adventure, AZ
 
Hiking avatar May 19 2018
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking8.00 Miles
Hiking8.00 Miles   7 Hrs      1.14 mph
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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OK, I'm fascinated by AZ's mysterious archeology, and one of the most mysterious is the unnamed civilization that seems to have been centered on the Agua Fria plateau at Perry and Black Mesas and Polles Mesa over near Payson. After, they also say, the population on the Agua Fria plateau peaked at maybe 10,000 by about 1400, they, like nearly everyone else in the state, mysteriously vanished. Muchos misterios!

Besides all the ruins scattered for miles around, there's an enormous amount of evidence of the hundreds, if not thousands, of acres where crops were grown on the plateau. Along with the mysterious "Runways" those "crop lines" (my term for them), are easy to see from Google Earth (espcecially at a time when there's no grass) but I always wanted to check them out up close. And now that I have a drone I wanted to get some drone shots.

What I'm callling "crop lines", in case anyone doesn't already know about them, are planted areas where the ground has been cleared in rows allowing for planting between the rocky rows. An odd property of the plateau (I've read) is that it constantly percolates rocks up through its clay soil over time, so these were always being cleared out and moved to make room for plants.

I also wanted to check out Bull Tank ruin, near a big area of what I call "crop lines". It happens to be across the canyon from Baby Canyon ruin, which I investigated last year, and get drone shots of both.

So, if you're interested, here are my results.
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  17 archives
Apr 20 2018
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Cline Creek RuinsPhoenix, AZ
Cline Creek Ruins
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 20 2018
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking8.50 Miles 1,129 AEG
Hiking8.50 Miles
1,129 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Here are some drone shots of the main Cline Creek area "fort", to add to all the previous photos and interesting comments.

I'm beginning to suspect that these super-thick walled forts, which appear sporadically over a huge area, were meant as refuges for the nearby settlements, which unlike the forts on the Agua Fria plateau, were unprotected by cliffs or thick walls. It's also clear that it's intended to communicate with the similar fort on Elephant Mountain to the east.

In fact, there's a line-of-sight connection between the big fort on the south end of Black Mesa, to this fort via the "Pepsi cap" fort and the "Alpha fort" just to the north. That meant a signal could go between Elephant mountain to the Black Mesa fort up on the Agua Fria plateau over 20 miles away almost immediately.

There's also a direct line of sight connection with the Dutch Mesa fort, about 15 miles to the east.

I can't personally find any connection to the east with the Elephant Mountain fort –anybody know of one?
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  8 archives
Jan 29 2018
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Semi Circular Fort Ruin, AZ 
Semi Circular Fort Ruin, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Jan 29 2018
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking
Hiking   5 Hrs      0.00 mph
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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I've been exploring the ruins around the Cave Creek area recently and noticed on Google Earth this really unusual round wall on top of a cliff east of the Sears Kay ruin. I THINK this is considered part of Kentuck Mountain.

I'm a bit reluctant to put up the route to obscure ruins like this, but this one not only had no shards it seems to have no place to dig at all.

I parked at an iffy spot –the locked, iron-gated entrance to "East Racken Sack Road", right off Seven Springs Road. The walk down the road is nice, through that deep, tree-shaded valley, and I headed up the hill at about 33°53'52.08"N 111°48'25.09"W. (My attempt a week before to head up at a point north of that failed completely –too many cliffs were in the way near the top. I gave up my attempt the week before THAT because it was too rough to take my little sports car down to that gate.) I can’t find any other reasonable way to get there.

About halfway up I suddenly began to notice shards. Looking around I noticed what I assume is a large terrace, though I could find no sign of buildings. I’ve attached pix and comments on the rest of the trip up.

If you make the treck, when you reach the beginning of the "cliff", head off just to its left side. There's a very nice deer trail from there right up to the area below the ruin.

The ruin itself is a complete mystery to me. Why build a huge, circular, rubble-filled wall almost two meters thick with no indication of any other walls? If it was roofed, how would a roof have been supported, since there’s no indication of any building at all beside those walls? If it wasn’t roofed, why were the walls so thick? And why is there a “loophole” opening on the west side, at which point alone the wall narrows to only it’s outside layer? If anyone wants to suggest some answers to these mysteries, please comment!

