Sacred Ground 2 1: Oak Flat ...Resillance, in the face of an uncertain future

[Silas_Sancona 7,791]

After much editing, a look at one of Arizona's irreplaceable environmental jewels currently facing numerous challenges from many angles..  the biggest potential threat being human- driven  which threatens to erase the very existence of the landscapes here.  Beyond the starting point here at the Flat ( Part 1 of this series of threads ) lies much more that also faces a very uncertain future, for many of the same reasons...


Considered sacred ground to local Native Americans, Oak flat is both a place where people come to connect with something spiritual, and a popular place people come to escape the valley and spend a weekend camping.  Located roughly 26 miles east of Phoenix along the U.S. 60, and about 6 miles east of Superior, AZ, Oak Flat sits nestled between the Saguaro filled lower portions of the Sonoran Desert, and the northern reaches of the Madrean Pine - Oak woodlands / forests to the east and south. Flora from the Rockies / Great Basin extends south to roughly the same part of the state as well.  Oak Flat itself sits in the middle of Arizona's version of the  scrubby " Chaparral Belt " and contains numerous plant species / families than can be found in similar habitats in South Central and Southern California, growing alongside plants of more tropical origin. Some of the same animals can be found in both places as well.

While the transition between the upper Sonoran Desert and the Chaparral belt can be gradual in many places around the state,  the same transition is rather abrupt between Superior and Oak Flat, even though they're only separated by a few miles.. Ridge that sits between both places acts as a sort of sharp barrier.. blunting the heat somewhat, and allowing more cool air to move over the area from the east.

Campground ( which is fee -free to use ) sits inside the bigger Tonto National Forest, which includes the Superstition Mountains / Brown's Peak ( " 4 Peaks ".. as everyone referrers to them here )and several reservoirs to the northwest, ..Apache Leap and Picketpost Mountain -to the west of Superior-, Pinal Peak directly east of Oak Flat, and a wide expanse of territory to the east / northeast of Phoenix. 

Unfortunately, Oak Flat also sits in another notable region of the state ..Copper Country..  It the pursuit of new deposits of this precious metal that poses the greatest threat both to the flat, and a pretty large area surrounding it, ..as well as to Superior,  nearby Queen Valley,  and parts of the east side of Phoenix itself ( Queen Creek / San Tan Valley esp. )

While the " battle " to save Oak Flat started with the threat a new mining operation would pose to sacred and ceremonial ground, it has gained much more attention across a wide audience as word has spread over the years.. Pretty much every national news outlet has mentioned the fight to save the land at some time, as has National Geographic, numerous environmental outlets, and international news agencies..

It would take wayy too long to list all the different threats mining here would introduce, or everything that makes this area very special  so i'll include a link to a write up / video done by Earthworks several years ago.. Highly recommend taking the 18 minutes to listen to the video. Note that it isn't just something just one group stands behind stopping.. Destroying this land will effect everyone, and leave a terrible legacy for the state / country.
Link: https://earthworks.org/stories/oak_flat_apache_leap/


Regardless of how things turn out, highly recommend a trip here, whether local or living elsewhere.. Compared to some areas of the high country, Oak Flat / surrounding areas is very easy to get to from Phoenix.  Hopefully all the forth coming pictures aren't among the last the world is able to see of this spectacular slice of the Southwest. 

For anyone thinking " The land would still be there once the Mine has been abandoned in the future " ....watch the video..  Not even close..    Is there a middle ground that could be reached, where both challenges can be met, ..w/ out sacrificing the land?  possibly..  though experience across the state has shown otherwise when mining companies have been given the benefit of the doubt..   Having grown up where Mercury was mined for years, i wouldn't trust any mining entity either.

While there may be no native palms here, all land is sacred and worth being saved.   In the future, if things warm more, who knows what might be found growing out here.. Territory occupied by lest one sp. of Brahea, and Sabal Uresana isn't that far away.. ( Not including specimens of each already growing in Boyce Thompson's collection nearby )

May have taken me some time to get out here, but well worth the wait..  As long as the area is accessible, -if the mine is granted the go ahead-, i'll be back as many times as i can.

Enjoy...


Starting out w/ pictures along the 60 on the way up, through the canyon that follows Queen Creek..  Grade is rather subtle..  Don't realize the elevation gained while headed " up hill " Would be a great area to bike if such access were added alongside the highway between Superior and Oak Flat..

West of the Tunnel, on Saturday..




