Album    Guide to Mazatzal Wilderness    Topo    No Story

Forest Service road 406 is a rough dirt road which is barely passable for all cars in good weather but has many steep, slick hills that probably require 4 WD in rainy or snowy conditions.  Drive carefully as the narrow road contains blind turns and hills.  This unpleasant road is gated at the wilderness boundary - parking and camping is available in the area of the gate.

It is reported that the Mazatzal Wilderness north of the East Verdi river contains numerous ruins which are so rich in artifacts that two fulltime rangers are employed in the area to deter would be poachers.  My initial trek was an exploratory venture up to the ruin on the first ridge along the Eastern edge of the wilderness.  The ruin is shown on the topography maps and in accordance with Trekker's law, "ruins shown on topo maps do not contain significant artifacts", no artifacts were evident.

The ruin is reach by following the restricted 4WD ranch access road West for 1.2 mi to the saddle at the top of the ridge.  Immediately after passing through the gate at the top of the ridge turn south and follow the faint path for about 0.3 mi., starting along the fence and climbing the last 100 feet or so to the top of the Mesa.  Continue south over the top of the Mesa to the ruin near it's South end.  I returned to the jeep trail by hiking West away from the ruin and then following a dry wash North to the road.  This route took me through heavy scrub brush and required scrambling down small boulder "falls" in the wash.  It was not a pleasant hike - next time I will return over the path between the ruin and the saddle.

Numerous birds were encountered as the trail turns north for the final climb to the top of the ridge.  From the top of the Mesa the Doll Baby Ranch lies on the valley floor to the East and the vistas of the ranch valley and surrounding area are impressive.  The ruin has not been restored and while the walls have largely collapsed, some of them still stand over 6 feet tall.  The ruin is build on the edge of the cliff with the rock wall circling around to form the protective ramparts for the other three sides.  I had expected to find the remains of more internal walls than I did. 

My next trip into the wilderness will go beyond the first ridge and will follow the trail across the East Verde River to explore the canyons on it's northern side in my search for additional ruins.  If you go and if you find the reported cache of artifacts, remember that it is against several State and Federal laws to remove or disturb them.  Carry out nothing but pictures!

Trekker