The Pleasures of Grapevine Canyon

A CANYON FOR ALL SEASONS

By midwinter, the big waterfall on Grapevine Creek had frozen solid. Imagine a giant icicle overhanging 50 feet of cliff and spreading out on the creek bed far below. Seeing it, you could

Almost imagine that the dynamic falls had been frozen instantly - like a cataract stopped in place by a fast camera shutter. But I am sure it built up slowly as the days turned shorter and colder growing drop by freezing drop like an icy stalactite.

I've never seen the Grapevine waterfall running with snowmelt, but I certainly intend to. It must be awesome - a deafening roar as water pounds onto the rocks below. Over time, this explosive impact has undercut the cliff's base. In winter, it is possible to ease behind the frozen falls into this little rock shelter. There, camera on tripod, you photograph bright blue sky through cracks in the tons of ice.

The falls, whether alive with whitewater or frozen by winter, are just one of the delights of Grapevine Canyon. Record-sized trees, autumn colors, abundant wildlife, a perennial creek flowing from at least a dozen springs and a hint of early human history all add to its appeal. Seasonal migrating birds and wildflowers offer other attractions. The canyon's wildness, its isolation from the development all around, intrigues me and continues to bring me back.

The drainage that becomes Grapevine Canyon begins at 7,000 feet atop Big Bug Mesa on the eastern side of central Arizona's Bradshaw Mountains south of Prescott. Its springs are charged with water percolating down through the mesa's rock layers.

The next drainage north of Grapevine is Big Bug Creek-named in 1863 for the 4-inch water beetles patrolling its ponds. Compared to Grapevine, the banks of Big Bug have seen considerable development-mining, an early 20th-century steam railroad and a settlement once called Poland, known today as Breezy Pines.

Grapevine Canyon's steep walls sandwich a wide variety of spectacularly large trees. As you climb, juniper and Arizona ashes give way to boxelders, Arizona walnuts, white oaks, alders and innumerable ponderosa pines. Higher grow Douglas firs, white firs and a pocket of aspens. Visitors may see deer, javelinas and bear tracks.

The canyon is a bird-watcher's paradise. Perennial drinking water and the abrupt elevation change from 4,600 to nearly 7,000 feet attract a wide variety of birds. Dr. Carl Tomoff of the Prescott Audubon Society thinks some neotropical birds may breed there, and that many northern species stop for water and rest on their annual migration.

Winter hikers see Grapevine's dozen perennial springs frozen into ice sculptures. One January day, hiker Mike Hallen had soloed far up the creek's left fork and confirmed that there truly was a waterfall but now it was frozen solid.

In mid-February, I joined photographer Bernadette Heath's hiking party at Forest Service Road 87A off State Route 69. We followed the unimproved road along the lower creek to a parking spot and turn-around. We hiked well-defined Forest Trail 4 up Grapevine Creek.

As the canyon steepened, Heath noted, "The trees become noticeably long and lean as they reach for the sun." Dropping into the creek bed, Hallen and Bob Kraus gleefully pointed out two massive alders with tops disappearing among the maze of bare branches above us. One of the alders has been deemed the largest recorded Arizona alder. Hallen and Kraus regularly compete in tracking down the largest specimen of each Arizona tree species (see "The Big Tree Hunt," Arizona Highways, February 2000). And near the giant alders grew at least four large white-barked aspens, perhaps the only aspens on the eastern side of the Bradshaw Mountains.

Along the creek, we found evidence of early mining: rusted gears on a thick shaft, and long segments of antique iron pipe manufactured by winding and riveting iron strips around a mandrel. I've been told the pipe carried water from Grapevine Springs south to Mayer-some 6 miles. Probably the pipeline also served Curtiss, a small community where Grapevine joins Big Bug Creek. In 1891, Curtiss had enough residents to warrant a post office, but it closed in 1895 and anybody left had to pick up their mail at Big Bug. Nothing remains at Curtiss today.

About 2 miles north of the parking area, Forest Trail 4 skirts a fenced 5-acre area - a Prescott National Forest test plot to study grazing's impact on the creek's riparian flanks. In 1997, 800 acres of the upper canyon were designated the Grapevine Botanical Area for its "exemplary scientific values" and "distinctive plant community." This action closed Grapevine Canyon to mountain biking, grazing, over-night camping, woodcutting, and off-road vehicles.

Prescott National Forest biologist Noel Fletcher says that besides its perennial springs, Grapevine Creek's uniqueness lies with its predominantly Arizona walnut and Arizona alder tree community - without the cottonwoods, sycamores and willows typical of most central Arizona canyons - more like streams above the Mogollon Rim. Depending on the season, Grapevine's east-west orientation limits direct sunlight to one or the other of its walls. Normally higher-altitude firs and aspens can be found below 5,600 feet because cold air sinks into the steep canyon.

