ByPierre LeBlanc
June 22, 2020
0
Details
Forrest Service graded roads to access camping areas.
Location
Address:Sanford, United States
Forrest Service graded roads to access camping areas.
This trail combines the astounding Sedona beauty with moderate to challenging difficulty. The Red Rock country is the backdrop for this expedition that includes sights named Submarine Rock, Chicken Point, the Roundabout, and Devils Kitchen, with the challenge of slick-rock obstacles.
While relatively short in terms of distance, this trail calls for slow driving due to its tightness and rocky terrain. Many places are challenging because the driver needs to be well aware of their vehicle spatially and how to manage it over slick-rock, so drivers should have some experience.
The stock Range Rover, Discovery (including LR3), and Defender are well equipped to deliver a fantastic day.
Back road to (north side) Mt. Lemmon is graded dirt road. The south side is paved winding road. Very scenic drive.
According to the Charles Wells book, ‘this trail starts easy and gradually worsens. The last mile before Dripping Springs is challenging and requires some backroad driving experience.’ Trail #60 in his book for more details.
This trail follows the Chiva Falls trail and then goes west following the Tanque Verde Creek to within a mile or so of Tanque Verde Falls. We’ll have lunch by the creek before we begin our climb out of the canyon and back to the east to reconnect with the Chiva Falls trail. There are several challenging hill climbs and medium to large rock obstacles along the way.
Woolsey Peak is a beautiful, uniquely-shaped lava-dome monolith located in the desert north of Gila Bend in southern Maricopa County, about 60 miles driving from Phoenix. It’s a peak that gets viewed thousands of times a day by travelers along Interstates 8 in Gila Bend of Interstate-10 to the north – the peak itself rises over 2,000 vertical feet above the desert plain and a good 1,000 feet above any of the other peaks in the region (collectively called the Gila Bend Mountains). Instead of the more usual pointed summit shape that most of the peaks have in this region, Woolsey’s summit is a broad rounded dome, surrounded by a palisade of cliffs on all sides.
Below the cliffs is an encircling apron of black basalt lava rock seemingly all set at its angle of repose. Then, of course, down below that is more typical desert terrain of dirt, rock and cactus. It’s very beautiful country, and the peak is the centerpiece of the Woolsey Peak Wilderness which spreads for 64,000 acres.
An easier route to see the Cochran Coke Ovens. It can be started from the South West in the Box Canyon/Martinez Cabin area or the North East on route 177. 12.2 miles from AZ 177 to Coke Ovens.
The 13,350-acre Signal Mountain Wilderness is in southwest Maricopa County,18 miles northwest of Gila Bend and 35 miles southwest of Phoenix. This wilderness is adjacent to the 64,000-acre Woolsey Peak Wilderness just to the southeast, separated by a four-wheel-drive road.
This wilderness offers a variety of scenery, including sharp volcanic peaks, steep-walled canyons, arroyos, craggy ridges and outwash plains. Signal Mountain, at the area’s center, rises 1,200 feet above the desert floor to an elevation of 2,182 feet. Paloverde-saguaro and creosote bush bursage plant communities are found throughout bajada and upland areas, while washes are lined with mesquite, ironwood, acacia and paloverde.
This wilderness provides several primitive recreation opportunities, such as rock climbing in the canyons and valleys around Signal Mountain, day and overnight hiking, rock collecting, and deer and quail hunting. Fortunate visitors may observe desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, mule deer and various raptors.
Access
Access to this wilderness is on old U.S. Highway 80 via the Aqua Caliente Road and jeep trails. High-clearance vehicles are required and four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended.
