Willow Valley Loop Hike, Arizona

This hike is a rugged hike into a deep entrenched canyon with a stream and some deep pools you must swim. 

This hike is in a tributary and is at the headwaters of West Clear Creek.  Much of this is in a designated wilderness area.  The hike is mostly an off trail scramble and boulder hop down through the canyon bottom along a stream bed.  There is some fighting through brush and some thorn bushes involved that you should avoid if possible.  This is a long day and pretty rugged but the payoff of scenery is well worth it. 

This hike should only be done in warm weather since you will get wet and you should use dry bags to keep your stuff dry.  You should never enter this canyon if the weather forecast is for rain because flash floods could happen and be a great danger.  If you are not in decent shape don't try this because it is a long strenuous day and there is no way out but to do the whole loop once you pass the fist few swimming holes.  It is a one way loop hike that takes between 7 to 9 hours depending on how fast you can go.  There is a stretch of about 3 miles od dirt road that must be hiked or you can do a car shuttle or stash a mountain bike like I did at the Maxwell Trailhead.  I recommend you first do a day hike into Maxwell Trail to get an understanding of where the trail out is, because if you miss it at the end of your day you will be stuck in the canyon overnight and not know if the way out is upstream or down stream.  So for safety scout it out in advance to know the exit point of the canyon. 

Park you car at Maxwell Tank and walk east from the road past or around Maxwell Tank.  I went around the right side of the tank.

 You will have to get over a barbed wire fence and find your way down into the drainage or wash on the other side. Once in the bottom of the wash or drainage, turn right and head down the small canyon.  I found there to be lots of Locust plants with sharp thorns as well as some wild rose.  So this part scratched me up a little, but if you are careful you can probably get through without much damage.  Near the bottom of this side canyon you will encounter a series of dry falls or drops.  I was able to find ways to climb down or around each of them without too much difficulty.  After this you will reach the bottom of the main canyon of Willow Valley.  It takes around 45 minutes to get to this point.  I found the bottom of the canyon to be dry and boulder filled at this location.  You turn right or downstream and begin to boulder hop or climb what I thing was south.  After just a short distance you will come upon the first of a series of deep pools that you have to get through. 

 You might be able to find a way around some of them but the easiest way is just to swim through them (they are too deep to wade). 

  At least one of them there is no other way but to swim.  And on one of them I found no easy entrance other than to jump off a small drop into the water.  Once you do this there is no going back. 

 After this there are no more deep wades, so if you've used a flotation device to keep your pack dry, you can put it away.  I personally just used dry bags inside my pack.  I also bring a water filter so I don't have to carry a full days worth of heavy water.  Downstream from here there is a stretch where the canyon bottom is full of large boulders and rocks. 

 So you boulder hop and route find your way down the canyon.  After a while of this boulder hopping you will start to see pools of water again but nothing you have to swim.

  There are some sections where there are willow thickets you have to fight through.  The easiest way appears to be to stay in the water at these locations.  After a good distance of this the canyon begins to open up and you start to see running water.  

And soon the canyon bottom becomes more open and flat and filled with grass and brush.  You will find a few locations where you will have to wade across the stream and sometimes the grass makes seeing where your footing is supposed to go difficult.  After a while you will find there are some short sections with paths or trails up out of the drainage in some forested areas. 

 The farther you go you will find some actual sections of decent trail through the pines on benches along the canyons edge.  Finally you'll reach the confluence with Clover Creek, which comes in from the left.  This is a vey important land mark because you exit point is around a half mile down stream from here.  From this junction down you are now in West Clear Creek and in this area you will find some nice large still pools and some places where people have camped.

  You could always just come down Maxwell Trail and just go a little ways up stream and camp.  And then return back up Maxwell Trail.  And just take it easy and enjoy this remote wilderness at your leisure.  If you stay overnight be reminded that there may be bears in this part of the canyon, but I have never seen any. 

From the Clover Creek confluence stay on the right side of the stream going downstream because you exit is on the right and you don't want to miss it.  There are more big still pools and great scenery as you go. 

After about a half a mile, just before a prominent side canyon enters from the right and the main canyon bends left, you should see some cairns and a well used trail which heads up the slope on the right (north). This is your way out, called Maxwell Trail #37.  From here you will start climbing and it becomes steep with some switchbacks in places.  It is a pretty good climb that takes you up to the rim of the canyon.  At the top you find a West Clear Creek Wilderness Boundary sign and a trail register and parking area. If you have spotted a car here or a mountain bike like I did, the hike part of the adventure is over.  If you did not do the car shuttle or stash a mountain bike you now start the walk along the forest service roads back to your car at Maxwell tank.  It is about 1.5 miles down the road to the junction where you turned of to go to Maxwell Tank.  Turn right at that junction and walk the remaining 1.4 miles back to Maxwell Tank and your car. 

