Posts
STONE TO
STEEL DAM TRAIL
Ash Fork-Bainbridge Steel Dam
Between
the sleek lanes of Interstate 40 that connect the City of Williams and the town
of Ash Fork, and the fading tracks of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
to the north, the space from hot pavement to rusty iron tracks is separated by sprawling
grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands and about a hundred years. Leaving the freeway in this airy divide is like
slipping into a Twilight Zone of fringy places where defunct travel corridors
live on in repurposed relevance.
Ash Fork Stone Dam
Long
before the interstate highway system transformed tedious Point A-to-Point B hauls
into a national obsession with recreational road tripping, travel in western
states was all about railroads and the iconic Mother Road, Route 66. 
The Stone to Steel Dam Trail traces Johnson Canyon
The strip of land just a mile north of the I-40
Welch exit is unique in that all three transportation corridors are stacked and
packed into a hike-bike-drive exploratory opportunity that culminates with a
short trail that visits two historic dams.
Getting to the Stone to Steel Dam Trail is half the fun and sets the mood
for a trip back in time.
Masonry Number Two Reservoir
The
adventure begins with a two-mile cruise on Historic Route 66, which parallels the
interstate. 
View from Lookout Point spur trail
The decommissioned byway which now serves as a recreational route
for motorized vehicles and bikes, snakes its way through hilly backcountry of
the Kaibab National Forest on the Colorado Plateau. The crumbling Mother Road is a potholed sequence
of concrete, asphalt and futile patch jobs of random this-and-thats. 
Historic Steel Dam was built in 1895
Alternately dipping into weedy drainages and
ascending to tree-speckled high crests, the road drive unpacks a mix of
heart-thumping vistas and a taste of the isolation and unnerving hazards that early-to-mid
20th century travelers would have encountered. The surreal atmosphere is so pervasive that modern
visitors would hardly flinch if Tom Joad, the protagonist in John Steinbeck’s
1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath came chugging by in a make-shift truck.
Stone to Steel Dam Trail was dedicated in 2015
Just past
a rickety cattle guard, a degraded dirt Jeep road descends a half-mile to Ash
Fork Stone Dam and Masonry Number Two Reservoir. The 600-foot-wide sandstone structure that
spans Johnson Canyon was constructed in 1911 by the Atchison Topeka and Santa
Fe Railroad to create a backup water supply for steam-powered locomotives. The lake behind the dam is a popular fishing
spot that’s open to the public and is a stocked with trout and bass by the Arizona
Game & Fish Department.
View of Bill Williams Mountain from Historic Route 66
To find
the hiking trail from the parking apron and kiosk above the water, follow the
designated access route to the water and follow the shore to the dam.
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad pulled water from the reservoirs
A few
yards west of the dam along a dirt road, a sign and bench mark the trailhead
for the Stone to Steel Dam Trail.
Dedicated in 2015, the 0.87-mile single track, non-motorized path that
tethers Ash Fork-Bainbridge Steel Dam with Stone Dam was constructed through the
joint efforts of Kaibab National Forest, Ash Fork Development Association and
local volunteers. The trail traces the edge
of Johnson Canyon, showcasing a green riparian zone and tiny pools within the
stony corridor. A few yards in, a short
Lookout Point spur trail leads to a scenic ledge with great views of the dam
and distant mountains. The mostly level
trail jogs among junipers and cacti before ending at a kiosk overlooking the
steel dam. The impressive 184-foot rusted
metal wall contains Steel Dam Reservoir.
According to the forest service, the dam was built
in 1895 (some sources say 1897 and 1898) and is one of only three steel dams
ever built in the U.S. 
The back side of Steel Dam shows ingenious construction
The other two are
located in Montana and Michigan, so this is truly an Arizona treasure. Like the Stone Dam, this one was constructed to
provide a water source for steam locomotives and the town of Ash Fork.
Stone Dam is 600 feet wide 
Goodding's verbena is a common plant along the trail
The dams, the road and myriad hazy tales of coal-fueled cross-county trips and Dust Bowl migrations are relics of an era when the first tentacles of infrastructure opened up the West for settlers, adventurers, dreamers and the first generation of automobile culture.
LENGTH: 2.4 miles round trip as described here
RATING: easy
ELEVATION: 5,641 to 5,400 feet
GETTING THERE:
From Williams, go 11 miles west on Interstate 40 to the Welch exit 151. Drive a few yards north from the offramp on a dirt access road and make a hard right onto Forest Road 6. Follow this dirt two track for a half mile to a “T” intersection and turn left onto Historic Route 66 which is signed as Forest Road 6E. Continue 2 miles to an easy-to-miss turn off for Ash Fork Stone Dam. This is located 0.2-mile past a cattle guard and there’s a sign posted a few yards in from the turn off. The dam access road is rough dirt and requires at least a high-clearance vehicle. The road is reasonably passable to the 0.2-mile point where there’s a parking apron for fishing access. The trailhead is another 0.3-mile downhill but the road gets steep and dicey so it’s best to park at the apron and follow the designated access route to the dam.
FACILITIES: portable restroom
INFO:
Kaibab National Forest
No comments:
Post a Comment