Maybe it’s some kind of celestial observatory instead of a fort, and the little round house below it is the ticket office –“Bring the whole family to see the Amazing Circular Observatory!” –and the “loophole” is the ticket window. I even noticed what looked like stairs on the way up.


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  8 archives
Jan 21 2018
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Mercer Ruin Killer Burr Bushwack, AZ 
Mercer Ruin Killer Burr Bushwack, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Jan 21 2018
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking15.00 Miles
Hiking15.00 Miles
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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OK, let's see if I can get this right, since it's my first "generic" post.

Mercer ruin is reportedly one of the biggest ruins in AZ, and it's often completely under the water of Horseshoe Lake.
The Photoset is my excursion there. First I tried to get there by Jeep, but it looked to me like the river was just too high, so I first decided to walk from the reservoir itself. It turns out the bed of the reservoir is so full of large rocks, at least for what looks like the first mile or so, it's way too slow walking trying to hop from one to the other.

So I came back a third time with my mountain bike and biked there. Or actually biked near there, stashed the bike, and bushwacked to the ruin. It was after sunset when I got back to the bike but I got to bike back in moonlight, which was kind of awesome.

Attached are the pix.
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  1 archive
Sep 11 2009
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Little Mount OrdPayson, AZ
Little Mount Ord
Payson, AZ
Hiking avatar Sep 11 2009
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking4.00 Miles 800 AEG
Hiking4.00 Miles
800 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
This is the closest major cool-down hike I've found yet -just under an hour from Tempe and the temp at the trailhead was 80, while it was 100 in town. Cool temps, short drive and fantastic views. Sweet!
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Aug 18 2007
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Houston Brothers Trail #171Payson, AZ
Houston Brothers Trail #171
Payson, AZ
Hiking avatar Aug 18 2007
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking7.00 Miles 600 AEG
Hiking7.00 Miles
600 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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The USFS info on this trail is kinda wacked -it's 16.2 miles from 87, not 11! Also, since I was tired of driving those extra miles from PHX, I got off at where the trail REALLY begins; right on the Rim Road, where the nice "Houston Brothers Trail" sign is! It's at about exactly the 16 mile point from 87, on the side of the road away from the Rim just before the 139 turnoff. You can't miss it. There's a great place to park just past the sign on the Rim side.

Just on the Rim Road where the Houston Bros sign is, you'll see a nice big cairn and there it is, the trail. It's really a solid trail very well marked with cairns and those ancient cuts into the trees at about head height. A couple places the trail faded out buta quick scope for cairns always brought it right back.

This is great trail up and down through lots of lush, verdant little canyons -moss hanging on huge firs, mountain maples, some aspen, columbine, and lots of elk!
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May 17 2007
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Calloway Trail #33Payson, AZ
Calloway Trail #33
Payson, AZ
Hiking avatar May 17 2007
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking1.00 Miles 700 AEG
Hiking1.00 Miles
700 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Here's something I wanted to add about this cool canyon: the water is full of humongous crayfish. It turns out they're invasive and non-native so if you like crayfish, have at them!! You could probably carry up a barrel full if you spent enough time down there.
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May 17 2007
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Rogers Canyon RuinsGlobe, AZ
Rogers Canyon Ruins
Globe, AZ
Hiking avatar May 17 2007
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking8.20 Miles 1,118 AEG
Hiking8.20 Miles
1,118 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
One of the most amazing things about this trail is the drive UP there -check out the road on Google maps sometime, then tilt up the view so you can see the elevations to get a good idea of how steep the drive is to the top!! What it doesn't show you is how rough it is, especially that last little stretch.

I would really strongly suggest DON'T take this road unless you've got a high clearance, preferably 4WD, with GOOD offroad tires. My Grand Cherokee took it all in stride, and I noticed at the trailhead that the ONLY vehicles up there were big trucks with good offroad wheels.