 

To get to the trail head at Maxwell Tank  You turn west off Lake Mary Road between mile markers 297 & 298.  This is a few miles northwest of the Highway 87 intersection at Clint's Well or Happy Jack.  I believe there is a sign for West Clear Creek.  It is Forest Road (FR) #81. Follow FR #81 for 3.1 miles then turn left onto FR #81E. After driving 3.8 miles stay left (continuing on 81E) at the junction with FR #693. After another 0.5 miles you'll arrive at the junction with Maxwell Trail Road. To spot a car, stay right at this junction and follow it 1.5 miles (ignoring any faint side roads) to the signed trailhead. To reach the trailhead, turn left towards Maxwell Tank. After 0.9 miles a road will come in from the right (stay left), you will reach Maxwell Tank after another 0.4 miles.

Return To Coyote Buttes, The South Section

Earlier I posted on a great place to see some wonderful sandstone formations called Coyote Buttes, that has a place called The Wave.  This area is a great place to take photos of unusual and colorful rock formations like the ones you see on my blog. 

In fact several of the photos in the sidebars are from this area.  The Wave has unique color and texture and consistency in the rock that makes it very photogenic.  Along with the type of erosion that has left smooth curved shapes.  This attracts photographers from all over the world.     

The Wave is in the part of the Coyote Buttes that is designated as the North section, but there is also some interesting stuff to see in the south section as well.  The South Section is a bit tougher to get to because the roads are sandy and require four wheel drive.  In fact even with four wheel drive there were parts that had deep sand that made me wonder if I was going to get stuck.  I highly advise you to go in a group with two four wheel drive vehicels if you can.  I also recommend you have a tire pump so you can deflate your tires some in the sand and then re-inflate when you get back to the road.  A shovel and winch are always nice as well. If you are not familure with off road travel and reading maps, this one is not for you.  

   When I went to this area it was many years ago and I backpacked in and stayed over night with my wife.  Sad to say they no longer alow overnight camping in this area.  Anyway we drove our car as far as a place called Paw Hole and then walked north in towards what is known as the Cottonwood Teepee area.  We did not follow a trail or anything, I just used a topo map and headed toward the Cottonwood Teepee area 
     We decided to park at Paw hole because the road beyond that was pure sand, and even up to there there were areas where we crossed some very deep sand and I felt I had taken enough risks already.  Many people continue on past Paw Hole and drive to a parking and access spot they call Cottonwood Cove.  This would make the Cottonwood Teepees just a short walk to get to.

      We first set out from Paw Hole here we were treated with seeing some beautiful rock formations with precice linear designs and textures in all sorts of strange shapes and sizes.

Most of these were tan, gold or redish brown in color, and some had unusual linear textures of darker colored rock running through them.  This is just a short walk north of the Paw Hole Parking Area.

There were some very unusual Teepees with some real crazy texture way up the ridge north of here that we saw on our way back.

We traveled north from Paw Hole on a flat sandy area just east of the ridge on the way out and we traveled along the top of the ridge or as close as we could on the way back. Walking north we crossed a large area of more sand that with full packs was quite draining, after several miles we came to another area of exposed rock and more unusual formations. 

This area was near what on the map was called Cottonwood Springs, and I latter found out it was called the Cottonwood Teepee area. Walking around in this area was amazing.

  This area has some crazy behive and teepee shaped rocks in quite an asortment of colors, sizes, and shapes, along with some balanced rocks and some just plain bizare shaped rocks, that will spark your imagination. 

Everywhere you look you see something unusual in the geology here. Strange twisted shapes in a variety of colors and patterns.

  And along with that there is a peacefulness that comes with this remote and secluded area.  This are for me was more interesting more deversified and just a larger area than the Paw Hole area, but of course it's a bit more difficult to get to.  Just a longer drive in some deep sand. 

As you can see there is some strange shapes and unusual color in the rocks at this place, we had it all to ourselves when I was there.

Being able to stay overnight out in this remote destination was quite a treat. At night there was no visible human made light sources and with the dry air the star viewing was amazing.

