Painted Cliffs/Four Peaks Wilderness

[mike t]

http://community.webshots.com/user/miket2003
Here's a link to some photos of todays hike. Note: the photos of the painted cliffs don't do 'em justice. They just did'nt capture the feel.
This hike is sort of a work in progress. This is my second shot at it and still not complete to my thinking. I first went to do this hike in Jan. but did'nt find the road quite right so ended up doing Browns Peak that day instead. (not bad) Well today I found the road, and what a road!!! This trip is ostensibly along the Alder Trail. (Tr82) I'm not sure however that I was exactly on the trail though. But thats another story. To get there you follow 4 peaks road (FR143) to Cane Springs road (FR401). Easy enough right? Yeah sure. Take 143 to the Cottonwood Camp sign, this is FR401. Right turn and continue along the road which is in excellent condition to Cottonwood camp. Stay along the corral fenceline and you should be able to find the way alright. There are other ATV and 4X4 tracks all over the place and it can get confusing. This is where I went awry on my first trip. When you get to the creek bed you will see a 401 post. Get out, lock the hubs, and check your fillings cuz this thing gets ugly from here on out. The brief description I was working from called this a gear grinder. Heck, I rarely got out of granny the rest of the way. 6 miles and 1 1/2 hours later I got to the trailhead which was still confusing. There are 2. After some scouting about I determined the trail started from the area away from the small building in the area. So off I go, up what appears to be old jeep trail. There is a junction not far in that I did not notice on the way in. The trails don't diverge much. One follows a drainage/canyon and the other a ridgeline. I was up on the ridgeline. It was working O.K. and I could see the other trail fairly well and that they were going to generally the same place. Eventually, the lower trail broke off to the south and I could see that I needed to be over there, so I made an easy scramble over, So... I don't know if I was actually on the Alder trail, but I got there. Due to the long sloww 4wheelin and the reconnoitring about the trailhead, I was way behind schedule. In order to keep the cavalry from being sent out I had to turn back before I could get closer, which is why I still consider this unfinished business. A final note on that road: I won't go out there again without another 4X4 along, 5 new tires and a dental checkup. It was that rough.
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Mike T
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[Arizonaheat]

Sounds like a good adventure. Nice pics
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Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.

[Canyon Dweller]

Nice pics. Looks nice and green.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[desert dweller]

The description of the drive in sounded like fun. I rarely 4-wheel and it is always just to get to trailheads. Sometimes, though, getting a chance to practice the fine art of road-reading and vehicle limits is just fun.

The photos shows the place looks pretty nice. Thanks.

[mike t]

Thanks for the photo compliments guys. Desert dweller, I'm like you. I don't 4-wheel much either. So maybe this road wasn't all that hairy to some, but it gave me all I wanted. Especially alone. Although I never felt any physical danger, I knew getting stuck or tipped out there would make for a major MAJOR crappy day. It would be interesting to get out there and explore some more though. And after I got my jaw unclenched, I had to admit it was fun.
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Mike T
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less is more