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Once again, John and I invited all of my girlfriends to join
us for a day hike. This time, we hoped that we would get more takers, as
everyone had expressed an interest in doing some day hikes with us. At every
get-together, Brian, Erik and Mike always ask John to inform them of our plans
to go hiking so that they may go with us. I like the idea, because it gives me
a chance to spend time with my friends in a different setting, one that
doesn't involve restaurants and nightclubs. (Although that sort of thing is
fun, it's hard to have a nice conversation when you can't hear the other
person over all of the noise!)
After extending the invitation for a day hike on November 7, John and I set
about to select a hike for all of us to do. Debbie expressed an interest in
doing a hike where we could see autumn leaves, so we based our trail selection
on that. At first, I suggested that we do the
Deer Creek Trail #45, in the Mazatzal Wilderness Area, because I knew that we would be able to see a really
nice display of autumn leaves there. However, there really wasn't a
"destination" - John wanted to be able to take us somewhere. That was when he
decided to take us back to Fossil Springs, this time by the Mail Trail (one of
three trails that descends to Fossil Springs). The Mail Trail would take us
from the Mogollon Rim, down 1,300 feet over 3.5 miles; it would then connect
to the Fossil Creek Trail. From there, we would continue to descend for
another half a mile to Fossil Creek. To get to the trailhead, we would have to
take the van, as a high clearance, two-wheel drive vehicle was required to
travel along the dirt road.
We think that our choice of trails scared off Charlene and Lori, who both
declined hiking with us. Some of the others had already made plans for that
weekend. Mike was working at the NASCAR races at Phoenix International
Raceway, and Erik had signed up to do Habitat for Humanity. By the time Sunday
arrived, only Debbie and Brian were going to join us on our hike.
And, as it turns out, we ended up doing the easiest of the three trails that
goes to Fossil Creek - the Flume Road Trail - because John decided at the last
minute that he didn't want to risk taking the van to the trailhead. (He was
having a problem with the oil pressure on the van, and he didn't want to risk
blowing up the engine.) So Sunday morning, at 7:00 a.m., we drove the
Oldsmobile over to Debbie and Brian's house, where we picked them up. Then,
the day's adventure began.
To get to the trailhead, we could have taken the easier route, which would
have involved driving north on SR 87 to Strawberry then taking Fossil Creek
Road eight miles to the trailhead. However, since we were beginning our
journey in Glendale - and since we were originally going to the Mail
Trailhead, which is just outside of Camp Verde - we decided to take I-17
instead. We drove to Camp Verde, took the General Crook Trail exit, and drove
east on SR 260 until we came to FR 708, which becomes Fossil Creek Road. This
route involved fourteen miles of travel on dirt road. John and I have traveled
this road before, so we already knew that it wasn't a bad dirt road. Funny how
things can change in a year! Sometime during the course of the last year, the
road had deteriorated and now had a lot of washboards. As a result, we were
jostled around the car for about a half an hour as we drove the fourteen miles
to the Irving Trailhead. By the time we arrived, at 9:30 a.m., we were very
happy to be out of the car.
As we began hiking (at 9:40 a.m.), we realized that choosing the Flume Road
Trail over the others was indeed a wise decision, not only because of the car
problems, but because of the difficulty level. The first half mile of the
Flume Road Trail involved a lot of uphill climbing. Though it wasn't really
all that steep, John and I both felt the effects of the climb in the calves of
our legs - a sure sign that we hadn't been doing enough hiking lately! Imagine
how we would have felt had we hiked the Mail Trail!
At the end of this climb, we came to the Flume Road, which is an old service
road that APS uses to service the flume. The road is closed to the public, but
hikers are welcome to use it to get to Fossil Creek. The flume, which pumps
water from Fossil Creek to the power plant, follows the road all the way to
the creek and ends at the dam. At times, our hike took us within feet of the
flume - at one point, we even crossed over the top of the flume by way of a
bridge. From that vantage point, it was interesting to see the water rushing
along - after all, this is turn of the twentieth century technology that is
still being used today to provide power for a modern day power plant. We were
also interested to see how the flume is held in place. The flume is supported
by a wooden trellis, which appears to be very old, although there were a few
boards here and there that appeared to have been replaced recently. Some of
the legs of this trellis were cemented into the ground; others were not - and
yet, throughout the decades, the flume still stands, leaking a few spots, but
just as sturdy as the day it was built.
