BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

Unlocking Hellsgate

Rim-country road into wilderness makes a heck of a ride EVERYONE I TALKED TO who had traveled the southern approach to Hells Gate, at the confluence of Haigler and Tonto creeks in the depths of Hellsgate Wilderness, described the journey with a blend of excitement and reverence reserved for places with a spirit bigger than theirs. When I noticed the word “wild” kept popping up in each description, I knew it was time to experience this country for myself. Seeking the perfect intersection of wild country and the Wild West, I set out on the adventurous road to the Hells Gate trailhead.

LAYERED LOOK Views of McDonald, Neal and Gisela mountains (above) offer a softer look at some of Arizona's wildest country.

Traveling in lonely, open range through a classic high-desert landscape, this route (5 miles on Forest Service Road 129 and 8 miles on Forest Service Road 133) proved as untamed as the countryside, which was a fitting foreshadowing of the rough 3-mile hike into the canyon. Anyone who has traveled to Hellsgate Wilderness north of Phoenix knows the place is more beautiful than hellish. It's just the getting there that feels more like a passage through the underworld than a stroll through the door of paradise. The road is filled with large rocks and makes for a rough ride, so a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle is necessary for this trip. It's also a good idea to take along at least two or three spare tires. The start of the road in Pleasant Valley in the town of Young feels as ethereal as the valley's name suggests. The verdant valley, one of the last vestiges of the real West left in the state, spreads as cool and calm as the color of its green grasses while mountain ridges form a dramatic backdrop. The valley's present peacefulness belies its claim to fame-the vicious Pleasant Valley War, a feud between the Tewksbury and Graham families that lasted from 1882 until 1892. Some historians say the battles boiled down to cattlemen versus sheepherders; others say it was a drawn-out feud between rival cattlemen colored by horse thievery and relentless revenge. The feud affected the whole community and spread out to anyplace the two factions met, including Holbrook and Tempe. Many of the casualties rest in Young's cemetery. The back-road adventure to the Hellsgate Wilderness

starts in Young where Forest Service Road 512 becomes State Route 288 and where the road bends between mileposts 307 and 308. Instead of continuing on the bend, veer right, turning west onto FR 129. This road, paved for a short distance, heads out of town and into the rough-and-tumble backcountry where boulder-filled streambeds carve through hardscrabble hills with barely enough dirt to cover bedrock. As if to soften the scruffy scene, prickle poppies, with their floppy white petals, congregate along the roadsides, and red-bloomed penstemons brighten shadowed cliffsides. The route parts company with civilization at a fork near Walnut Creek, around mile 4. Veer right to stay on 129 as it pulls away from Young's outlying homes and enters the rangeland that men so bitterly fought over. At about mile 5, veer left onto FR 133. From here, the going gets The route parts company with civilization at a fork near Walnut Creek, around mile 4. Veer right to stay on 129 as it pulls away from Young's outlying homes and enters the rangeland that men so bitterly fought over. At about mile 5, veer left onto FR 133. From here, the going gets THE OLD GRAY BARN In the town of Young, an old barn (below) harkens back to the region's range-war days, marking a long history of Arizona livestock ranching.