Rock Bottom Road

ROCK BOTTOM ROAD

Schroeder Tank

Forest Road 9392E appears to go nowhere.  It’s only vaguely on the Coconino National Forest maps and, on the ground, there are no signs to provide clues. While this is pretty common for the many miles of 4x4 backroads on forest lands, the diffuse mystery roads that weave through Willow Valley are particularly inviting for hikers.

Gate on FR93B near Schroeder Tank

That’s because they have a distinct “soft wild” air about them—out there but with their rough edges tamed by weedy two tracks that seem to always intersect with primary or secondary, signed routes.

Where Forest Road 9369H heads downhill

 

Pine shaded and just far enough from the pavement for a secluded high country escape, Willow Valley on the Mogollon Rim south of the community of Happy Jack, is rife with primitive camp sites and points-of-interest.

Forest Road 9369H

While most of the dirt roads are open to motorized travel, exploring on foot is the best way to savor details that make this area special. 

Yellow Salsify bloom June - September

The landscape is a mass of scattered oak glens, sunny meadows and forests of soaring Ponderosa pines punctuated with corrals and water tanks that attract wildlife and grazing domestic cattle.

Entry gate for FR9369H and FR9392E

Resident deer, wild turkeys, elk and Great blue herons are easy to spot while traveling quietly among the trees. One exploratory hike to try is a two-pronged trek using enigmatic FR9392E and signed routes FR93B and FR 9369H. 

Forest Road 9392E

The trek starts at a dirt pullout where a barely legible road sign across from the Bar D corral complex marks FR93B. Heading north on FR93B, the rocky, rutted road passes through pine woodlands to where it meets Schroeder Tank at the 0.3-mile point.

Kaibab pussytoes bloom May - July

The oblong created water hole sits off to the right within a ring of Gamble oaks and fields of Rocky Mountain irises. 

The split for FR9369H and FR9392E

To get to the water, pass a  barbed wire gate (close it and all gates behind you) and follow a faint trail to the entry archway.  Stealthy visitors might spy a Great blue heron, ducks or tiny birds diving for insects swarming over the tank’s surface. 

Rock Bottom Tank

Beyond the tank, at the 0.7-mile point, another wire gate on the right marks the entrance to FR9369H and 9392E.

Rock Bottom Tank

True to the mystery theme of this hike, it’s just one road and  it’s not signed.

Sego lilies bloom May - July

About 0.2-mile beyond the gate, the road splits.  Lo and behold, there’s a sign for FR9369H, which swerves left.  The unsigned spur on the right is 9392E.  This hike uses both roads as out-and-backs. 

Entry to Schroeder Tank

Schroeder Tank

I chose to follow 9392E first. It’s an easy half mile walk to a faint road heading off to the left where the berm of an earthen dam is visible a few yards in. 

Rocky Mountain iris bloom May - September

This is Rock Bottom Tank, another water catchment and wildlife magnet. Surrounded by a leafy fringe, the reedy pond reflects open sky and fosters wildflowers clinging to its grassy banks.  A rough hewn hunter blind on the berm straddles an arc of pines.  FR9392E, which I’ve dubbed Rock Bottom Road, continues on for another 0.3-mile, dwindling into nowhere near a fence line. (My GPS indicated that it eventually connects back to FR93B, but, I didn’t see where).  Backtracking to the signed FR9369H junction, the mile-long hike on the H road is pretty but unremarkable up to where it passes yet another gate and begins a 200-foot drop to, well, as advertised—nowhere.

Chaparral fleabane bloom May - October

But someplace not on the maps. That is, the junction with FR93B—-the road you came in on. Head left to make a loop that adds 2 miles to the hike, or just backtrack like I did. Either way, simple hikes like this one muddle the concept and appeal of nowhere. Depending on how you perceive it, nowhere can be anywhere. And everything. It’s all in the mindset. 

trailhead

LENGTH: 6.4 miles for the two-part hike as described here

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 6,876 - 7,075 feet (1,102 feet of accumulated elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

From Flagstaff, go 42 miles south on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3) to Forest Road 93 on the left past milepost 302 and signed for Willow Valley Dam. Follow FR93 0.8-mile to Forest Road 93B on the left across from a corral complex. There’s a faded road sign next to a Ponderosa pine. Park in the pullouts along the road.  FR93 is maintained dirt suitable for most vehicles up to the trailhead. There are dispersed campsites along FR93 but no fees or facilities.