Guidebook
Segment 13: Old Safford-Morenci Trail 15.0
miles
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Segment
Length
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from
PHX
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to
ABQ
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Segment
Status
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Season
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15.0
mi.
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251
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finalized
& accessible
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fall,
winter, spring
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| Resources |
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OVERVIEW
MAP
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ELEVATION
PROFILE
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G.E.T. Topo Maps 38-39
Water Chart
Image Gallery: Album
4
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Additional
maps:
Safford 1:100K Topographic (BLM)
Clifton 1:100K Topographic (BLM)
visit PLIC website
Land management agency:
BLM Safford Field Office
(928) 348-4400
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| Beginning
access point |
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Ending
access point |
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Safford-Morenci
Trail west trailhead. From
US 70 (Thatcher Blvd) at 8th Ave in Safford, head north
on 8th Ave. In 1.5 mi. bear right at the fork onto Airport
Rd. and follow it 4 miles to Aviation Way. Turn left here,
then immediately left again onto (unsigned) Solomon Pass
Rd (which becomes graded dirt) and continue 8 miles to the
Solomon Pass-Salt Trap Road junction. Bear left onto Salt
Trap Road and follow it 1.8 miles. Turn left (waypoint 12135;
if you reached Salt Trap tank and corral you missed this
turn) and continue ~4 miles to the signed trailhead, a dirt
turnout with ample parking. A 4WD high-clearance vehicle
may be needed for sections of the last 6 miles.
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Safford-Morenci
Trail east trailhead. From
Clifton take US 191 (Coronado Bvd) north to the town of
Morenci. Continue another ~5 miles and turn left onto signed,
graded dirt Lower Eagle Creek Rd a short ways before ridge-top
overlooks of the mine. The road descends to the flood plain
of Eagle Creek in another 5.5 miles, where it turns left
past a pumping facility, then right to cross the creek.
A high-clearance 4WD vehicle is often advisable here and
beyond. Now on unsigned Black River Rd (the same road changes
names), continue ~1.6 miles, along the way ignoring a side
road at right, to the signed Safford-Morenci Trail east
trailhead. Parking for several vehicles is available along
the roadside opposite and just beyond the trailhead sign.
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SEGMENT
OVERVIEW
This segment
follows the historic Old Safford-Morenci Trail in its entirety.
The BLM's Safford Field Office website offers the following description
of the trail:
"Pioneer
ranchers and farmers in the Gila Valley built this trail about
1874 to haul their products to the booming mines of the Clifton-Morenci
area. After the advent of the automobile in the early 1900s, new
roads were constructed along other routes. One was the Safford-Clifton
Road (now called the Black Hills Back Country Byway). Decreasing
use of the Safford-Morenci Trail resulted in little maintenance,
and it became more difficult to follow. Today, the Safford-Morenci
Trail is managed by the BLM as a recreation trail for non-motorized
uses. Although the trail was originally used as a pack trail for
supplying mining camps in and around Morenci it is now impassable
in places for horseback riders.
"Hikers
can enjoy a variety of desert and riparian environments along
the trail. Bonita Creek, part of the Gila Box Riparian National
Conservation Area, is crossed about midway and makes a good primitive
camping spot. Javelina, black bear, mule deer, bighorn sheep,
and mountain lions inhabit this area. Numerous birds, including
raptors such as golden eagles and peregrine falcons, may also
be seen. Riparian areas are especially good for colorful neotropical
migratory birds. Hikers can encounter prehistoric cliff dwellings,
remnants of early homesteads, majestic rock outcrops, and sweeping
views of the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, the
Gila Mountains, and the high points beyond."
Thanks to
the ongoing efforts of the BLM in Safford, the Safford-Morenci
Trail is now well on its way to becoming one of southeast Arizona's
premier backcountry recreation trails. Several miles of newly
reconstructed trail make for easier, more enjoyable passage, and
more work is planned for coming seasons. The Safford-Morenci Trail
follows a combination of foot trail, 4WD tracks, and cross-county
drainages, and features occasional brown and (older) green metal
signs marked "TRAIL."
With the exception
of perennial Bonita Creek, only a spring trough in South Smith
Canyon near the end of this segment should be considered fairly
reliable in drier times. Where the route follows drainages, expect
a rocky go of it, but also a wonderful sense of solitude and even
the occasional section of scenic slot canyon to explore.
Please note
that the total mileage in this segment is only an estimate. The
route may be up to a mile longer than the stated 15 miles, although
the rough terrain in places can make it feel several miles longer
still.
