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Michael, Bill, Wendy, Quy, Ajay
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New Mexico Locust graces our passage.
Quite a climb, but Wendy and Ajay find good footing.
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At 6:30 five hikers left the Power Road Home Depot to escape
the valley heat.
Ninety-one miles later at 8:30 we arrived at an unmarked forest
road near milepost 277 on SR 288.
We booted up and after a final drug check for aches and
allergies from our amateur pharmacist Wendy
we were on our way.
The road (FR489) followed Pocket Creek.
It was free of vehicles and switchbacks.
It was a continuous climb, no flat sections.
Early on we encountered Sycamores and Locus trees.
As we gained altitude taller trees of Fir, Pine, Oak, and
Maple, embraced us with more frequent patches
of shade.
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At "WH" we encountered a well-like structure.
Although the creek was dry, we could see and hear water running.
We continued on the road to "A".
At this point we began our off-trail adventure.
We picked our way through the trees as we headed up.
The forest was not cluttered with undergrowth.
Good.
We crossed many animal trails as we headed up.
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Our rocky approach. [photo by Ajay]
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We experienced both rocky sections and those loaded with
soft pine needles.We had no vision of either our destination
or our entry point. ... So ...
we left rock Cairns and pink ribbon markers as we went.
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You said there would be bushwhacking ...
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King of the Mountain! [photo by Ajay]
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Prior to Hill 6728 we encountered a fence.
We followed the fence line to the top.
Bill led the way down to the saddle and the final rock
scramble up to the "POINT"
We had lunch.
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The view from the top, across Roosevelt Lake.
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After absorbing great views of the valley floor below,
the eastern beginnings of Roosevelt Lake,
Asbestos Peak to the west, the Grantham range to the
northwest, we headed down.
Carefully.
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Westward look, before you start down.
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Watch those loose rocks! [Ajay]
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After the rocky section we mostly followed a single animal
trail back to "A".
Mike and Wendy chose to head back.
AJ, Quy and Bill took the road that branched toward the mines.
We stopped for a photo session of us operating some rusty equipment.
We peeked into several mine openings that lined the road.
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We found the mine.
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Does anyone know how this works?
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Mines are found in the loveliest places.
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Beyond a door-framed entrance to one shaft AJ found a
bed frame with a box spring.
Bill followed the road until it became overgrown looking for
a possible bushwhack return on a future
hike.
We headed back to Superior for dinner, after washing our hands ...
asbestos you know.
As to the historic naming of Zimmerman Point, the mystery remains.
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