Eagletail Mountains and the Canyons of Wickenberg

Over the last ten days or so Blue and I have seen a little country and travelled a few miles both on horseback and with the trailer. Last Wednesday I was out of here early in the morning to meet “K” and Teresa out west of Phoenix near Tonopah. We were going to ride out past Courthouse Rock,

and then down the canyon past Indian Springs. It was a beautiful ride across the desert and through some very picturesque valleys and along a narrow canyon. The weather couldn’t have been better, somewhere in the mid to high 70’s (25C) and the company was excellent. Unlike many of our rides there was just the three of us along on this one so we were able to ride and chat and get a good look at the many petroglyphs along the way. The canyon walls around Indian Springs must have been a favourite spot for the artists of the day to display their craft.

Petroglyphs VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Below is a map of the area we rode in.

Then Friday I headed up to Sophia’s Flats to meet a larger group of folks for a weekend of riding. There were people from Alberta, BC, Washington, Oregon, and of course our host state of Arizona there for the two days of riding. Saturday we headed out towards Pink Canyon and Box Canyon and although the sky was cloudy we only had a couple of raindrops through the day and the temperature was not to bad at all, probably somewhere in the 50’s for a high.

We managed to see some pretty country that I had heard about for years but had never managed to make it into before this weekend. The Hassayampa River runs through a couple of canyons up here and although it was only a few inches deep where we encountered it there was evidence of water being 15 or 20 feet higher at times in the past. Below is a shot at the entrance to Box Canyon a narrow slot canyon that reminded those of us from Alberta of our own Hidden Falls without the water, although our Arizona folks assured us that there could be 10 feet of water on the canyon floor at times.

There was some wonderful scenery along this trail and it is always nice to run into some running water along the way out here in the desert.

Box and Pink Canyons VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Of course with this group there is always some eating going on and Ted and Julie from Oregon put on quite a Mexican spread all by themselves although the rest of us pitched in and brought enough that a small nation could have enjoyed the feast.

Potluck VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Sunday is usually a short ride and this one was no different although we did traverse some real nice scenery and the sun was shining brightly so that made it seem much warmer.

Blue is turning into a pretty wise trail horse and Sunday I let him for the most part pick his own way down the trail and “K” got some pictures of us making our way along and I have bunched them into the album below.

Blue on the trail VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The ride today was over a high pass and into what is called Dinosaur Canyon and the map below has both days of riding on it. This years rides have the white spots along the trail and the solid trail off to the right is a ride we took last year.

Ken Pohl and I thought we should see if we could fit in Ron and Kelly from Langley, BC’s little Smart Car and although we made it in we agreed we were probably not in the market for ones of our own anytime soon.

Here is a shot of the sunset we enjoyed while we dined on Saturday night.

and I will leave you with a shot I took on the ride Saturday.

Riding the Red Rocks

This winter has been one riding adventure after another and this last weekend was our final ride and our friends here in Arizona had arranged for it to be a special adventure. I got home from Dogpound North on Thursday evening and we were loading our rig and heading to Sedona on Friday morning. We were going to meet Bill and Sandy Roberts, Tom and Joyce Compton, all from the Benson area as well as David and Linda Modahl and “K” and Teresa Rogers from here in the valley. Linda and David had made all the camping arrangements and it all went as planned. We arrived in the early afternoon at the Horse Mesa Ranch near the village of Oak Creek and got ourselves all settled in to await the arrival of the others. Here is a piece of the view we had from our spot for the weekend.

Saturday morning we moved our horses over to the Turkey Creek parking lot and unloaded and saddled then brought our trailers back to Horse Mesa while some folks hung out and waited for us. Joyce gave us a ride back and we got ourselves organised and headed out on our ride. First off we dropped down into the creek to take a few pictures with Cathedral Rock in the background.

Once we got those shots we headed up the creek and through a vortex area. Follow this link for a map of the vortex’s in the area. Once we left the creek we headed up through some pretty narrow and ledgey switchbacks. Not a problem by themselves but remember this is Sedona and we are sharing the trail with hikers and mountain bikers. Although we met both along the trail they were very accommodating and had gotten themselves well out of the way in the few spots that allowed that to happen. Probably in a large part due to Dave’s bellowing “horses coming” and the appearance of six horses and a couple of mules scrambling up through the rocks towards them.

There were more than a few places here where there was no room for a misunderstanding or to meet a party going the other way. Once we got to the top we circled around the bottom of Cathedral Rock on our way to Chicken Point and Courthouse Rock.

That is Courthouse Rock in the distance in the center of the shot above and Chicken Point is to the extreme left. Here comes Bill and that little horse Fred. He is a dandy that one, nothing bothers him and he sure hasn’t figured out that he is only half the size of a real horse. All heart and no quit.

Below Earl is trying to figure out why he is not included in the mint handout that Teresa has going on.

Brenda up on the rocks at Chicken Point.

A lot of hikers here were pretty surprised to see a bunch of horses scrambling up onto the rocks here and along the trail. You probably need a good mountain horse or mule to make this trip but it’s worth it let me tell you. We continued on from Chicken Point past Courthouse Rock and around the hill back to our overnight spot.

Sunday we headed up towards Horse Mesa for a short ride before loading up and heading back to Dogpound South. Another beautiful ride and I will hook up a couple of links to the pictures I took over the three days below this final shot of Bell Rock.

First night at Horse Mesa Ranch

Turkey Creek to Horse Mesa Ranch

Sunday morning ride along Horse Mesa

Sedona is a truly special place and it is hard to stop clicking the camera, I edited these hard but I still have a lot of shots and each one is of a special place or special people. I think the only improvement I could make to this country if it was in my power was to make about a 100 miles of bad road the only access. But then the multitudes of folks we saw would have not had the chance to share this beautiful country.

As I said at the start of this rambling epistle we have had a wonderful winter riding the trails of Arizona and owe a large dollop of thanks to the folks of the Arizona Back Country Riders website and the Lone Rangers riding club, both have welcomed us with open arms and we have enjoyed the new trails and loved the potlucks and socializing around the odd fire and more often just circled around a great meal. Just remember if you are feeling like getting out of the heat this summer we always have room in our barn at Dogpound North.

To paraphrase our good friend K, “I feel sorry for anyone who isn’t us.”