An interesting
account of the Safford-Morenci Trail, with much historical insight,
is featured on the Arizona Highways Magazine's website. Read the
article here.
ROUTE
DETAILS
At the Old
Safford-Morenci Trail west trailhead (waypoint 12200, el. 4700')
sign the user register, then proceed north on trail tread. The
well-defined trail soon turns east and climbs a bit to a low saddle,
then descends north into a canyon among pinyon pines and junipers.
At 0.9 of a mile, pass through a fence opening. The trail
soon crosses the drainage several times as it continues downhill,
eventually settling on its west side.
Emerge from
the narrow canyon to cross a rocky wash at 1.3. Cairns
may assist in following the trail, such as where it turns sharply
right less than 0.1 mi. beyond the wash. Cross the drainage again
at 1.7 (waypoint 13030). The route now follows a wide track,
soon passing a potential dry camp at right among the pinyons.
The track crosses the drainage three more times, then climbs out
on the left with rocks lining the sides of the meandering treadway.
Passing over the berm of a dry stock pond (2.2, waypoint
13040) the trail contours into a little canyon, following along
its west side, before joining the drainage itself just above an
old mortar dam. Soon reach a 4WD road and wooden Safford-Morenci
Trail sign at 2.4 (waypoint 13050). Turn left (northeast)
onto the road. (Westbounders, look for the wooden sign at right
as the road reaches the drainage.)
The 4WD road
undulates northward in pleasant, open country, passing a couple
of tracks that head off at right. The second track (waypoint 13060)
leads over to the corral and stock pond
visible eastward, an unreliable source.
Following
a steep descent, reach the wide wash of Johnny Creek and a Safford-Morenci
Trail sign at 3.8 . A de facto vehicle camping area is
ahead a short distance along the road, with live-oak shade. Our
route turns right (east), rejoining foot trail, first in the wash
then along its banks. East of waypoint 13090 constructed trail
was sporadic as of fall '09, but will eventually persist to the
vicinity of a low cement dam at 4.8, apparently an artifact
from the trade route's former heyday.
Climbing over
the dam (easiest at its right side, looking down-canyon), continue
on the Safford-Morenci Trail, now entirely in Johnny Creek Canyon's
wash. The wash remains very rocky all the way to Bonita Creek,
so expect a sub-2mph hiking pace through here. Ahead,
the canyon features several minor slots that occasionally hold
pools of water. Beyond the
slots, watch for a trail sign and cairn marking where foot trail
leaves the drainage at left (milepoint 6.0, waypoint 13110).
The trail climbs around an impassable pour-off in the drainage
below, while offering an interesting vantage of Bonita Creek's
riparian corridor and the colorful ridge of Turtle Mountain beyond.
Descend sharply to rejoin the drainage at 6.3. (Westbounders,
look for the trail sign at right where foot trail leaves the drainage;
waypoint 13120.) Now with occasional large cairns for guidance,
continue cross-country in the bouldery wash to its confluence
with Bonita Creek, at 6.7
(waypoint 13130, elev. 3770').
Ford the normally
gentle, ankle-to-shin-deep flow of Bonita Creek. The creek setting
is very attractive in its corridor of cottonwoods, willows, and
sycamores. Beaver activity has recently been increasing in this
area, and a small dam had been built just above the trail crossing,
with a good-sized pond above. You may note a small cliff dwelling
on the canyon wall to the northeast, actually a prehistoric granary;
the cliffs are now too fragile to permit up-close inspection.
More approachable is the Old Lady Gay Cabin, a pioneer-era homestead
recently restored by the BLM and located off-route about a mile
up-canyon. (To reach it, first continue ahead per the description
for the main route.)
Occasional
brown metal TRAIL signs, cairns, and flagging lead east through
the creek's rocky, brushy flood plain. Efforts to keep a trail
corridor open here seem all but hopeless, as the flood-tolerant
shrub known as desert broom grows prolifically. In less than 100
yards, just beyond a trail sign, reach a massive white-barked
Arizona sycamore. Here turn right to follow the main route, potentially
with flagging leading the way. (An attractive campsite, as
well as the Old Lady Gay Cabin, can be reached by instead turning
left at the sycamore. Look for flagging leading away from the
flood plain and into a mesquite grove. The flagging then leads
north through a grassy, sycamore-shaded, camp-friendly flat, and
onto an old roadbed. The route to the cabin becomes mostly cross-country
as it hops the creek, passing an old wooden corral chute, then
crosses back to the east side to find the cabin a hundred yards
or so beyond.)