Here is a hiking map that might be of use if you are going to Go out there and explore.  remember there really are no trails, so you just have to use a map and keep track of where you have gone and how to get back.

The Lone Tree is an undeveloped access point that provides entry to Coyote Buttes South. There is limited parking available. It is not signed. Please park in existing disturbed areas only.

     From Page, AZ, drive west on Highway 89 for 34 miles (55 kilometers). Drive past the BLM Contact Station and the road to the White House trailhead. Turn left onto House Rock Valley Road. This road is compacted dirt. Drive 16.0 miles (25.75 kilometers) down this road. Turn left (east) on a narrow dirt track and drive 0.25 miles (0.4 kilometers) and park near a lone tree next to a small reservoir.
     From Kanab, UT, drive east on Highway 89 for 38 miles (61 kilometers). Turn right onto House Rock Valley Road. This road is compacted dirt. Drive 16.0 miles (25.75 kilometers) down this road. Turn left (east) on a narrow dirt track and drive 0.25 miles (0.4 kilometers) and park near a lone tree next to a small reservoir.

For permits and more information here is the link to the BLM site that has all you need including how to obtain permits.
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/arolrsmain/paria/coyote_buttes.html

Here is the Link to the post on the Coyote Buttes North Section and The Wave. http://azjonesoutdoor.blogspot.com/2010/07/coyote-buttes-north-section.html

Cottonwood Wash Narrows, Grand Staircase Escalante-National Monument, Utah

Grand Staircase Escalante-National Monument is a huge (1.9 million acres) and vast undeveloped and wild area in southern Utah and it has very few roads.  In the western part of the national monument is a dirt road that runs north to south called Cottonwood Wash Road. It is a rugged dirt road that is impassable in wet conditions and it sees light traffic. This road runs along the "Cockscomb" also known as the East Kaibab Monocline. This is a fold in the rock layers tilting them up at 45 degree angles in spots and forming a long ridge of strange rock formations due to the differential erosion of these layers of rock. 

Along Cottonwood Wash Road is a short but sweet canyon hike that passes through the narrows of Cottonwood Wash.  It is a very strange narrow canyon where a wash cuts into and through a large Navajo Sandstone ridge instead of just running along it and it comes out on the same side it entered. 

   This canyon part of the hike is really only about a mile and a half, but it is an interesting mile and a half.  There is a bridge on Cottonwood Wash Road at the starting point of the north end of the hike.  From there you scramble down into the drainage west of the road and head downstream.  Almost immediately you enter in between some large rocks and are in a narrow canyon between two large cliffs.  Right at this point you will see a canyon coming in from your right or north called Butler Valley Draw. 

You can go up Bultler Valley Draw and there are about 200 yards of narrow canyon to see, and then return back down the way you came back into Cottonwood Wash.  From there head south and you will be walking along a wash bottom between some large cliffs for about a mile and a half as it winds it's was in a generally southward direction.  Early on the canyon will get pretty narrow and tight with tall cliff closing in on both sides.  The last time I was there there was an old log jambed in between the two cliffs at one spot. 

For me this is the most interesting part of the hike due to the cliff walls and rocks that are polished and smoothed from years of flash floods being forced through this small narrow slot.

The narrows will open up a little way farther downstream and you will be walking on a sandy wash bottom between two very large cliffs that I estimate could be 200 feet high or more in places.  Along this section there are a few interesting short side canyons with towering cliffs that dead end into the bottom of what appear to be dry waterfalls.  Note the backpack I left on the ground to give some perspective as to the size of the cliffs.

At one point you will hit a place where a landslide has blocked the wash but it is easy to scramble over.  There are some places where the canyon opens up and the walls are not as dramatic but even that stretch has som beauty because you can then see the unusual rock formations on the top of the Navajo Sandstone cliffs that have been sculptured over time.

 After about only a mile and a half the canyon will take an abrupt left turn and emerge out from the narrows into a wide valley.  The road will be right there and you just hike north about a mile along the road to get to your car.  The walk along the road is scenic as well with some interesting geology to see.  The whole hike can take less than 2 hours and some people do it in less.  Overall it is pretty short and mostly easy and could be a good hike for a family with kids.  And it is well worth the effort considering the beauty and the interesting geology. 

To get there you take Cottonwood Wash Road about 25.5 miles north from Highway 89 or if coming down from the north it is about 12 miles south on Cottonwood Wash Road past Kodacrome Basin.  Elevation is at 5600 feet.  Note that Cottonwood Wash Road is impassable in wet weather, so get a good weather report so you don't get your car stuck in the mud in this remote area.  Carry plenty of water and food in your car. 


