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BLACK CANYON TRAIL: K-MINE SEGMENTS
Near Rock Springs
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| Agua Fria River, January 5, 2013 |
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| "bridge" over Slate Creek |
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| our crossing point |
Running from the flat desertland near Carefree Highway in north
Phoenix to the foothills of Prescott’s Bradshaw Mountains, the entire course of
the 70+-mile Black Canyon National Recreation Trail is a scenic wonder. In its former lives, the trail served
as a wagon road and cattle drive route before being repurposed into its current
status as a non-motorized hiking, biking and equestrian trail. Although an end-to-end trek would be a
worthy endeavor, the segments that run through the Agua Fria River Canyon are,
in my opinion, the "jewels in the crown" and therefore, the best
place to sample the trail.
In a nod to this attraction, the good folks of the Black Canyon Trail Coalition and the BLM created a large, easy-access trailhead right in the heart of the
trail's glorious, watery mid-section.
A 0.8-mile spur path leads directly to the Horseshoe Bend- K-Mine
segment junction. Go south (left)
for Horseshoe Bend (see separate blog entry) or north (right) for K-Mine as
described here. Either segment will get you to the river gorge goodies in a
jiff. The spur path is so immaculately groomed it looks as if it was
landscaped----gigantic saguaros and a rich under story of brittlebush, ironwood
and Palo Verde seem impossibly lush for a ridge located less than a mile from
I-17. The junction appears at the
top of the ridge, and then traverses a geological Garden of Eden. Snowy-white quartz, ancient
metamorphics and massive outcroppings of crumbling stone decorate an ever-changing
roller coaster ride of twists, turns, dips and climbs. Once over the crest, get ready for
jaw-dropping views of the Agua Fria River and it's scoured floodplain rolling
out hundreds of feet below. Here the trail begins its descent along skinny
hairpin coils carved from the cliff face. At the bottom of the canyon, the trail meets the
boulder strewn sandy shores of the river where the path is swallowed up in a
riparian corridor of Gooding willows, reeds and salt cedar. To stay on track, look carefully across
the waterway and you'll spot trail signs for a clue about how best to navigate
the quagmire. Agua Fria water
levels vary from barely there to raging torrents, but as long as you plan to avoid
peek snow melt season or the days after heavy rains, you should be able to hop
the river with just muddy soles. Beyond the water, the trail jogs up-and-down
through the bluffs surrounding Slate Creek (no water on our trip) then follows
an old Jeep road to segment's end.
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| overlooking the Agua Fria from K-Mine segment |
LENGTH: 8.4
miles out-and-back
Access path: 0.8 mile
K-Mine South: 2.0 miles
K-Mine North: 1.4 miles
RATING: moderate
(creek crossing)
FACILITIES: restroom at trailhead
ELEVATION: 1680' - 2070'
GETTING THERE:
From Phoenix, travel north on I17 to exit 242 for Black
Canyon City/Rock Springs. Go West
(left) and continue to the stop sign.
Turn north (right) here and proceed about 300 feet to Warner Road on the
left. There's also a sign for
Black Canyon Trail here. Follow
Warner Road roughly 0.2 mile, turn right onto the first crossroad and follow it
to the trailhead a few hundred yards ahead. Warner Road is good dirt, passable by sedan.
INFO: Black Canyon Trail Coalition
MAP: International Mountain Bicycling Association:
MORE PHOTOS:
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