On March 12^th, Robert, Debbie, Grace, Li, Tom, Joyce, Mike, Rebecca, Chris, Terry, and Irek started our drive up to Devil’s Chasm in the Sierra Anchas. Irek is one of our newest members and we were happy to hike with Rebecca again after an absence of two years.

The last two miles of road beyond the Cherry Creek ford has deteriorated to the point where only high-clearance 4wd vehicles can reach the camping spot in Devil’s Chasm. All four of our vehicles made it and we began hiking upon arrival.

After one false turn off the trail, we reached the ruin in three hours. The last few hundred vertical feet of trail has also deteriorated since I was last there four years ago. A rope is very helpful, if not essential for this last stretch. The trail to the cave on the left side of the chasm below the ruin has disappeared. I am happy to report that the ruin is still in good shape, with no signs of recent damage.

The trail to the lower ruin has also disappeared and we did not attempt to force our way through the thick brush. The descent from the ruin was even trickier than the climb, and the last of our group made it back to camp just before sunset. Our trail apps said the round-trip distance was about five miles and 3000 AEG, which is higher than the stats on hikearizona.com.

The temperature that night was cold but not below freezing. The wood Michael supplied for our campfire was a big morale boost. Next morning, we headed out to the trailhead to Cold Springs Canyon.

The Crack House. [photo by Grace]

The trail to Crack House is a four miles round trip. We initially missed the side trail that leads to the ruin. Tom’s app proved essential to finding it. Again, the last quarter mile required a very steep climb, and a rope is a big help. Eight of us finally made it to the ruin, which we found occupied by a bee hive, which we left alone. Our AEG was 1780 feet, which included some extra hiking off the proper route. Despite the cool night, everyone had a great time. Debbie described the trip as “phenomenal.”