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Front Row: Quy, Monika, Olga, Ajay, Wendy K.
2nd Row: Ted, Wendy R., Michael, Debbie, Dave.
3rd Row: Yanis.
4th Row: Dan, Wayne, Eileen, Rudy, Karen, Jean.
5th Row: Amber, Dani, Terri, Arturo
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The payoff for our early 7 AM meet-up time was that we all got to see the
amazing lunar eclipse as we drove to our carpool meeting location!
The funny thing was, there was another group from the Sierra Club gathering
in this same parking lot, also on their way to the Agua Fria National Monument
area, but to Baby Canyon, just a few miles north of where we were going.
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Lunar eclipse. [by Dave French]
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Prehistoric Etch-O-Sketch
Looking north up the Agua Fria River
Despite the chilly 37° starting temperature at the trailhead, our sizable
group of 21 Trailblazers found it to be perfect hiking weather once we got
moving.
The first 0.8 mile was a pleasant stroll in the Badger Springs Wash, a sandy
riparian plant community of cottonwoods, willows and grasses, which was a nice
contrast to the desert scrub in the hills above to either side.
We soon reached the junction of the Agua Fria River, which would essentially be
our 'trail' for the duration of the hike.
But before beginning on our riverbed journey, we paused to take in the views of
the petroglyph panels.
I saw maybe 50 symbols, but the trailhead info tells us there are at least 86
individual petroglyphs on the rock faces.
We also checked out the metate and mano grinding stones that the local Perry
Mesa Tradition Native Americans used to grind corn and seeds between about A.D.
1250 and 1450.
Some folks speculate that this location was a gateway to the river and may have
been seen as a place of special power and significance.
The scenic views both up and down the river are spectacular from this point.
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Ice chunks make for a cool reflection – literally.
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Unexpected colorful reflections.
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We did not, however, find the remnants of the arrastra tool that miner William
Perry used to mine gold back in 1878 (a stone-lined circular pit with groove
patterns on the flat stone slabs from crushing the ore).
A challenge for another day, perhaps.
With Perry Mesa (named after William Perry) across the river to the east, and
Black Mesa to the west, we took the southward route down the Agua Fria River.
The river bed was mostly dry on this visit, which made the boulder hopping a bit
easier.
There were pools of water here and there, some with ice sheets starting to form.
The boulders were mostly granite and also some lava, all polished smooth from
the water that usually flows through here.
It is always amazing to see the result of the forces of water erosion on huge
slabs of granite – sinuous undulating shapes which are quite artistic.
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The Christmas-colored pools of water make for a
festive holiday time hike.
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The majority of the grey boulders were sporting a nice tan line – but not
the kind you are thinking of! These lines mark where the waters flow during high
water times.
They were a good 3-4 feet above where we were walking.
Note to self: must come back during the spring season!
Our large group became pretty spread out, as we each traversed the boulders at
varying speeds in our own ways.
Some concentrated on how to best maneuver the stepping stones, while others went
in search of interesting trail treats and treasures.
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On a spring day, you'd be throwing them an inner tube ...
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Darn, no cave or mine here! Worth a try.
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We start to spread out in the canyon.
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A speckled wonder of conglomerate rock.
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Is Wilma yelling at Bam Bam?
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This Badger has a bit of a headache!
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A few kinks in the plumbing system ...
A colorful South view down the Agua Fria.
After we battled the ferocious and famous Badger of Badger Springs...
(oh wait, I might be exaggerating just a tad, but we did actually find a Badger
skull along the way), we then became fascinated by a series of rusted out large
pipes on man-made stone columns at about the 2.5 mile point.
A few hikers continued on for about another 1/2 mile to the junction of Perry
Canyon, to see if they could follow the old pipe system to some sort of end,
but found they could not get past the dammed up area too easily.
The rest of us had a snack break near the beginning of our pipe discovery,
which is where the group photo was taken.
Turns out, (according to a hiking book at the gift shop in Rock Springs) those
pipes were part of the system of the former Richinbar Mining operation, which
was situated some 700 feet above us on top of Black Mesa.
We could have easily stayed out all day exploring the area, but this was our
advertised turnaround point, so we headed back to the trailhead.
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The sandy soil of Badger Spring Wash are a sight for sore eyes
– or feet!
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Table for 18, please!
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Besides, the pie at Rock Springs Café was calling our name...
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