Sycamore Rim Trail - May 28

[Richard]

This was my first hike worth posting! The weather was perfect and hiking along the rim of the Sycamore canyon as it grows from a small runoff into a hugh canyon was fascinating. Near the trailhead there were also the remnants of an old railroad spur that had been used to haul trees to a lumber mill in Williams.

It was very interesting to leisurely walk along this old railbed for about a mile or so, with nothing remaining but the built up rail bed and mostly rotten ties. I thought about the corps of army engineers who built it with picks and shovels (I assumed) back in the 1860's or '70's and what the experience must have been like for them almost 150 years ago.

There were numerous wildflowers in bloom along the approximately 12 mile loop trail and in addition to watching the canyon get larger there were also some old cabins, the scant remains of an old lumber mill, several "tanks" and quite a few drainages that were crossed. Sycamore falls was also interesting and would have been more so if there had been water flowing.

I also tried following what was purported to be the "Overland Trail" which was built in 1858. This "trail" supposedly intersects the Sycamore rim trail twice and I decided to follow it back to the trailhead from the western intersection. This proved to be a bad idea. There were absolutely no signs that a trail had ever existed as I tried to follow from cairn to cairn (the only indication there was a trail). The cairns were generally so far spread apart that I had to pause at each one and scan the horizon for the next one. After about a mile I was unable to find the next cairn and had to reluctantly retrace my way back to the Sycamore rim trail. There were places where cairns were surrounded as far as I could see with scattered rocks averaging about 8 inches in diameter. It seems rather unbelievable to me that these rocks would not have been moved aside if a trail was ever here. It would have taken little effort to move them and would have made wagon, horse, and foot traffic much easier. But, hey! What do I know?

This was a minor drawback though to an otherwise glorius hike. I really have too little overall experience hiking in Arizona yet to make comparisons with other hikes but I will be doing this one again and for what it's worth, I recommend it to anyone who may not have hiked it yet.

I also posted some photos. Nothing earth shattering, but it will give you some idea of what the area was like.

[evenstar]

Richard, before letting your dogs hike off lead many more time, you might want to check out this topic: http://www.arizonahikers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1491
I'd love to hike with my Rich off lead, but for a number of reason, including those posted in the linked topic, I don't dare.

Nice photos and that's an area I've wanted to hike for some time. What were the temps?
_________________
John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902

[Leva]

Ditto on keeping dogs on a leash please.

You're also liable for 3X the value of any livestock your dog may injure and it is a misdemeanor with possible jail time and/or a big fine if your dog chases livestock. And a lot of people who ride horseback carry guns to deal with loose dogs -- equestrians and livestock operators take loose dogs pretty seriously and with a distinct lack of a sense of humor about the whole issue. And a lot of farmers will drop a strange dog on the spot, no questions asked, if the dog wanders onto their property.

Leva