The main route
continues south a short ways in Bonita Creek's flood plain to
the confluence with the drainage of Midnight Canyon (waypoint
13140). If the flood plain is boggy from beaver activity, you
can follow a short cairned bypass through the adjacent mesquite
grove. At Midnight Canyon's wash, the Safford-Morenci Trail turns
left (east) and follows the wide wash up-canyon. The canyon eventually
narrows to a slot and becomes quite dramatic, with red-rock conglomerate
walls occasionally only a few feet wide. About half-way through
the slot a series of mortared steps allows passage over a pour-off,
presumably built to assist pack animals in the trail's early days.
The steps also serve to contain pools
of water in wetter times. Beyond the slot, turn left
(north) where the drainage forks (waypoint 13150) and follow the
wash to a 4WD crossing, at 7.8 (waypoint 13160).
The Safford-Morenci
Trail now turns left (north) onto 4WD East Bonita Rim Rd, which
crosses the drainage again at 8.4. Keep straight at the
junction with signed Christensen Rd at 9.1. Toppy's Cave,
named for the reclusive cattle rustler Toppy Johnson who once
called it home, is located in the impressive volcanic cliff face
high on Turtle Mountain to the east. Stay on E. Bonita Rim Rd
to 9.7 (waypoint 13180), where recently reconstructed trail
heads left.
The well-graded
trail ascends with occasional switchbacks to the head of Midnight
Canyon. Trail crews have done a commendable job in smoothing the
way through this surpassingly rocky landscape, although the trail
tread will be difficult to keep free of brush without more frequent
use. Reach the broad ridge of Turtle Mountain by an open gate
at 11.0 (waypoint 13200, el. 6060'). This is Bellmeyer
Saddle, the literal and figurative high point of the Safford-Morenci
Trail. Be sure to walk the short distance over to the saddle's
impressive westward outlook; the panorama includes lower Midnight
Canyon, upper Bonita Creek, the Gila Mountains, and beyond, floating
like a vision on the horizon, the high crest of the Pinaleno Range.
Nearby you may find the memorial to Albert Bellmeyer, a pile of
rocks marking the spot where he was ambushed and killed in 1892
by Apaches for grazing cattle on Indian land. (Bellmeyer may have
been killed by the legendary Apache Kid, whose own gravesite the
G.E.T. passes at Cyclone Saddle in the San Mateo Mountains (Segment
28), a similarly remote, mountainous spot where the renegade "Kid"
was allegedly ambushed by area ranchers in retribution for his
many attacks.)
From the saddle,
foot trail proceeds southeast into the head of South Smith Canyon,
at first with views eastward toward Morenci Mine and the distant
Mogollon Mountains. Initially the trail follows the south bank
of the drainage, then meanders back and forth in the drainage
bottom as it widens down-canyon. Although very cobbly (as elsewhere)
and somewhat slow-going, the canyon bottom is enjoyable for its
low, shady canopy of oak, pinyon pine, and juniper.
The trail
becomes a wide, rocky track soon before a side canyon joins from
the left at 13.2, (waypoint 13210). (Westbounders, take
the left fork, perhaps noting green metal TRAIL signs.) Newly-built
trail resumes below the fork, but ends back at the old road by
a metal sign and cairn, just west of a metal stock
tank and trough (which sometimes has a bit of algae-
and insect-bespangled water). Another canyon merges, this time
from the right, at 13.6 (13230). (Westbounders be sure
to keep right here; don't mistake this fork for the one ahead
at 13.2.)
Mature cottonwoods
and willows shade the little oasis surrounding Smith
Spring, A metal pipe runs from the spring source in
the cliff face above to the vicinity of an old wooden structure;
listen for a trickle of water from the pipe's outlet, which is
somewhat hidden by brush in the drainage here. You may also find
pools and some flow where the trail crosses the drainage below.
Just beyond (MP 14.3) the trail passes through a wire gate,
where a small trough, fed by the spring, often overflows with
excellent water. This shady area would make for an ideal camp,
if not for the ubiquitous rocks. (Westbounders might consider
carrying water to Bellmeyer Saddle for the night. Eastbounders
could continue to Eagle Creek environs in the next segment.)
Continue down the rough 4WD track, with views ahead to the Morenci
Mine. Pass through a gate by a trail register, less than 100 yards
before reaching the Old Safford-Morenci Trail east trailhead on
Black River Road (milepoint 15.0, waypoint 13250, el. 4100').
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