From the road, on Tuesday..






Stopping at one of a couple pull offs on Saturday..















Landscape scenes from Oak Flat from both Tuesday and Saturday's trips...   Large sections of the Flat / surrounding areas was ravaged by the Telegraph this past June. While not as apparent in the flat itself, Notice how a wet summer is helping things recover in any post- burn pictures.






Arizona's low country version of fall Colors.. Bushes covered by now in decline Trans Pecos Morning Glory, Ipomoea cristulata..





































We'll get to the plants observed there later.. There's a canyon to visit next.





 

[Silas_Sancona 7,791]

Some extras to add from yesterdays walkabout..

First, Stopped and made a quick ..but pretty rugged hike to the bottom of Queen Creek from one of the scenic lookout points along the 60 on the way up to the Flat.  This particular spot is located directly east of the tunnel. There's another further up, where access to the upper part of the canyon might be possible.. and another as you approach the tunnel from the west side where you can view,  hike down to,  and pass under the Queen Creek Bridge  via a long abandoned stretch of what i believe is the old U.S. 60 ( think it used to go around the hill where the Tunnel now passes through ) a bit easier than attempting to reach the same area from where i hiked down to and moving down the creek. Anyway, Trail, from this spot, is narrow, very steep, and has plenty of loose rock/ steep step downs. Have to have good shoes and balance since it is easy to slip and go over an edge. ( the Drain Pipe you see in some pictures is big enough to drive through..  Cut in the hillside water from it is pretty impressive too. )  In this spot, Queen Creek muscles through a very narrow pass  through 80-100+? ft of solid rock on either side.. Pretty neat ..though i wouldn't want to be anywhere near it during flash flood events ( can see how much power water has when moving through here pretty clearly ) Figure @teddytn  -among others, might appreciate this..




" Ledge " seen in some pictures here is several ft thick.








From the bottom of Queen Creek.. Fluffy " grass " in several pictures is invasive Fountain Grass ..same stuff the BBx stores still sell.. Horrible invasive plant here ( and in many other areas )










Back near the top again.. Can see part of the " old " roadway that warps around the hill where the tunnel passes through in the last picture.





 

[Silas_Sancona 7,791]

From the Flat:

Wednesday's focus was hiking the " spine " of the " Table Top " section of Oak Flat, both to observe some of  the same stuff seen here before, and see what else could be found.  Had found some observations of a couple less common ferns i'd hoped to be able to sniff out in a somewhat hidden canyon that appeared,  at least on Google Earth  to be fairly easy to access..  Also walked another section along the same trail that had suffered far more severe fire damage than many other spots i'd walked out there.

Unlike the hike out to Devil's Canyon last time, trail here runs basically north - south from the campground and is fairly flat and easier to navigate for those who might not be able to hike the more challenging trails out there.  There is a point where the trail does become less forgiving and descends into another " valley ' and will link up w/ the " Hackberry Creek " trail after going up and over the hill on the opposite side of this valley, leading to the lower section of the Canyon.  Another trail ..that appears to follow the ridge line ( and remain fairly level ), heads to the upper sections of the Canyon a little more than .50mi from where i ended the days walk..


From the  trail along the " Table Top "















More " dwarfed ' Emory Oak  stands.


Panoramic shots.. from a couple different vantage points along the way.




Southwest to North horizon..


North to Southeast horizon.. Pinal Peak in view on far right.



Hidden ..and not - so accessible Canyon..  Main trail veers away from this area a bit, so ..in traditional fashion,  took the " follow my own trail " route to get closer / follow this side of the canyon's rim.. Will eventually link back up w/ the trail a bit further up.

Looks like a pretty easy hike in from here.. Scramble over some boulders / try not getting tangled  up in more grabby " Cat Claw " Mimosa..



Not so fast..  Can you see how others have accessed this spot in the last picture?




Wonder how hard it would be to nudge that boulder on the right off the edge on the other side, haha.. < joking of course >



That's certainly not the easy way down...  Unless you got 'a rope, and a harness..




...Maybe from here? ...Nope..   Nice view though.


Ok, ..has to be easier to get in there from the head of this canyon ( where the stream carving it starts to cut downhill )..


