Groom Creek Trail
By James LaJocies
The first dog
days of summer have arrived and the weather has
promised to drive the
thermometer into flames. But before I flame out, I shall
enter into the
cooling therapy of a green forest, and the Groom Creek Trail Loop seems
to offer the best treatment to fight off the heat frustration of those
lazy days of summer.
I started my therapy in the cool early morning hours so that I could keep myself one step ahead of a climbing thermometer. I chose to start my trek in a clockwise direction from the trailhead so that I could complete the greatest ascent of my journey in the cooling early morning.
So with a pack on my back. I stepped onto a well groomed trail of rocky mountain sand and a carpeted forest floor mostly under a cluster of Ponderosa and Pinon Pines. Adding to the shaded forest were species of Cottonwood, Oak and Junipers and at the trails higher elevations are examples of Douglas and White fir. With gentle breezes caressing the leaves of the forest canopies, my stroll through this wonderland would often stir up the sweet scent of pine to caress my senses.
Groom Creek ascends for twenty one hundred and twenty feet in about three miles till you reach the summit of Spruce Mountain. It is not a difficult climb and the trail is well defined. Along the way there are opportunities to view and even climb a wide variety of huge granite boulders which seem to be perched precariously atop of each other as if to provide a sense of teleological landscape art for your viewing pleasure.
Most of the trail is deep with in the forest with few opportunities of grand vistas. Forest meadows open up into clear sunlight under deep blue skies and offer ample opportunities for picnics among wildflowers that would blossom during spring like weather. This is a good trail for family fun and a popular one also not only for hikers, but mountain bikers and equestrian lovers.
As I reached about two and a half miles into the trek and off to the right just a bit, are the remains of a broken down log cabin that once stood along side a creek. Little remains of the cabin, but it was interesting to view the material used for its construction. Besides the split log timbers for its wall structures, metal screening material was used for the exterior windows and the interior was covered with what appeared to be canvas nailed up to cover the walls. Remnants of the heavy white fiber still remain.
Off to one side of the cabin are the remains of a large pile of rocks in which I could only assume a stove was placed. Atop of the rocks were the remains of a cut out piece of sheet metal in which a stove pipe would have fitted through. Some old prospector seeking his claim of riches, perhaps. I do not know, but there is a lot of history with in the Prescott National Forest.
I continued along the trail thinking of the hard life the gold miners of yesteryear must have experienced. Caught up in ‘Gold Fever’, digging, panning and shoveling for fourteen or more hours a day. Visions of hitting the ‘big strike’ and dreams of the good life to follow. For most, only despair and disappointment followed their hard struggle. Even though there was a lot of gold out here in these forested mountains, most left with the same empty pockets they arrived with. Strangely, our modern day ‘Gold Fever’ lies with in the fantasies of our own lotteries.
Still pushing forward, I soon arrived at the summit of Spruce Mountain and its look
out
tower. With picnic tables about, this is another good
place for an afternoon lunch. A short distance up from the
picnic site
stands the look out tower. After climbing the remainder of the mountain
trail to its final summit, I came upon a side trail which leads to an
out cropping of granite boulders perched atop of each other upon a
cliff face. Once you punch through a little bit of brush, the whole sky
opens up and welcomes you to some spectacular panoramic vistas of
Prescott, Prescott Valley, Lynx, Goldwater and Willows Lakes. All of
which are surrounded by the deep dark canopy of the forest below. You
can’t get this on a post card, even though it is post card perfect.
I was invited to climb the tower and gauge a different perspective on the vistas below. I had an opportunity to learn of the equipment used to sight in forest fires and how they acquire bearing and ranges to such. I was pointed out the identity of the other mountains nearby and was taught how the other look out towers throughout the forest, work in tandem in spotting the smoke signals that can lead to disaster. All of which they have been doing since 1937, (which places the Spruce Mountain Look Out Tower on the Historic Registry). I inquired about the lighting storms that pass through during the monsoon seasons and the reply that was given was a broad smile and the words “Awe-Inspiring”.
I soon stepped out onto the trail and continued my trek, the remainder of which was a gentle meandering on mostly level terrain with a slight descent of 2120 feet over seven miles. Basically, it was a afternoon stroll over a well defined trail which was sometimes rocky, but still providing an excellent forest adventure.