On the way back down we passed a couple that had a rented mini van and, of course, a blown tire. All they had to go back on was one of those little fake spares. For all I know they could still be up there! Or at least the mini van.
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Mar 08 2007
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Black Mesa Loop - Superstition MtnsPhoenix, AZ
Black Mesa Loop - Superstition Mtns
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Mar 08 2007
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking9.00 Miles 1,125 AEG
Hiking9.00 Miles
1,125 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
OK, I'm way confused. I hiked Second Water from First water, turned right at Black Mesa trail turnoff in Garden Valley. But instead of taking me to the junction with Boulder Canyon 4.5 miles later, I ended up on the Dutchman's Trail less than an hour later, about a half mile or less from the First Water trailhead! I don't recall seeing any forks in the trail that I may have missed and all my maps show Black Mesa ending way further down the Dutchman's Trail at Boulder Canyon, as described here.

Anyway, there's a sign on the Dutchman's Trail pointing both to Second Water and Black Mesa as being on the trail I came out on.
Soooo, my planned 4 hour Second Water, Black Mesa, Dutchman's loop ended up taking under 2. It took me less than an hour to get from the junction in Garden Valley to the Dutchman's trail, and only a jump back to the trailhead.

I have no idea how it happened since the maps don't show it that way.
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Feb 16 2007
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
First Water TH to Peralta THPhoenix, AZ
First Water TH to Peralta TH
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Feb 16 2007
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking11.20 Miles 1,300 AEG
Hiking11.20 Miles
1,300 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
One thing interesting about this hike is that it looks like you could do it during fairly warm weather and not overheat, provided you start later in the day, when the sun is getting low. A LOT of it is shaded from the west by rock ledges and hillsides, at least for the first few miles.
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Dec 12 2006
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Boulder Canyon Trail #103Phoenix, AZ
Boulder Canyon Trail #103
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Dec 12 2006
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking6.00 Miles 400 AEG
Hiking6.00 Miles
400 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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Went up this trail for only an hour or so today. This is a great hike! But it could use a longer explanation to do it justice.
It starts out with a fairly steep hill, about a half hour to the top. Definitely a winter hike since you're in full sun all the way. The view at the top of the Supes ahead and the lake behind is excellent! For the rest of the way, as far as I went, the trail is relatively level, winding deeper into the Superstitions.
Took about an hour from Tempe to the trailhead. It's far enough out that the air quality is definitely better than in town.
Next time I'll go earlier so I can go further in!
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Apr 20 2006
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Tom's Thumb Trail - MSPPhoenix, AZ
Tom's Thumb Trail - MSP
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 20 2006
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking3.50 Miles 700 AEG
Hiking3.50 Miles
700 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Here's a hint on finding the best trailhead up from the wash: keep your eyes out on the east (left) side of the wash near its end for a huge boulder with a tall flat side that leans to the right. Actually it's the only truly huge boulder on the left that I recall. Under its shadow on its right is the easiest trailhead up. Beyond that there are a number of small trails up that eventually hit the main trail. If you can't find what seems to be a trail when you come to the end of the wash, just head up, you'll hit it.

This trail, once you're on it, is really well defined but despite that I kept losing it when it jagged off at an angle or over some boulders. So if you find you're almost bushwacking on a faint trail, take a look around for the real one. It also splits from time to time and sometimes branches off into the boulders in the valley. It's much easier to find on the way down than up, but I still wandered off accidentally on the way down.

This is a fantastic trail but it's got a LOT of BB-sized loose gravel, esp on the steeper spots, so be forewarned. The view of the Verde Valley is astounding and the rocks at the top are fascinating.
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Jan 30 2006
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Tom's Thumb Trail - MSPPhoenix, AZ
Tom's Thumb Trail - MSP
Phoenix, AZ
Hiking avatar Jan 30 2006
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking3.50 Miles 700 AEG
Hiking3.50 Miles   2 Hrs      1.75 mph
700 ft AEG
 no routes
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
This is a great hike! For some reason it is tough finding the trailhead at the end of the wash -actually there are two of them and they're hard to spot. I'd just say head left up and out of the sandy wash when you come to the end of the wash. Keep your eyes open for horse droppings.

