BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

Close Encounter Along Juan Miller Road
"THERE'S A MOUNTAIN lion down there,” said a man pointing eastward toward the Blue River from his campsite in the Lower Juan Miller Campground. “We heard its call last night. We’ve seen some pretty big bears around there, too. They follow the food, which at this time of year is juniper berries.”

That would make Juan Miller country highly favorable to black bears in the fall. The graded Juan Miller Road (Forest Service Road 475), 27 miles north of Clifton off the Coronado Trail (U.S. Route 191), wends its way about 14 miles to the Blue River over a jigsaw of mesas, plateaus and buttes nubby with juniper trees. Piñon pine trees congregate along the breaks; cottonwood trees fill spring-riddled arroyos. This landscape of rugged and scenic open space could make a cowboy’s heart skip a beat.
 

Back in 1922, the Coronado Trail went only as far as Juan Miller Road, providing ranchers an alternative route — besides the San Francisco River and ridgeline trails — into Clifton. The Coronado Trail has evolved into a federally designated scenic byway, and Juan Miller Road provides a respite from its restless winding. The small and rustic Upper and Lower Juan Miller campgrounds, situated along the back road’s first couple of miles at an elevation of 5,780 feet, offer limited picnic tables, campsites and vault toilets.

Cocooned in a forest of pine and Gambel oak trees laced with a ribbon of sycamore and velvet ash trees along Juan Miller Creek, the lower campground harbors a relic resembling a hand-dug cistern. A homesteader named von Müellar lived along the creek for years. The road, campgrounds and creek carry a corrupted version of the German immigrant’s name.

The campgrounds’ forests glow golden with autumn color at the end of October, one of the best months to explore Juan Miller Road. A drive down the road to the Blue River makes a fascinating side trip into the land that captivated the hearts of those who settled it and still work it. Ranch signs stand along the road, and the route passes right through the working T Link Ranch. 
 

The area’s first cowboy, Fred J. Fritz, introduced cattle along the Blue River in the late 1880s. He built the XXX (Triple X) Ranch, near the end of what is now known as Forest Service Road 475C, a spur route off Juan Miller Road. Fritz chose this land, some of the roughest in Arizona, because it had water. Even when the ankle-deep ephemeral creeks that cross Juan Miller Road dry out, the Blue River flows.

In 1899, Fritz had an encounter with one big bear — and not an herbivorous black bear that grazes on juniper bushes, but one of the meat-eating grizzlies that once roamed the wilderness. The legendary event nearly took his life, and certainly changed it.

Fritz’s son, Fred J. Fritz Jr., described the grueling moment in his memoirs of life at XXX Ranch. “Father, a quick and an excellent shot with a pistol,” fired at a male grizzly bear right after it had killed a grown cow. Fritz’s five dogs immediately took chase. The trouble started when Fritz inadvertently got between the dogs and the bear in Maple Canyon, a side canyon of the Blue River near the XXX Ranch.
 

“The bear charged downhill,” Fritz Jr. wrote. “It jumped on the rear-end of his big brown horse, Jug, and the bear’s right paw ripped the square-skirted saddle just as Father turned and shot the bear in the mouth with his .45 revolver, and old Jug left.” The grizzly turned its attention on Fritz Sr., repeatedly raking its 4-inch claws across the man’s neck and back. According to historian Marshall Trimble, Fritz tried fending off the bear with one hand while the bear gnawed on his other hand. He shot at the bruin until he ran out of bullets. Next, he used the gun as a club until the weapon broke. Then he stabbed the bear with his knife until the blade snapped off. Finally, he lit matches he carried in his pocket in an attempt to burn the bear.

If that first shot hadn’t broken the bear’s jaw, Fritz Sr.’s life would have ended early. The wrangling continued until Fritz’s nephew, Willie, heard the ruckus, followed the noise to the attack scene, and killed the bear — one of the largest taken in the Blue River country. Though he survived the attack, Fritz Sr. never fully recovered. He went to a specialist in San Francisco for a nervous disorder, and slept on a pillow of hops saturated with alcohol to relieve severe headaches. Fritz Jr., then 16 years old, ended up taking over much of the ranching responsibilities. Although he never got a diploma for more than an eighth-grade education, Fritz Jr. became speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and a state senator.
 

The signed turnoff for the XXX Ranch lies 2 miles from the Blue River. A few miles’ drive in a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle drops into cloistered Alder Canyon at the old Fritz compound. A dilapidated hanging bridge built by a former caretaker dangles across a spring-fed creek. Ivy vines and rosebushes add a manicured touch to the now-abandoned green and white buildings. Just beyond the home, where the road peters out near the Blue River Trail (101), lies Fritz Sr. — buried in the land that held his heart.

Back on Juan Miller Road, the track passes some of its most dramatic landscape during a steep descent into the Blue River drainage. The narrow river, retired from its use as a cattle corridor, flows quietly in a wide bed lined with cottonwood trees and teased by floods. The road ends there.
 

Although the Blue River cowboys and their cattle no longer fill the big open spaces in this country, and the grizzlies have given the territory to black bears, mountain lions and hunters, this charismatic land is still big enough to make friends with anyone willing to embrace it.

ADDITIONAL READING: For more adventure, pick up a copy of our book Arizona Highways Scenic Drives, which features 40 of the state's most beautiful back roads. To order, visit www.shoparizonahighways.com/100scenicdrives .
 

Tour Guide
Note: Mileages are approximate. 

Directions: Begin in Clifton on U.S. Route 191 driving north 27 miles to Juan Miller Road, also marked as Forest Service Road 475 and turn right. Follow Juan Miller road 12 miles to Forest Service Road 475C and turn left to drive 3 miles to the XXX Ranch. Backtrack on FR 475C to 475 and turn left to follow it another 2 miles to the Blue River, where the road ends. Turn around and reverse the route on 475 for 14 miles back to 191. Turn right to head to Hannagan Meadow and Alpine or left to return to Clifton.

Vehicle Requirements: High-clearance, four-wheel drive.

Warning: Back-road travel can be hazardous. Be aware of weather and road conditions, especially in the area where several creeks cross the route. Carry plenty of water. Don’t travel alone, and let someone know where you’re going and when you plan to return. This back road crosses several creeks, so heed signs along the route warning of flash floods during spring, summer and autumn storms. During the mid-to-late fall and winter seasons, the road may be closed due to snowfall. 

Additional Information: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Clifton Ranger District, (928) 687-1301; Alpine Ranger District, (928) 339-4384; www.fs.usda.gov/asnf

Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial 511 to get information on road closures, construction, delays, weather and more.