Nah,  that's -at least- a 30ft drop down, on either side of these slippery and steeply angled Boulders.. ( Would later see i overlooked another way in ..Maybe, lol )




>>>>

[Silas_Sancona 7,791]

Shots From a severely burned area further down the trail.  Have seen post burn areas in California where there was nothing left except what is often referred to as a " Moonscape " where everything was erased from the landscape.. Not quite that bad here but pretty close.. Chaparral / woodland areas further east experienced more severe damage.  On Google Earth, can see there was much more woody vegetation ( Oak, Manzanita, etc things ) here before the fire occurred. Interesting that the degree of fire damage is much less on the opposite side of the trail even though a strong enough wind ( which is likely what aided in how severely this spot burned ) would have roared across both areas at the same speed.









Like most of the less severely burned areas, as barren as things look atm, process of regeneration is already well underway..  Even observed Ferns regrowing in areas where the fire had burned hot enough to cook and break chunks off the surface on some of the large boulders near the base of the hill.  Walking around, tried to stay off the " soft " soil areas as best as possible. Where unavoidable, soil would sink several inches underfoot when walked across.






Views from the end of the Wednesdays hike, looking out over another valley between my vantage point, and where the lower portion of Devil's Canyon lies.







Some closer ups of Pinal Peak / other peaks beyond the Canyon / Oak Flat.

[Silas_Sancona 7,791]

A few final pictures from the Pond at the start of the Hackberry Trail, and on the way out..














View of Apache Leap while crossing the Queen Creek Bridge, on the way back toward Superior ( ..and the Valley ).


>>>

[Silas_Sancona 7,791]

A few " Spring " scenes from Monday's Spring Fling east, up the U.S. 60 to look over both Boyce Thompson Arboretum and Oak Flat..

As mentioned in the past, on the last trip to Oak Flat in the Fall, had set out to explore a somewhat hidden canyon along the main trail that leads out to the upper part of Devil's Canyon ( ..I'll head out there next ) anyway, on that last visit, wasn't able to find a safe way in, ..err, down into that spot. After carefully studying Google Earth, found the right trail to follow that leads to easier access of that area.

Getting out there, the access point isn't exactly obvious.. Walked the rim of that canyon for awhile before doubling back to another spot i'd passed that showed signs of use. Seeing a Carin ( Human built stack of rocks ) atop a massive boulder, had a feeling this where the top of the trail leading down was. 

Unlike the other places i'd tried to access, the trail to the bottom was easy. At the bottom, a massive Emory Oak greets the visitor in a pretty good sized meadow.. Also has a rope swing hanging from one of the branches.

On Monday's visit, decided to hike up the canyon, back to where i'd tried to access it last fall,  instead of exploring the flatter area where i arrived.  I'll explore that section later.

Still some water in the creek that cuts through that canyon which made for some wet shoes ( welcome in the heat ) and nice scenery. There really is no designated " trail " so used the old trekking method of following where i saw the most shoe prints, and eyeballing other areas that were easier to pass through compared to other spots.

All in all, ended up exactly where i'd hoped ..at the head of that canyon, where i'd ended after walking the rim of the same canyon last time. Interestingly, looking back at some of the points where i'd tried to access last fall, this time around, some didn't look as impassible from below as they did from the top..  Anyway, neat spot.. 

Because my SD card was full, limited my picture taking this time.. 

Massive rock atop the trail. Were some people out there who were heading out after doing some morning climbing..



Giant Emory Oak and clearing beneath that welcomes you as you enter into the canyon. Can see the rope swing hanging on the left of the tree.  Also a fire pit on the right side of the clearing, so people do camp down here.




Creek and surrounding canopy of Emory Oak down there.. Many of the trees are in the process of shedding last years foliage, ..which accounts for the " burnt look " of them that may be seen in the pictures.
 

Some scenes where water was still pooled / flowing along the creek..











Couple shots of the east facing wall of rock ( west side of the creek and canyon ) 2nd picture is an area of the canyon i'd wanted to access, but didn't this time.. Observed some nice seeps there from across the canyon last fall.. As dry as it is here, areas where water seeps to the surface from underground can be some interesting spots for plants.





Banana Yucca that decided to reach out and poke an ankle, haha..



Looking back down the canyon from roughly mid point in exploring it



From it's start ( South end, looking North ) ..where it begins to cut down.. Entrance point where i started is somewhere where the group of brown leaved Oaks is located in the distance on the upper left.. As gradual of an incline as this part of it looks in the picture, this leg of this canyon is much more steep sided.. w/ lots of massive  boulders to navigate around ..or up and over..  ...or through..

Glad i'm still in some kind of shape, lol.