Going in, the drive was CRAZY fun on my Jeep BUT it's a loooooong gravel road. I discovered on the way out that there's a paved road right nearby!! I'd missed the left turn to the trailhead and not much further hit the pavement!! The development has almost reached the last bit of gravel and after I'd hiked I came out on 115th and Happy Valley road, after going through a rat's maze of pricey homes.

So to get to the trail, head east on Happy Valley to 115th St, then Right on 119th Way, then left at it's end and SOMEWHERE you go east (Mapquest has it as East Casitas Del Rio) and hit a gravel road, up over the hill and make your first right, to the trailhead. You'll see the lone house you have to go past. Do a Mapquest for East Casitas Del Rio Drive and 126th street and that should show you the way. It will save you a TON of rough gravel road driving. I doubt you'd even need a high clearance vehicle going that way.

Happy hiking! Great views all around at the top. Not an easy hike, in my opinion. Boulder hopping and loose gravel, but worth it!!
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Jun 01 2005
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Reynolds Creek Trail #150Globe, AZ
Reynolds Creek Trail #150
Globe, AZ
Hiking avatar Jun 01 2005
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking7.00 Miles 1,375 AEG
Hiking7.00 Miles1 Day   3 Hrs   30 Mns   
1,375 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
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Here's a take on this trail in the Spring, including the pix. Hiked up May 31st, really beautiful, 72 degrees at the trailhead. There was still enough water in the creek to keep it looking good. No bear or other wildlife at all, other than a few horny toads. Some kind of invisible bugs (or maybe space aliens -who knows?) were making strange crackly noises overhead in places .

Drivetime to the trailhead was 2 3/4 hours from Tempe. A lot of 288 heading up into the mountains is washboardy gravel with deep dropoffs and no guardrails, so be careful! As mentioned the turnoff from 288 is pretty rough in places -some of the washes are nothing more than a pile of large rocks instead of road and the creek is crossed at least three times. I measured 3.8 miles on the trip meter rather than 6 to the trailhead though, so that was a relief. There are ample signs to let you know you're at Reynold's Creek, though the first one from Globe points out a road to the left going down, which isn't the one you want -the right turnoff is visible just ahead.

The view coming back down 288 is another of those jaw-dropping experiences people like me moved to AZ to experience, so don't come back too late in the evening and miss it! (It was amazing just seeing all that water back in Lake Roosevelt!) I included a pic of it, plus one of the Datura that grows on the side of the road up there.
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Jul 22 2004
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 Photos 116
 Triplogs 18

male
 Joined Feb 13 2003
 Tempe, AZ
Calloway Trail #33Payson, AZ
Calloway Trail #33
Payson, AZ
Hiking avatar Jul 22 2004
kenjacobsen • Triplogs 18
Hiking1.00 Miles 700 AEG
Hiking1.00 Miles
700 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
This is a great hike to escape the Phoenix inferno and cool your feet in a perennial mountain stream, that's running despite the drought. It was 110 on PHX and 81 at the trailhead, and the steep trail is itself entirely shaded by pines and north facing.

A couple caveats: the map top right lists the distance from Phoenix as 84 miles. I went from Scottsdale via Payson and didn't get to the trailhead til 2 3/4 hours later -at least 120 miles. I thought maybe the distance referred to was via Camp Verde so I returned that way -took three hours, 138 miles. (postscript -they've changed it since to read "direct air miles" rather than distance.)

Also keep in mind that 142B is an ungraded trail with lots of large sharp rocks and some really deep ruts. It took my Grand Cherokee half an hour to make what registered on my odo as a 2.3 mile length. Definitely rough going!

Keep J&S'excellent driving instructions in mind since it may be easy to miss the tree with the red B spraypainted on it, although my mileage readings were both 2.3 rather than their 2.8. Also check out the topo map to get an idea of how steep the initial hike down is.
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average hiking speed 1.45 mph

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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