Bagdad area 1 10 09
The sweltering summer heat has finally broken so we can get back to some desert exploring. Personally I love riding and exploring the beautiful desert mountains in Arizona. This is going to be a long day but it should be well worth it in the end.
I was up at 3:00 Am to get ready for Roy’s arrival at 3:45. As usual he was right on time. We got loaded up and headed to Wickenburg about an hour away to meet up with Zane and Augi at McDonalds. From here it is about another 1 &1/2 hours to our staging area. We arrived at 7:00 Am to a brisk temperature of 57 degrees. Good thing I packed a sweatshirt.
The first 15 miles of the trail is a regular dirt road so we were riding along at about 30 MPH. Brrrrr, it was downright cold when the road dropped down into a canyon. The first part of this trail was very rocky and mostly flat. As we were headed across an open field Roy spotted a hawk on the ground. He watched it fly to a nearby tree and land. It was a long way off but he zoomed in for a photo. He didn’t know it until he viewed his photos later but the hawk had a snake in its talons. It looks like a rattle snake as well.
As we were riding along I was thinking where is the canyon Roy had been talking about? About that time we caught a glimpse of the canyon. Oh my, it came out of nowhere. Normally we go up mountains for the view but this time we ride along and there is a huge hole in the ground. The further we ride down the canyon the better the views. Finally after crossing a stream we are at the bottom and find a ranch house and a barn. It looks like the barn was the house at one time because there is a fireplace inside it. The barn is pretty run down but the house is still usable except the mice are taking over. One very unique thing on the porch of the house is an old bed spring hanging from the 2 x 4s. It worked pretty good and what a fabulous view of the surrounding mountains.
After our break we head up the switchback trail on the opposite side of the canyon. Just to see how high a climb it was to the top we check out the GPS elevation. It is about 3,300 feet. As we start climbing you can’t help but stop several times along the way to take in the stunning views of the canyon. It is like riding in a mini Grand Canyon. Just before we hit the real steep loose rocky part we stop and make sure everyone remembers to watch the trail and not go over the side as it is a long drop. As we reach the top we again check the GPS and it is at 4,500 feet. This side of the canyon is not quite as tall as the other side which we plan to go up later.
What a blast climbing out to the top and standing on the edge taking in the views that I’m sure not many people have ever seen in person because it is so remote. Looking down into the canyon we can see the other trail about ½ mile downstream that Roy has mapped out for the way back out but first we have to find the other road on our side of the canyon that goes back down to another larger ranch.
On top it takes a couple of tries to find the correct road but it can’t hide from us for long. We see the ranch at the bottom next to the stream. There are even a couple of plots of land they have cleared for farming. This road was in much better condition as we switchback our way down to the bottom.
As we approach the big rock house we wonder if anyone is home. After knocking on the door to find it empty we take a look around the place. What a great house this must have been back in the day and how did they get all the stuff here to build it? I can’t imagine how or why they made the roads down into the canyon but I sure am glad they did. Those people must have been super tough is all I can say. We are pretty sure they built here for cattle ranching but maybe mining as well. We figured the house to be somewhere around 2000 square feet in size. It had running water (probably gravity feed) and electricity. Not sure if the electricity was original or not. It looked like someone was in the process of fixing up the house but again the critters were taking over. It’s nice to see it is getting a makeover. It is so peaceful and beautiful here. I would love to stay here for a few days and take in the entire wilderness.
After a quick lunch it is time to make our accent up the other side of the canyon wall. We weren’t sure what the road had in store for us but from the other side it looked like it was steep towards the top. I wanted to go first so I couple get a few photos of the guys coming up the switchback. I had no idea how absolutely gorgeous the canyon background would be. The colors and contours of the background made it a National Geographic moment. The view was fabulous to say the least. I hated to leave but we were burning daylight. It was amazing that when we were about 100 yards away from the top you could hardly tell there was even a canyon there.
After leaving the canyon we went down a few roads looking for more canyons but had no luck. Then one of the roads went up a mountain road that was partially washed out. Zane and I started following each other up the ditch seeing if we could make it. Augi said he knew a shrink that could help us if we wanted his number but I told him that WAS our therapy.
On our way back to the truck we came across some outstanding rock formations. It looked as if the rocks were dumped out of the sky and just piled up all over the place. Unfortunately it was getting dark so we had to hurry along through this section to get back to the trucks before dark. We will have to make it back to this area when there is more daylight.
