Tortilla Mountain.

[azhiker96]

Last week I got an email from a stranger asking if I wanted to hike with him, Jim Hatt, and a few other guys on Sunday. I said yes, not knowing where or why but with Jim going I knew it would be interesting. I got one more email saying to meet at Jim's house at 8am and that we'd be hiking Tortilla mountain. So I told Deanda I would be hiking Tortilla mountain with Jim and some other guys and that it would probably take all day. That turned out somewhat prophetic.

Sometime in 1972 a single engine plane flew into the side of Tortilla mountain. On Sunday I hiked with Jim Hatt and two other moderators from DUSA to the site of the crash. It was mostly off-trail and exercised my route finding ability.

We left Jim's place at 8am with his two dogs. I got the front seat due to my long legs. Paul and Wayne had the back seat in the Bronco and Jim's two dogs ( a shepard and a rottie) were in the far back, breathing on Gary and Wayne the whole way.

Jim's Bronco easily clawed it's way up the road to the Tortilla TH and we parked near the second windmill. Jesse Capen had parked next to that windmill. There were two white trucks and tents setup left of the last turn to the windmill so we drove by there to see if we knew the owners but nobody was in camp.

The first half mile was unremarkable as we followed the trail. Then we drifted off to the right and started to make our way to a notch that would allow us access to the mountain. At one point we were unsure which ridge was the easier route so we split up agreeing those who chose the easier route could laugh at the others.

Wayne and I took a route that led to a cliff face and then traversed to the notch. Jim and Paul took another ridge and made it to the notch ahead of us. It was still worthwhile because at the base of the cliff we found a small cache of cow dung which may have been stored there as fuel.

Going up the notch was not too bad except the easiest route went right by an active beehive in a crack in the rocks. We decided to take a slightly steeper and more exposed route that had no bees. There was a crux move for the dogs but I positioned myself and encouraged Sandy (the shepard) to go up near my. She decided to go up right where I was standing and nearly knocked us both off the rock. I had a grip on the rock, one on her, and only one foot on rock when I lifted her past me. The rottie watched our circus act and then just trotted up by the bees without a problem.

From there the going got easier and as we neared the top I found an engine cylinder. Wayne examined it and said it was the front right cylinder. He's a pilot and knows quite a bit about aircraft. He said the day of the crash the ceiling was 4000 feet. The plane hit the mountain at about 4700 feet. The summit is just over 4900 feet. There was one person on board and he did not survive the crash.

Higher on the mountain I found some of the engine cover and a few other little bits including the artificial horizon from the attitude indicator. We didn't do a thorough search because it was getting late and already we could see it would be dark before we got back to the Bronco.

As we hiked back by a different route it got darker and darker. Finally we were walking through cats claw, cactus, and brush in darkness wondering when the moon would rise. I used the tactile senses of my shin to find a cactus and then had to pluck spines for a few minutes. We all had light with us but decided to wait for the just past full moon to rise and light our way. After an hour the moon did rise but light clouds muted it's effect so we used our lights anyway.

Hiking out was slowed because our distance vision was limited and we didn't want to cliff out. Luck and patience won out, we managed to get back to the creek bottom without any incident. The two deer hunters had returned to their camp and watched disbelievingly as our lights wound their way down the mountain. They came to the creek to see if we needed help and we spoke with them for awhile before heading back to Jim's place.

I called Deanda at about 10:20, catching her just before she was going to call SSAR to report us missing. It was a much longer hike than I'd expected or else I would have allowed for more time.

Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/107922254788299731106/TortillaMtn?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjllf-LgKndkwE#5532752457569219762

Here's more on the crash.
Jim:
The wreckage in your photos is that of a Mooney M20 that hit Tortilla Mtn. at 4700 ft. on Dec 8,1972.The 60yr. old pilot was on a flight from Clifton/Morencey to Phoenix.
The last photo is of the top section of engine cowling.The "PC" on the cowling indicates that this A/C was equipped with the Mooney "positive control system",an automatic wing leveler.
I'm sure that a hike up to the location would be interesting.

Regards:Wayne
_________________
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan

[Nighthiker]

Quite the catclaw country. Last couple of times I drove my jeep o the trailhead on the way out some idiot parked and blocked me in at the parking area just off of AZ 87. Late 70's when hiking the mtn. came across several boxes of pest control.The boxes contained sterile screwfly larvae. According to the forest service when I asked they were placed for control measures due to the livestock grazing in the area.

[wanderingsoul]

Sounds like quite an adventure George. Glad you all made it back safe and sound and enjoyed your day. And looking at those cactus spines in the leg....ouch !!! Hope that is all healed and better now that they are out. But they sure do hurt for a while, I know (those things seem to LIKE me).
_________________
Wanderingsoul (Michelle)

Positive Thinking Is the Spark that Makes Dreams Happen~~~Unknown

[azhiker96]

It was quite the adventure. I had on long pants and long sleeved shirt and fared pretty well. A couple of my companions had short sleeved shirts and got pretty well pin-striped by the cats claw. Cactus spines always look worse than they feel although those did get my attention. I love off-trail stuff though so I really enjoyed this hike.
_________________
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan