Big Spring Overlook

BIG SPRING OVERLOOK

Overlooking West Clear Creek Wilderness

Forest Road 142H trades on its erratic appeal. A hike on the dirt two track in Coconino National Forest is calming and invigorating in equal measure.

Cabin Tank

Packed with lots of things to see, the road distills a mix of semi-desert grasslands, ranch relics and epic vistas into an approachable, earthy cocktail.

Corral ruins

The hike takes off from an unmarked trailhead off State Route 260 east of Camp Verde where the landscape drolls on in a blanket of wildflower-embellished pastures and pinion-juniper woodlands. Over its first mile, primitive dispersed campsites offer secluded space for well-prepared travelers. 

Mud Tanks Draw

Cattle converge around a string of fluctuating water holes in road-adjacent Mud Tanks Draw and dusky-blue scrub jays might swoop and screech to protect their nesting territory.  The road itself is in relatively decent condition—rocky but with no major obstacles or route-finding challenges, which adds to the pleasure of walking its curvaceous track.

West Clear Creek overlook

West Clear Creek Wilderness overlook

Sporadically placed white metal chevrons can be spotted tacked to a fence line that parallels the road. These indicate that sections of the road are part of the historic General Crook Trail #130. 

Yellow evening primrose

A mile in, FR142H bends right and passes through a wood-and-wire gate.  Here, rounded hills, gumdrop-shaped junipers and a smattering of massive, ancient alligator junipers front views of distant ridges and mountain peaks. 

FR142H passes through this gate

At the 1.6-mile point, the route meets a junction with Forest Road 13. 

Corral ruins

Head left to stay on FR 142H as it begins its gradual ascent to a rustic corral complex at the 2.2-mile point. 

General Crook Trail chevron

Wrapped in rusty barbed wire and rough-hewn posts, the corral circles a small waterhole known as Cabin Tank.

Corral gate

A sign for Forest Road 9243M sits in front of the corral entry gate. For a quick, but rewarding detour, pass the gate (please close all gates behind you) and walk the  0.1-mile fading road to the tank, watching for cow pies along the way before doubling back.  Beyond the corral gate, another site of mangled wood-and-wire fencing lives out its waning days among encroaching cacti and shrubs. 

Juniper meadow

Be mindful of the tangles of wire that mimic snakes in the grass. 

Wooly paintbrush

A few yards past the corral, the road starts a steeper but not-to-tough climb to the hike’s high point.  Much more degraded than the previous miles, FR142H slowly enters a more arid landscape of yucca, pinion and scrub oak.

Cabin Tank approach

Verde Valley vista

The slight elevation gain reveals some great views of the Verde Valley before the road flattens out and ends near a giant alligator juniper and fire pit at the edge of West Clear Creek Wilderness. 

Woodhouse's phlox

The volcanic rock ledges overlook the Big Spring area of the wilderness where the West Clear Creek Trail traces the canyon floor 1,000 feet below. Ragged cliffs, colorful rock outcrops and views that stretch all the way to Flagstaff overwhelm the senses at the end of the unassuming road that vaults from pastoral to primordial in just over 3 miles. 

trailhead

LENGTH: 6.2 miles roundtrip (out-and-back hike)

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 5,819 - 5,971 feet (540 feet of total elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

From Interstate 17 in Camp Verde take the State Route 260 exit 287 and continue 22 miles east (toward Payson) to Forest Road 142H on the left just past milepost 241. FR142H is not signed but there’s a stop sign and cattle guard/gate a few yards in.  For reference, Apron Tank, a shallow pool that sits on both sides of the road, is at FR142H.  There’s parking in a dirt lot past the gate.

General Crook Trail: Mud Tanks Draw

GENERAL CROOK TRAIL: MUD TANKS DRAW

Tanque Aloma on the General Crook Trail

Most of what remains of the historic General Crook Trail are eroding two tracks, toppled rock cairns, tree blazes, a few telegraph insulators, and roadside monuments. 

Forest Road 142H in Mud Tanks Draw

Originally constructed in the early 1870s, the trail stretched for 200 miles along the edge of the Mogollon Rim in Central Arizona between Fort Verde and Fort Apache.

White chevrons mark the General Crook Trail

The dirt track served as a military and civilian supply route for nearly 50 years before being replaced more efficient travel corridors. 

Evie the Aussie shepherd herds her hikers

In the 1970s, Boy Scouts located and signed bits of the route with chevron-shaped white metal markers and rock cairns, many of which are still in place today to guide hikers through the notoriously sketchy path.  Popular reclaimed passages of the old wagon road trace Rim Road (Forest Road 300) and State Route 260 in Coconino National Forest.

Storm clouds over Mud Tanks Draw

 

The third gate near Tanque Aloma

Roughly 22 miles east of Camp Verde, a portion of the General Crook Trail winds through a hilly, juniper-studded landscape situated between West Clear Creek and Fossil Springs Wilderness areas.  The pastoral backcountry is an alloy of dust and juniper welded into a knobby expanse.

Tanque Aloma on the General Crook Trail

Mountain vistas on General Crook Trail

The resin-scented air augments the raw, wind-sculpted landscape of ruffled hills, grassy rangeland, and shrubs disrupted only by whirlwinds and the occasional rogue coyote or herd of cattle.

First gate where General Crook Trail leaves FR142H

From a non-descript trailhead off State Route 260, the hike to the historic backroad segment begins with a short walk on Forest Road 142H.  The dirt two track twists through Mud Tanks Draw, an area of low ground between ridges where water runoff collects in a chain of pools, rivulets, and mucky ponds.  

Ideal lunch spot near Tanque Aloma

The shallow funnel ruptures the scrubby terrain with payloads of rain and snow melt that flows down from the rim above West Clear Creek eventually dumping into Fossil Creek.  The half-mile walk on FR142H ends at a twig-and-barbed-wire gate off to the right where there’s a 142H sign. 

Buffalo-bur in Tanque Aloma

The first set of General Crook chevrons are tacked to the gate.  This is the General Crook Trail crossroads. For this trip, the route continues straight ahead (not through the gate) following sporadic chevrons nailed to fence posts.

Evie on General Crook Trail, April 6, 2024

Although it’s not signed, this segment of the Crook Trail is also named Forest Road 9243P.  The road makes an easy ascent, dodging junipers, catclaw and a smattering of firs and Ponderosa pines.  

Highest point of the hike on General Crook Trail

A second gate marks the beginning of big mountain vistas that continue to expand as the trail works its way to a third gate at the base of a prominent mesa. 

Trail chevrons on the second gate

Just past the third gate, the muddy waters of Tanque Aloma can been to the right (north) and a short walk uphill to the hike’s high point gives a bird’s eye view of its place in the landscape.  While the road continues west to connect with FR9243N, this trip turns around at the top of the ridge and backtracks to the tank where a spur road leads to the water.  Tanque Aloma’s muddy banks are trampled with footprints of domestic cattle, deer, raccoons, coyotes and myriad little critters and birds.  It’s an important water source for wildlife in the semi-arid terrain.  

Turnaround point on the hike

Ringed with buffalo-bur and coniferous trees, the tank’s reflective qualities are a photographer’s dream.

Apron Tank at the trailhead

  A couple of gigantic junipers along the spur road make for shady lunch spots within view of ravens and hawks riding airwaves above the water.

Trailhead off State Route 260

LENGTH:  5.85 miles out-and-back as described here

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION:  5,819 – 6,137 feet

GETTING THERE: From Interstate 17 in Camp Verde, take the State Route 260 exit 287 and continue 22 miles east (toward Payson) to Forest Road 142H on the left just past milepost 241. Forest Road 142 H is not signed, but there’s a stop sign and cattle guide a few yards in.  For reference, Apron Tank, a shallow pool that sits on both sides of the road, is at FR142H.  There’s parking in a dirt turn out past the cattle guard.  (If you pass under power lines, you’ve gone a mile too far).