Just after we began our hike on the flume road, we came to the first bridge,
which was found next to a waterfall. There was just a trickle of water coming
from the top of the mountain to Fossil Creek and flowing down yellow slickrock.
We stopped there to take pictures and to feel how cold the water was before
continuing on our hike.
The rest of the hike proved to be an easy three and a half mile long jaunt
with very little elevation change, thus making for a very pleasant walk. The
highlight, however, was when we finally reached Fossil Creek, with its crystal
clear warm water gushing forth from several natural springs along the creek.
It is one of those destinations that makes all of the hard work worthwhile
(even if it wasn't hard work to get there).
We had lunch next to the creek, on the same rock shelf where John and I had
kicked off our shoes once before to go swimming. Believe it or not, the same
rope swing that John had used to play Tarzan was still there, inviting him to
play again. Naturally, the little boy in John took over; he grabbed on and
swung himself out to the middle of the swimming hole, where he let go and fell
into the water with a big splash, while Debbie and I took pictures of him.
(Debbie had just received her camera as a birthday present from Brian, and
this trip was its "maiden voyage.")
Once John had had his fill of the rope swing, he suggested that we go off and
do a little "exploring" on our own - it was time for us to christen yet
another wilderness area! We found what we thought was a nice, secluded area,
but we ended up getting caught by Debbie and Brian! I think they realized what
was going on because they turned around and returned to the swimming hole,
leaving us to finish our business.
When we rejoined them, Brian was wading knee-deep in the water, and Debbie was
relaxing on a rock shelf. We all sat there together and enjoyed the beauty of
the area; then, at one o'clock, we decided that it was time to head back to
the car.
The return hike took us just under two hours. It wasn't a difficult hike, and
we spent most of it talking about home ownership - John and I are currently
house shopping, so we wanted to hear Debbie and Brian's experiences in buying
their home. We also told them about the houses we had already seen to date,
including the three we had looked at the day before. We almost put an offer on
one of them, until we learned that it had major electrical problems. Oh well!
Towards the end of our hike, we could hear the sound of gushing water. At the
time, we had been joking about the flume falling down and washing us down the
side of the mountain, so we were a little worried that the flume had sprung a
leak! (That would sure show us!) However, the sound was coming from the
waterfall - the one we had passed at the beginning of the Flume Road. Water
was pouring forth down the side of the mountain, as though the flume was
leaking. (Okay, it probably wasn't a leak in the flume, but where else would
the water be coming from? It wasn't raining, and there wasn't any snow
melting...)
The last half-mile of our trek was straight downhill, and as we reached Fossil
Creek, we had to hike downhill through a little patch of mud. Brian slipped a
little as he came down, so John scouted out what he thought was a better
route, only to take a nasty tumble on his way down. He was fine, except that
he hurt his hand when he caught his fall. Debbie and I chose the safest route
through the mud, however, I slipped on (my favorite) loose rock and fell on my
rear! (D'oh!) Ironically, we were only feet from the car when we fell.
After finishing the hike, we decided to take Fossil Creek Road to Strawberry,
instead of returning to Camp Verde, so that we could get off of the dirt road
sooner - that, and we had certain traditions that could not be overlooked!
That meant that we had to stop in Pine to get soft serve ice cream at the
Texaco Station. Unfortunately, the ice cream machine was broken! John
complained to the cashier that I was very hurt and that they needed to get
their machine fixed. As a result, we had to go all the way into Payson to buy
Blizzards at Dairy Queen - an acceptable substitute, but not as tasty as the
Dreyer's Soft Serve in Pine.
We finally arrived back in Glendale at sunset. After dropping Debbie and Brian
off at their home, John and I drove back to our apartment. We arrived just in
time to watch Fox Sunday Night, which included The Simpsons and the season
premier of The X-Files. Another adventurous weekend was over. |
