May 8, 2003
Day 6: Over Mingus Mountain, to Sycamore Canyon
I got up at 6 AM and went for a walk around the courthouse square to take pictures in the early morning sunlight. The temperature was 40F but it didn't seem very cold with the sun shining. Then I ate the free breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast at the hotel coffee bar when it opened at 7 AM. I biked away from Hotel St. Michael at 8:40 AM, heading north on highway 89. Gradual downhill for the first several miles past Watson Lake and the Granite Dells to the 89A turnoff.
Then I turned east on highway 89A. The road has a shoulder and moderate traffic until I was past the town of Prescott Valley. I started in Prescott under mostly sunny skies, wearing shorts and short sleeves. But the sky was mostly overcast by the time I got to Prescott Valley. I put on long sleeves and tights. Past Prescott Valley the road begins a 2000 foot climb up Mingus Mountain. The shoulder disappears but the traffic is light.
The beginning of the climb is in high desert scrub but vegetation changes to Juniper/Pinyon about halfway up the climb. Then it changes to Ponderosa Pine shortly before the 7023 foot summit. After riding in high desert all day yesterday it was a pleasure to see the vegetation zones change during the climb. I got to the summit at 1 PM and took a short break, then began the long steep descent to the Verde River Valley 3500 feet below.
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It didn't take long to get back to desert conditions, being on the dry downwind side of the mountain. As expected the sun came out almost immediately after I started the descent. About halfway down I stopped for lunch at the old mountainside mining town of Jerome which is perched on a very steep dry slope. The streets of the town are formed by switchbacks of highway 89A. It's a popular tourist attraction but the buildings aren't really very special. I had lunch at the English Café which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Arizona.
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After lunch I continued the descent to the Verde River Valley and took the turnoff to the sleepy village of Clarkdale (3545 feet elevation). I was hoping to buy groceries but there was no food store in town. I continued on the old highway and took the turnoff to Tuzigoot National Monument, a large hilltop stone Pueblo inhabited by the Sinagua tribe from AD 1125-1400.
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After wandering around the ruins for 30 minutes I continued 5 miles to Cottonwood to buy groceries, then backtracked 5 miles to Sycamore Canyon Road which starts just outside Tuzigoot National Monument.
Sycamore Canyon Road roughly parallels the Verde River for 9 miles northwest to the mouth of Sycamore Canyon. Sycamore Canyon is geographically similar to the more famous and crowded Oak Creek Canyon to the east, but Sycamore Canyon is a wilderness - no roads. The first 1.5 miles of Sycamore Canyon Road are paved. The next 7 miles are smooth gravel. The last mile to the end of the road is rough gravel. I hoped to free camp near the Verde River at the end of the road. The road stays very close to the Verde River for the first 2 miles, but then turns away from the river and climbs significantly. At the end of the road I was near the river but the river was 200 feet down a cliff. It was almost sunset, so I didn't want to backtrack 7 miles to the nearest place with river access. I set up my tent near the end of the road on National Forest Land about ¼ mile from the Parsons Trailhead (4600 feet elevation).
To get water I had to hike ½ mile downhill on the Parsons Trail to Parsons Creek. And of course haul the water back up to my campsite. At least I was able to get all the water I needed in one trip with a 2.5 gallon water sack. It was a great setting to free camp despite the effort required to get water. I could see the mouth of Sycamore Canyon to the north. To the southwest is a huge red cliff on the other side of the Verde River. The vegetation is high desert scrub. I'm camped at the end of a seldom-traveled gravel road. I couldn't hear any motor traffic. Just the sounds of nature.
Distance: 65.8 miles (105.3 km) 8 miles on gravel
Climbing: 3890 feet (1186 m)
Average Speed: 9.4 mph (15.0 km/h)
Maximum speed: 41 mph (65.6 km/h)
Hiking: 2 miles (3.2 km)
Today's ride: 66 miles (106 km)
Total: 282 miles (454 km)
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