Even as the thermometer climbed during this first ‘dog day’ of summer, it failed to spoil the cooling adventure I had with in the forest. Where as before I was stricken with the blues of those lazy, hazy days of summer, I took what treatment was needed and let Mother Natures therapy work her wonders.
I started my therapy in the cool early morning hours so that I could keep myself one step ahead of a climbing thermometer. I chose to start my trek in a clockwise direction from the trailhead so that I could complete the greatest ascent of my journey in the cooling early morning.
So with a pack on my back. I stepped onto a well groomed trail of rocky mountain sand and a carpeted forest floor mostly under a cluster of Ponderosa and Pinon Pines. Adding to the shaded forest were species of Cottonwood, Oak and Junipers and at the trails higher elevations are examples of Douglas and White fir. With gentle breezes caressing the leaves of the forest canopies, my stroll through this wonderland would often stir up the sweet scent of pine to caress my senses.
Groom Creek ascends for twenty one hundred and twenty feet in about three miles till you reach the summit of Spruce Mountain. It is not a difficult climb and the trail is well defined. Along the way there are opportunities to view and even climb a wide variety of huge granite boulders which seem to be perched precariously atop of each other as if to provide a sense of teleological landscape art for your viewing pleasure.
Most of the trail is deep with in the forest with few opportunities of grand vistas. Forest meadows open up into clear sunlight under deep blue skies and offer ample opportunities for picnics among wildflowers that would blossom during spring like weather. This is a good trail for family fun and a popular one also not only for hikers, but mountain bikers and equestrian lovers.
As I reached about two and a half miles into the trek and off to the right just a bit, are the remains of a broken down log cabin that once stood along side a creek. Little remains of the cabin, but it was interesting to view the material used for its construction. Besides the split log timbers for its wall structures, metal screening material was used for the exterior windows and the interior was covered with what appeared to be canvas nailed up to cover the walls. Remnants of the heavy white fiber still remain.
Off to one side of the cabin are the remains of a large pile of rocks in which I could only assume a stove was placed. Atop of the rocks were the remains of a cut out piece of sheet metal in which a stove pipe would have fitted through. Some old prospector seeking his claim of riches, perhaps. I do not know, but there is a lot of history with in the Prescott National Forest.
I continued along the trail thinking of the hard life the gold miners of yesteryear must have experienced. Caught up in ‘Gold Fever’, digging, panning and shoveling for fourteen or more hours a day. Visions of hitting the ‘big strike’ and dreams of the good life to follow. For most, only despair and disappointment followed their hard struggle. Even though there was a lot of gold out here in these forested mountains, most left with the same empty pockets they arrived with. Strangely, our modern day ‘Gold Fever’ lies with in the fantasies of our own lotteries.
Still pushing forward, I soon arrived at the summit of Spruce Mountain and its look
out
tower. With picnic tables about, this is another good
place for an afternoon lunch. A short distance up from the
picnic site
stands the look out tower. After climbing the remainder of the mountain
trail to its final summit, I came upon a side trail which leads to an
out cropping of granite boulders perched atop of each other upon a
cliff face. Once you punch through a little bit of brush, the whole sky
opens up and welcomes you to some spectacular panoramic vistas of
Prescott, Prescott Valley, Lynx, Goldwater and Willows Lakes. All of
which are surrounded by the deep dark canopy of the forest below. You
can’t get this on a post card, even though it is post card perfect. I was invited to climb the tower and gauge a different perspective on the vistas below. I had an opportunity to learn of the equipment used to sight in forest fires and how they acquire bearing and ranges to such. I was pointed out the identity of the other mountains nearby and was taught how the other look out towers throughout the forest, work in tandem in spotting the smoke signals that can lead to disaster. All of which they have been doing since 1937, (which places the Spruce Mountain Look Out Tower on the Historic Registry). I inquired about the lighting storms that pass through during the monsoon seasons and the reply that was given was a broad smile and the words “Awe-Inspiring”.
I soon stepped out onto the trail and continued my trek, the remainder of which was a gentle meandering on mostly level terrain with a slight descent of 2120 feet over seven miles. Basically, it was a afternoon stroll over a well defined trail which was sometimes rocky, but still providing an excellent forest adventure.
Even as the thermometer climbed during this first ‘dog day’ of summer, it failed to spoil the cooling adventure I had with in the forest. Where as before I was stricken with the blues of those lazy, hazy days of summer, I took what treatment was needed and let Mother Natures therapy work her wonders.