Boynton Canyon

July 17, 2000

We had decided to hike a trail known as the Vultee Arch trail, just outside of Sedona. The books say that one of the best sandstone arches in the area can be seen there. According to the descriptions, there would be a dirt road to the trailhead, so we decided to take the truck. The dirt road was a little rough (or as they say in Arizona “primitive”.) Very rocky and big holes. Now, of course with a gigantic Dodge pickup, you would think that we would have no problem driving down a dirt road that is described as “passable for most passenger cars”. I think that maybe their idea of a passenger car and ours is quite different. We decided after about a mile that the road was better suited to our ATVs than the truck, so since we were also near Boynton Canyon and we have heard so much about it, we decided to go there instead. To get there, all you have to do is drive a few miles back on Dry Creek Road, and park at the trailhead just outside the Enchantment Resort. As the story goes, up until recently, from the trailhead, you could walk right into the canyon and enjoy the beauty of the area for about 4 miles. Now, there is a huge resort right at the mouth of the canyon. And in our opinion, that is a problem. You now have to walk along the edges of the resort to get around it before you can get into the canyon. This is by no means a small resort either. There are dozens of “guest residences” and numerous resort activity buildings. To give you an idea how big the resort is, take a look at this picture. On the day that we were there, there was a lot of construction happening, which included the relaxing scream of cut-off saws, the perfume of roofing tar, and the unbroken solitude of backup beepers, heavy construction trucks, and forklifts. All this, added to the buildings right at the mouth of the canyon made for a very unpleasant hike for us. We decided that this was the first hike we have taken this year that we really did not like. We didn’t even make it past the resort before we turned around and headed back to the parking lot. Gary took some pictures before we lost interest, so if you would like to see what it looks like, here they are. Our rating:

(on a good day)

About the Vehicles

I don’t think that I explained why I keep talking about the van and the truck and dirt roads. We have a 1989 Voyager minivan with about 160,000 miles, oil leaks, peeling paint, no shocks, and no suspension. It likes dirt roads about as much as cats like water. It always has. We left it parked at my mother’s house last year because we couldn’t decide what to do with it. (I hear you John. I know-it was a giant maybe item.....) When we moved to Apache Junction in January, we figured it would be much more economical to drive around than the truck. The van gets about 25 miles per gallon and the truck gets about 15 (if we’re going downhill). Well, the van came up to Cottonwood with us and we drive it most of the time. However, whenever it looks like we will be driving down a dirt road, no matter how well maintained it is, we go in the truck. The type of road I described in the Boynton Canyon story is definitely not the kind of road for the van. Do you know what I mean by “washboard-y”? Now think washboard-y and tank trapping holes. A big pickup really wouldn’t have that much trouble on it as long as the driver was careful. (And a four wheel drive, high clearance would have no problem at all.) It isn’t that we are afraid of these roads. We just have a “thing” about bouncing our truck down a road like that. Remember—our truck pulls our house around. We both agree that taking chances with it is not a good idea. So now, after a number of trips down these “primitive” roads, we’re thinking about trading the van in on something more suited to these roads. If any of you have suggestions for a replacement, please send me an email.

Sycamore Canyon Wilderness

July 21, 2000

The Sycamore Canyon Wilderness area is located northwest of Cottonwood. We have found 2 ways to get to the area. One route is 11 miles back on a road over near the Tuzigoot monument, and the other is about 15 miles back along the same road that goes to the Palatki Indian ruins. We decided to head to the Dogie Trail which would take us through the canyon. If you remember the Palatki trip, we had to drive down a road dubbed “Ole Boob Shaker”. You got it—to get to the Dogie trail we had to drive about 3 miles on “Boob Shaker”. Then we turned off into another forest road, which was actually in much better condition. It was about one and a half cars wide and had lots of places to turn around (if you chicken out?). After about 5 miles the road gets even more narrow and primitive looking. We went a short distance further and then gave up. The road just looked too primitive for us. This one is now marked as a definite ATV ride. The scenery is beautiful and you are so far removed from towns and roads that it is quiet and undisturbed. We figure that it would be a great place to ride into on the ATVs and then hike into the canyon. We might even consider camping back there. It wasn’t a big photo day, but I think that you will enjoy this panorama.

What’s Up for August?

Mostly we have been looking for hiking opportunities at higher elevations. We have several selected up around Flagstaff, and a couple set for other areas east of here. We plan to do at least one overnight camping trip up in Flagstaff to see Sunset Crater. We are teaching ourselves how to do JavaScript, so next month also sounds like a lot of computer pounding. You probably won't see another update until late August or early September, so in the meantime, I hope everyone is having a great summer. See you in a month!