|
| | | |
| |
|
| Backpack | 11.00 Miles |
|
| | Backpack | 11.00 Miles | 5 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.91 mph |
| | | |
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | It's funny, I've always chosen my hikes (and timing of hikes) to avoid crowds, but it used to be just a mental health preference, not because I was trying to avoid a pandemic.  Anyway, the Anchas are gorgeous in the spring and always a beautiful place to escape city, heat, and crowds. I've been curious about this trail for a while, and we wanted an easy overnight, so this seemed like a good time. And it sure was! Since it's been a while since anyone posted a triplog, I figured I'd leave an update.
Trail conditions: Overall good, although my standards may be low. As mentioned in other descriptions, the first couple miles are an old road, and even though the shrubbery is encroaching in some places, it's mostly nice doubletrack winding through a Ponderosa forest and ascending/descending ridges until, just about at the junction with Boyer trail (which seemed to me to be about 3 miles in), it comes up onto an exposed ridge, which is predominantly juniper. That section is rocky but easy to follow, with a few cairns to help, as it heads east for a quick quarter mile or so. The final descent is definitely more overgrown in places, especially with Shrub Live oak and manzanita, but as long as you're willing to push through, the trail itself is obvious and pretty well graded, with only a few short sections where it was unpleasantly steep. Reading other triplogs, I see that some people really hated that bit, but I was wearing pants and a long-sleeve shirt and using trekking poles, and I had no issues. In fact, the views up and down canyon were great and we saw a variety of blooms and had a lot of birds for company along the way. Soon enough we popped out next to the creek, where it was really lovely. Saw no trash, except a few burned out cans inside one of the three fire rings. There are three decent-sized campsites and the possibility of another one or two less ideal spots if you look around a bit. Water was clear and about three feet deep in the pools and we saw some toads and tiny fish. We continued downstream until we reached a choke point where dry hiking was no longer possible (or at least not without a lot of scrambling up and over). There are lovely sycamore and cottonwoods providing some shade even at mid-day, so it feels very lush. Lounged around by the creek, watched birds, ate lunch, went for a (chilly but refreshing) swim, and then hiked back out. Again, I didn't find the steep climb all that bad and actually made better time going up than coming down. However, we camped back at the two-mile-mark and only carried small daypacks to the end, so I'm sure that colored my experience.  The juniper ridge is pretty exposed, so it was warm, but it's also not very long, and when we came through it was filled with rivers of blooming wildflowers (New Mexico groundsel and fleabane). Talk about super blooms! Then back into the woods, up and down, break down camp, cross the creek again, and follow the old road back to the car. Really nice. Actual total hiking time was about 5:45 at a moderate pace, and I estimate total distance at about 11 miles RT.
The camping: I presume most people would camp in the Hell's Hole area, at the end of the trail. As mentioned, there are three established sites down there. But, having read the reports of people complaining about the misery of schlepping into the canyon with camping gear, and not knowing how bad either the descent or the overgrowth would be, we decided to make our first visit a little easier. Frankly, I enjoyed this option so much that I'd do it again on purpose. Headed out on a Thursday afternoon and got to the trailhead at 3 p.m. Hiking for barely an hour got us to the first crossing of Workman Creek (just past the ranch), which was flowing strong and clear, making it easy to filter. (A point about that: There is a fire ring and a clearing big enough for a smallish tent right where the trail crosses the creek. We did not camp there. Frankly,  I don't think anyone should camp there because 1: It is literally right next to the creek. 2: It is also, literally, in the middle of the trail.) So we hiked two whole minutes further up the hill and found several tent-sized level spots (as well as three existing fire rings, which we didn't need, but did note) in a lovely wooded area off the trail with a cushy pine needle carpet, plenty of places to hang the hammock, and views of the canyon. The creek was both conveniently close (for water) and quite audible (for ambiance). Ahhhh. Fewer bugs up there, too.  Had a luxe night and a relaxed morning before we headed out at 8 a.m. with just daypacks. About a half-hour on, we noted a couple of very pretty dry-camping spots up on the juniper ridge, too. We were down in the Hell's Hole area before 10 a.m., so had plenty of time to enjoy the creek and canyon before we climbed back out and broke down camp, then hiked back to the car at a casual pace. Along the way we had to squeeze around a party of three (the only other people we saw the whole time) who had pitched their tent where? You guessed it! As I carefully maneuvered myself between their tent and the pricker bushes next to the creek (trying to maintain both a six-foot COVID buffer and a modicum of civility), they said: "Oh, gosh. Are we blocking the trail?" 