Our trip ended with a total of 85 miles on our ATV’s. It was another dark to dark adventure and one of the best scenery rides I have ever been on in my life. I hope you enjoy the photos half as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Read MoreI was up at 3:00 Am to get ready for Roy’s arrival at 3:45. As usual he was right on time. We got loaded up and headed to Wickenburg about an hour away to meet up with Zane and Augi at McDonalds. From here it is about another 1 &1/2 hours to our staging area. We arrived at 7:00 Am to a brisk temperature of 57 degrees. Good thing I packed a sweatshirt.
The first 15 miles of the trail is a regular dirt road so we were riding along at about 30 MPH. Brrrrr, it was downright cold when the road dropped down into a canyon. The first part of this trail was very rocky and mostly flat. As we were headed across an open field Roy spotted a hawk on the ground. He watched it fly to a nearby tree and land. It was a long way off but he zoomed in for a photo. He didn’t know it until he viewed his photos later but the hawk had a snake in its talons. It looks like a rattle snake as well.
As we were riding along I was thinking where is the canyon Roy had been talking about? About that time we caught a glimpse of the canyon. Oh my, it came out of nowhere. Normally we go up mountains for the view but this time we ride along and there is a huge hole in the ground. The further we ride down the canyon the better the views. Finally after crossing a stream we are at the bottom and find a ranch house and a barn. It looks like the barn was the house at one time because there is a fireplace inside it. The barn is pretty run down but the house is still usable except the mice are taking over. One very unique thing on the porch of the house is an old bed spring hanging from the 2 x 4s. It worked pretty good and what a fabulous view of the surrounding mountains.
After our break we head up the switchback trail on the opposite side of the canyon. Just to see how high a climb it was to the top we check out the GPS elevation. It is about 3,300 feet. As we start climbing you can’t help but stop several times along the way to take in the stunning views of the canyon. It is like riding in a mini Grand Canyon. Just before we hit the real steep loose rocky part we stop and make sure everyone remembers to watch the trail and not go over the side as it is a long drop. As we reach the top we again check the GPS and it is at 4,500 feet. This side of the canyon is not quite as tall as the other side which we plan to go up later.
What a blast climbing out to the top and standing on the edge taking in the views that I’m sure not many people have ever seen in person because it is so remote. Looking down into the canyon we can see the other trail about ½ mile downstream that Roy has mapped out for the way back out but first we have to find the other road on our side of the canyon that goes back down to another larger ranch.
On top it takes a couple of tries to find the correct road but it can’t hide from us for long. We see the ranch at the bottom next to the stream. There are even a couple of plots of land they have cleared for farming. This road was in much better condition as we switchback our way down to the bottom.
As we approach the big rock house we wonder if anyone is home. After knocking on the door to find it empty we take a look around the place. What a great house this must have been back in the day and how did they get all the stuff here to build it? I can’t imagine how or why they made the roads down into the canyon but I sure am glad they did. Those people must have been super tough is all I can say. We are pretty sure they built here for cattle ranching but maybe mining as well. We figured the house to be somewhere around 2000 square feet in size. It had running water (probably gravity feed) and electricity. Not sure if the electricity was original or not. It looked like someone was in the process of fixing up the house but again the critters were taking over. It’s nice to see it is getting a makeover. It is so peaceful and beautiful here. I would love to stay here for a few days and take in the entire wilderness.
After a quick lunch it is time to make our accent up the other side of the canyon wall. We weren’t sure what the road had in store for us but from the other side it looked like it was steep towards the top. I wanted to go first so I couple get a few photos of the guys coming up the switchback. I had no idea how absolutely gorgeous the canyon background would be. The colors and contours of the background made it a National Geographic moment. The view was fabulous to say the least. I hated to leave but we were burning daylight. It was amazing that when we were about 100 yards away from the top you could hardly tell there was even a canyon there.
After leaving the canyon we went down a few roads looking for more canyons but had no luck. Then one of the roads went up a mountain road that was partially washed out. Zane and I started following each other up the ditch seeing if we could make it. Augi said he knew a shrink that could help us if we wanted his number but I told him that WAS our therapy.
On our way back to the truck we came across some outstanding rock formations. It looked as if the rocks were dumped out of the sky and just piled up all over the place. Unfortunately it was getting dark so we had to hurry along through this section to get back to the trucks before dark. We will have to make it back to this area when there is more daylight.
Our trip ended with a total of 85 miles on our ATV’s. It was another dark to dark adventure and one of the best scenery rides I have ever been on in my life. I hope you enjoy the photos half as much as I enjoyed taking them.
