The northwest of Colorado is somewhat drier than the Rocky Mountain core.  Even so, the rivers run at a credible clip, and the occasional waterfalls are well worth an hour or two.  Rifle Falls has three such waterfalls and a series of limestone caves occupies the area underneath the falls.  I spent ninety minutes on the morning of July 17, casually walking the trail to the top of Rifle Falls and exploring the caves along the bottom of the trail.

I begin with scenes of the plateau leading into the Rifle Gap.

The falls and caves lie just east of Rifle Gap State Park.

Here are more scenes of the caves, which are quite delicate, and would not make safe hiding places- though that would be tempting, in a pinch.

I climbed up to the top of the falls, along Coyote Trail, and learned that a private entrepreneur had built a hydropower plant, of sorts, and a tourist attraction, in the 1890’s.

Above is a remnant of the hydropower facility.

Rifle Falls set the tone for a rather happy day, that Wednesday.

Next:  The Road to Cokeville

It doesn’t rain any more intensely on Pine Mountain than it does anywhere else in Arizona.  I did find, though, that the trail to Nelson Place Spring and onward along Beehouse Canyon Trail is intensely green.

It attracts the same intense wildlife as the Mazatzal Range, some forty miles to the southeast- including mountain lions, bobcats and bears.

So, here are a few scenes near Nelson Place Spring, where there are but remnants of some stone walls to show the vibrant life that people had here, 100 years ago.

Not far along Beehouse Canyon Trail, I got a fine view of Beehouse Mesa.

Going in and out of the forest, I got fine views of Pine Mountain itself, which will be the focus of another hike, sometime in the next year or two.

On the way out of the Wilderness, I enjoyed views of Sycamore Creek Gorge, not to be confused with Sycamore Canyon, which follows the same body of water, but lies several miles north of here.

So went my mini-adventure, on what would have been our 31st wedding anniversary, June 6, 2013.

Yesterday would have been our thirty-first wedding anniversary.  June 6 will always be one of those days when something out of the ordinary calls to me, to be done.

I chose to have lunch with the arcology students at Arcosanti, the avant-garde community-in-progress that was started by the late Paolo Soleri, in the early 1970’s.  I was not disappointed; the buffet fare was well-balanced and freshly made. Besides, having to wait thirty minutes, in the small outdoor garden, gave me a chance to contemplate creatures like a red-tailed hawk, hummingbirds and a chuckawalla.

After this fine meal, I headed northeast, to Pine Mountain Wilderness, a rarely visited area, between Cordes Junction and Payson.  At its highest point, PMW affords magnificent views of the Verde River, with steep canyon walls in between.  As it was late in the day for any blowout hike, I chose to spend an hour or so in Beehouse Canyon, a connector trail on the north side of PMW.

Of course, as with any remote wilderness, the route to the trailhead is itself a worthy experience.  I met few humans along the narrow dirt road, but did slow down or stop for a robust juvenile coyote, a long bull snake and a spirited mule deer.

Here are a few scenes of the features presented by Forest Road 68.  First, I encountered Estier Peak.

This short mountain is east of I-17, off Dugas Road.

Just east of Estier is five-mile long Horner Gulch.

This long sub-canyon stretches for five miles along Forest Road 68, below Yellow Jacket Mesa, visible at the top.

Here is a longer view of Yellow Jacket Mesa.

This ridge runs northeastward, from Horner Gulch.

The area has several ranches, which are still fully operational.  It also has the old mining town of Dugas, now a place of refuge for those needing to be “out-of-towners”.

This is the remnant of yet another old mining town. Now, those who want to be left alone hang out here. They were nice enough to let me take two photos.

This property is mostly abandoned. The owner supposedly just shows up once in a blue moon.

This is the north ridge of Tule Canyon, which runs east of Dugas.

This is Mount Thomas. From here on, the landscape becomes more lush, with Sycamore Creek and the Verde River exerting greater influence.

This igneous rock outcropping rises just southeast of Dugas, and about three miles southwest of Pine Mountain Wilderness

In the next post, I will showcase the canyon rising from Sycamore Creek, the northern first mile of Pine Mountain Trail,  and the lushness of Beehouse Canyon.

Bill Williams was a mountain man, in the mid- 19th Century, trading with the Havasupai, Hualapai, Yavapai, Navajo and Hopi, in the north central region of Arizona.  He is remembered by having the City of Williams, Bill Williams River, and this mountain named for him.

Bill Williams Mountain is the furthest west of a series of uplifts that rise majestically out of the semi-arid Colorado Plateau.  The higher mountains in this loosely-constructed “range” are known collectively as the San Francisco Peaks, or Kachina Peaks.  All are sacred to the five nations that call the area home.  They are also used by the ski industry, at Mt. Agassiz, near Flagstaff and on one of the slopes of Bill Williams Mountain.  The two interest groups are not 100% in agreement, as to how the Peaks should be treated.  So far, though, the mountains remain in majesty.  The indigenous people, particularly the Hopi, regard the Peaks as the realm of their sacred spirits, known to the Hopi as Kachinas.

I took time yesterday to hike to the top of Bill Williams Mountain, something that I’ve had in mind for thirty years or so.  Here are some views of this western sentinel of the Peaks.

There is a map of the area, at the trail head

.

Then, we are off,up a mild set of switchbacks.

The trail is used by many creatures.  This one looks familiar.  Absalom?

The trail is three miles, one way, variously flat and inclined.

It offers nice views of Bixler Peak, the western sub-peak of Bill Williams.

There are also hints of the summit, still well ahead.

Along the way, a progress report is offered.

There are limestone boulders, on which to rest, plus plenty of aspen, ponderosa pine and fir trees (White and Douglas) for shade.

I offer here a small homage to @Buddy 71, and his friends.

Now, back to “work”.

There are numerous views, in all directions, en route to the top.

By this time, I came upon a father and two sons, who had made the trip to Mile Post 2.5,  about twenty minutes before me.  We went the rest of the way as a unit.

As you can see, the US Forest Service maintains elaborate communications and fire watch equipment, atop Bill Williams Mountain.

I moseyed on over to the west overlook, and smiled for the birdie, as a souvenir of this hike.

Now, it’s back to Prescott, and a weekend of Folk Arts Festival! 

Part of what makes the Sonoran Desert a cut above surrounding arid regions is its lushness.  The Superstition Mountains figure prominently among those sections of the Sonoran in which wildflowers run riot from April to early June.

When I visited last Saturday, the colours were beginning to emerge, and the Gambel’s oak was very thick in several spots along the Peralta Canyon, East Boulder Canyon and Dutchmans Trails.

Here is part 3 of this series on the Superstition Wilderness.  Hope you enjoy the plant life.

All of this is brought to you by the tributaries of the Salt and Gila Rivers, which grace the fringes of the Superstition Mountains.

Most of the dazzling array of rock spires found in the Superstition Mountains are of a volcanic rock, called rhyolite.  Sandstone also figures into the mix, usually at the outer base of formations like Weaver’s Needle.  The Superstitions are an eroding mountain chain, far older than Arizona’s other large volcanic ranges- the San Francisco Peaks and the Santa Catalinas.

I found no dearth of amazing rock formations, giving my imagination full vent, during the nine hours spent in approach and circumnavigation of Weaver’s Needle, last Saturday.

Here are about twelve of the rock formation shots I took.  You be the interpreter as to what they represent. 

The formations actually extend quite a bit further, to the west, north and east of the Fremont Saddle/Weaver’s Needle areas on which I focused last weekend.  Someday, who knows, I may just stumble upon the Lost Dutchman’s Mine.