Critters: Saw a nice selection of birds, including Red-tailed hawks, Stellar's jays, Painted Redstarts, Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhees, Black-throated Gray warbler, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Northern flicker, etc, plus some toads and lizards and a few squirrels. Also spotted lots of deer and elk track on the trail, plus raccoon and skunk tracks near the first creek crossing. There were also a few tracks that might have been bear, but were too eroded to be sure.
In summary: For such a short hike, there's an amazing diversity of terrain and habitat, plus a lovely creek, great views, and excellent camping options. At this point in mid-May, Workman Creek is a viable water source at both the two-mile mark and end of trail. I'm already thinking of a fall visit. |
|
Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Early on, there was a smattering of woodland blooms like lupine, larkspur, and New Mexico honey locust, and manzanita. Also some freaky-looking parasitic pinedrops. Some columbine along the creek. Up on the juniper ridge, all open ground was covered in New Mexico groundsel and fleabane, which was stunning. And on the final slope, we saw sego lilies, more larkspur, claret cup hedgehog cacti, prickly pear cacti, fleabane, and thistle. |
|
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
Conveniently, there is a small parking area on the left just below that turn, so we joined the other chickens who had parked there. (On the way back down, the driver in question reassessed his earlier decision and acknowledged that we probably could have made it just fine. 
) Point being: The road isn't bad, but if you're really worried about your exhaust system, there's a decent parking spot that'll only add ANOTHER MILE to your RT. 
Shiny new signs all the way along 109 and the switchbacks up out of Grave Canyon to the saddle are smooth. While the fire damage to the bigger trees was painful to see (especially at the saddle, where the trees were all just destroyed), we were pleasantly surprised by all the green on the hillsides around Grave Canyon, where the sugarbush, manzanita, scrub oak, and other large shrubs are growing back from the base, along with a lot of yuccas and nolina. And north of the pass there are still some stretches of Ponderosa forest that are in good shape, as well as the huge juniper, which carries on. Unfortunately, the grasses in the meadow areas all the way down to the ranch seem to have been rejuvenated by the burn and are growing so densely that if you aren't paying attention, you could easily lose a dog or child, let alone the trail. (On the other hand, if you have a child that needs losing, I can recommend this trail. 
)
So after a great night under the stars — including an entertaining evening visit from an alarmingly close skunk — we decided to try the Park McFadden trail up to McFadden Peak, which was new to us. Since there aren't many recent triplogs for this trail, I hope this will be useful to someone else.
then this is probably not the trail for you. But if you want a longish walk in the Anchas that includes a mix of terrain, a variety of flora and fauna, a decent workout with 11+ miles and 2300 feet of elevation gain, plus some great views, then this is a delightful outing. Bring a buddy,*** don't overthink the navigation*, and wear pants**. (More on those below.)
as those vines are dense! But just stomp your way toward the northwest side and you'll be fine. Scratched, but fine. We picked a few (tart) berries for our trouble and congratulated ourselves on not wearing shorts.
Anyway, once at the road, turn left and follow it the rest of the way up to the top. Views from the top were a little bit hazy from the fires in CA, but still beautiful, and they continue as you head back down. 
The first mile or so above the junction was pretty heavily burned and the former shade trees are just dead snags now, so there's a lot of sun exposure. I was glad I had a hat. It's still pretty, though, with manzanita and scrub oak providing some green, and quite a few wildflowers blooming. And, of course, the views are more expansive now, so that's a benefit. There's quite a bit of deadfall on that mile+ of the trail, although it's easy enough to go over or around. Once up on top of the mountain, the trail levels off and there is very little evidence of fire and things are a lot easier. The tree cover is intact, so there's plenty of shade, and we saw lots of butterflies (Common Buckeye, Tiger Swallowtail, Arizona Sister), birds (mountain chickadees, juniper titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, brown creeper, summer tanager, various woodpeckers) as well as one white-tailed deer and one mule deer——both does. Quite a lot of company up there!
The first move is pretty much the hardest, since you have to clear a small roof in order to leave the ground. But it's not actually difficult (if in doubt, stay left) and you can reach up and pop a cam in (.75, I believe) before you make the move, so it feels safe. The traverse that follows is a little harder to protect, but the climbing is easy, so I amused myself by shopping around for pockets and cracks that would take creative gear placements. By the time I got inside the chimney, the route was both easier and less exposed than the bushwhack. 
Better to walk carefully down the middle of the face instead, allowing you to keep Mr. Cactus at a friendly but controlled distance.