Past the fenced plot, the trail drops into the stream-bed to wander back and forth across the creek. After passing a spring on the west bank, the trail reaches a fork. We turned left, passing several more springs, and the trail became indistinct and overgrown with alder saplings. Hallen, who had been there before, led us up to the level of the waterfall.

Later, after photographing the frozen waterfall, we hiked toward our vehicles. Overwhelmed by the canyon's beauty, everyone expressed ethical concerns: Should we tell other hikers about this almost too-good-to-be-true wilderness? The answer came the following week-end. Heath, Hallen and I returned to Grapevine to find that tree poachers had been at work. We backtracked a rough drag mark and off-road vehicle tracks to a freshly cut stump, sawdust and severed branches. These were the remains of a huge alligator juniper, the largest in its stand. The cutting of live trees is illegal in national forests, and the Grapevine Botanical Area is closed to all woodcut-ting. But the canyon is so isolated that many old junipers and oaks have been lost to the outlaw firewood trade.

Standing over that stump, we resolved whatever ethical qualms we felt about publicizing Grapevine Canyon. Hikers could never damage the riparian growth as the tree rustlers had done. Noel Fletcher said hikers are not to act as police offi-cers, but if they see woodcutting in Grape-vine, they should report it to the Prescott National Forest office.

To the right of Grapevine Canyon's big waterfall, the hint of a trail climbs toward Big Bug Mesa. After four hikes centered on Grapevine's main Forest Trail 4, I wondered if a loop hike might be possible. If the route above the falls climbed to the top of Big Bug Mesa, it should intersect Forest Service Road 103. Following the road to the south, a hiker could scram-ble down the mesa's end to Trail 304, and return to Forest Trail 4 just above the trailhead parking area. This ambitious plan covered 10 miles and 2,500 feet each of climbing and descent. The trail appeared indistinct to nonexistent, so it would require both map-reading and route-finding skills.

On MEMORIAL DAY, I met Prescott hikers Mike Wurtz and Derrick Brownlee near the intersection of County Road 58 and Forest Service Road 261. To the west, the skyline was dominated by Mount Union, the highest peak in the Bradshaw Mountains.

Between that peak and Big Bug Mesa, the trees arestill blackened by the 1972 Battle Flat Fire.

After following rocky FR103 onto Big Bug Mesa, we parked and unloaded our mountain bikes. Outside the boundary of Grapevine Botanical Area, bicycles are legal. We hoped to confirm one leg of the hiking loop-from the junction of FR 103 and Grapevine drainage down to the waterfall-and found an older map showing such a trail.

High-clearance vehicles had gouged axle-deep ruts in the road during past wet seasons. Others, detouring the deepest of these, had carved more obstacles. In this dry season, we peddled our bikes between the worst. Wurtz's middle-aged part-Malamute, Escher, bounced beside us like a puppy. Wurtz assured us that the happy dog would be fine so long as he had an occasional drink. Using the topographic map, we located Grapevine's drainage, hid our bikes and followed an ephemeral trail that faded and reappeared. After about two hours, we reached the waterfall, barely trickling in the early summer's heat. Wurtz

submerged Escher in a deep pool, massaging water into his thick fur. After resting, we retraced our steps -Escher in the lead to our bikes and back to the vehicles. The three of us agreed that a Grapevine-Big Bug Mesa-Grapevine loop might be possible, but only for truly strong and competent hikers.

That AUTUMN, a dry year, Grapevine's October foliage extravaganza was not quite as brilliant as the year before. Mike Hallen described the boxelders as "gold," the Virginia creeper "bright red," the Gambel oak "nice red brown," and he raved about the lower canyon's "glow-in-the-darkyellow" Arizona ash.

It's not hard to see why Grapevine Canyon wins my nomination as the Bradshaw Mountains" "Canyon for all Seasons." Admittedly, I'm still waiting to see the big waterfall in full flow. If next winter brings adequate snowfall, I'll be there when it melts.

ADDITIONAL READING: For more Prescott activities, see "Back Road Adventure" on page 42 and "Hike of the Month" on page 48.

Norm Tessman recently retired from the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott and hopes to spend more time working to protect Arizona's remaining wilderness.

Star Valley resident Bernadette Heath would like to see Grapevine Creek protected and preserved for the next generation to enjoy.

LOCATION: Approximately 25 miles south of Prescott.

GETTING THERE: Follow State route 69 south from Prescott. A few miles past Poland turn right onto Forest Road 87A, a dirt road heading west. Continue on FR 87A, which curves northwest and then drops south, until you drive through a closed-but-not-locked gate and on to a parking area and the trailhead.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: A Prescott National Forest map is recommended to reach the trailhead and can be purchased in Prescott at the Forest Service office or in Phoenix at the Public Lands Information Center, (602) 417-9556.

WARNING: Much of 87A is unimproved, rocky, brushy and passable only by high-clearance vehicles. Always carry plenty of water when traveling or hiking in Arizona's backcountry.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Prescott National Forest, Bradshaw Ranger District, (928) 443-8000; Tonto National Forest, (602) 225-5200.