Here is a link to another adventure that can be found along Cottonwood Wash Road.
http://azjonesoutdoor.blogspot.com/2010/10/yellow-rock-and-hackberry-canyon-utah.html

Palatki and Honanki Ruins, near Sedona Arizona

About twelve miles west of Sedona (as the crow flies) there are two Sinagua cliff dwellings or ruins called Palatki and Honanki. The Sinagua, are thought by the archaeologists who study this stuff to be ancestors of the Hopi, and lived at these sites from about AD 1100 to 1300. These sites not only have some impressive ruins to view but also have many examples of Native American rock art.

Palatki is the site closer to Sedona and it has a short 1/4 mile trail from the parking lot to the ruins. The ruins are up against the base of a large red rock cliff in a curved alcove with and overhang that gives the structures some natural protection from weather. At Palatki there are two main sections of the ruins, leading to speculation by the "smart guys" of there being two clans that lived side by side here.

 But who really knows, and I would guess that no one ever will. The largest of the two main structures here is two stories tall with some rock art farther up on the cliff wall indicating it may have even been three stories at one time. But there are some other small partial structures as well, in between the two main areas.

There is also another short path that leads to some impressive rock art that is well worth seeing while you are there that has this round shield or circle design and many other animal type images.

After seeing this site you will want to see Honanki that is a bit farther west. Honanki was apparently the larger of the two dwellings when it was inhabited. Again it is situated along the base of a large red rock cliff.  At a place called Loy Butte, right next to Loy Canyon. 

Loy Butte and Loy Canyon is named after the Loy family that homesteaded the area back in the old days.  I have met a man named Robert Loy who was born up in Oak creek Canyon more than 80 years ago.  He told me his father was offered land in Sedona at a nickle and acre and did not buy it because he did not think it was good to graze cattle on.  Little did he know how the prices would be today, and so it goes.

 Anyway Honanki ruins is really one main alcove of structures with several more structures scattered along the bottom of a large cliff. 

Along with that there is some very impressive rock art all around the surrounding area.  One thing of note, is that in summer I have seen rattlesnakes in this area, more than once and heard of others seeing them too, so watch your step!

     When you go to Honanki ruins it is just past a parking area for the Loy Canyon Trail.  If you have time Loy Canyon is a beautiful and remote area with fantastic red rock scenery, and also has several undeveloped ruins and sites.

  Some of my favorites that I have found are hidden in this canyon, and I will let them stay that way. 

You will have to find them the same way I did through exploration.  But I highly recommend you hike up this beautiful canyon.  The trail is long and takes you all the way up the rim to the pine forest above, but I tend to just stay down in the canyon myself. 

Currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service under the Red Rock Pass Program and there is a fee to park, in other words you must purchase a Red Rock Pass.  I believe you can buy them at the parking areas.  Remember these sites are protected by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. These laws prohibit digging, removing artifacts, damage and defacement of archaeological resources on public lands, and provide felony and/or misdemeanor prosecution with imprisonment up to ten years and fines up to $100,000.

Access:   From Sedona: You take Hwy. 89A south from West Sedona and continue past the last traffic light for five miles. Just past mile marker 365, turn right onto Forest Road 525. Go north for 5 miles and when F.R. 525 bears left, continue straight ahead onto Forest Road 795 for two miles. This road will lead directly into the Palatki parking lot.

An alternative way to access Palatki it to take Dry Creek Rd. out west from Sedona. There are signs at every intersection that will direct you towards Palatki. At the end of Dry Creek Rd, turn left onto Boynton Pass Road (FR 152C). At the next stop sign, turn left again. In a couple of miles, the pavement will end and you should continue on the rough gravel road for three miles until you reach another T intersection where you should turn right. It is 2 miles to Palatki from this intersection. These roads are generally passable to passenger cars when dry, but it is not regularly maintained by the County and has some rough and rocky stretches.

From Cottonwood: Take 89A north from Cottonwood. About 1/2 mile north of mile marker 364, turn left onto a dirt road (Forest Road 525 to Forest Road 795; passable for passenger cars when dry), and drive 7 miles to Palatki Heritage Site and the parking lot.  To get to Honanki you just continue on FR 525 past the FR 795 turn off another 4.5 miles.  This is all dirt roads and can be rough in some seasons.  But it is some very beautiful country to drive through!

For more information http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/red_rock/palatki-ruins.shtml