Linda, Nancy, Marilyn, Bob, Mike, and I hiked from Spur Cross to the top of Skull Mesa on the Friday after Thanksgiving. (Not all of us went to the summit.) The hike was 12 miles long with over 3200 feet of total elevation gain.
This is a view of Cave Creek (which was dry on the day we hiked) from the Spur Cross Trail.
Skull Mesa, in the distance:
Another view of Skull Mesa from Cottonwood Trail #247:
This petroglyph is on the Skull Mesa Trail, shortly after leaving the Cottonwood Trail – though you have to hike about five miles just to get to that intersection.
A view to the west from the Skull Mesa Trail:
Ruins (of perhaps an ancient dwelling) can be found on the ascent to the top of Skull Mesa:
A view to the east from the Skull Mesa Trail:
Looking west again, further up the trail:
Nancy, Linda, and Bob:
We saw a young tarantula on our way up…
Climbing higher on the Skull Mesa Trail – roughly 1000 feet are gained in the mile to the top:
Looking east from the summit of Skull Mesa:
Looking southwest from the top of Skull Mesa…
Looking west from the western-most edge…
Nancy and Linda descending the Skull Mesa Trail. In some respects, the descent was more treacherous than the ascent.
Looking west on the descent:
Another view to the west:
jon leverenz says:
Great stuff. Wish I was with you. Oh — where is Skull Mesa?
December 1, 2016 — 8:28 am
Kevin says:
Skull Mesa is in the Tonto National Forest, northeast from Spur Cross. It’s one of the prominent mesas visible from the Spur Cross Trailhead.
December 1, 2016 — 9:28 am
Susan Davis says:
So glad to see what that area is like–the trail looks very narrow and rocky:( Great photos of a “never, never land”. Thanks so much, again:)
December 1, 2016 — 9:29 am
Kevin says:
There’s loose rock in places too. At least two of us slipped and fell during the hike. A fall into a prickly pear cactus resulted in a half hour long cactus needle pulling session.
December 1, 2016 — 9:31 am
Linda says:
Great Hike! Thanks for taking us out there…..truly a “fitness” hike. lol
December 1, 2016 — 9:31 am
Jerry says:
Photo’s look Amazing Kevin!! New lens?
December 1, 2016 — 10:16 am
Kevin says:
No, I took these with a compact (fixed lens) camera. It’s the same Sony RX100 III that I’ve been using for several years now. I recently purchased an RX100 V (as opposed to III), but I haven’t used it yet due to lack of support for the V’s RAW format in Lightroom / Photoshop.
December 1, 2016 — 1:56 pm