Chapter One: History of the Great Western Trail – Part 2

The first leg of the trail is Bulldog area, and it was dedicated in April 1 added. This passes the Seven Spring Conservation Corps almost 100 years ago, as it winds its way to Bloody Basin Road. The Sears-Kay Ruin, at the beginning of the trail, is a nearby “Point of Discovery.” From here you can drive through the Agua Fria National Monument to I-17 or, if you are more adventurous, turn north on a rocky trail that crosses shale ledges and rivers to Dugas and then to the San Dominique Winery before it crosses Interstate 17. It then winds its way through grasslands, across riverbeds, and over Mingus Mountain, to Highway 89A where it enters Martin Canyon, also known as Smiley Rock because of a pumpkin sized rock on the side of the trail that has eyes, nose, and a mouth. It is a leisurely ride to Jerome, a mining town that became a ghost town half a century ago, and which, according to the locals, is home to specters. Artisans have revived it and it is now a well-known tourist destination. The town sits on unstable ground and is in constant downhill motion as astute visitors may notice from necklaces that swing almost imperceptibly on their stands in jewelry store display cases. After Jerome the trail goes north to Perkinsville in the Verde Valley and then onto the Mogollon Rim and the world’s largest strand of Ponderosa pine trees.

Sycamore Canyon with its red sandstone sculptures, near White Horse Lake, is another “Point of Discovery.” The trail continues to Parks and Williams on I-40 where you will find food, lodging, and gasoline. It is less challenging as it continues north of Parks though the grasslands and forests of the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest, before entering the Tusayan Ranger District. This section, after a bewildering patchwork of unmarked paths on the Navajo Nation, (not officially part of the Great Western Trail), slips off the Coconino Rim south of the Little Colorado River Gorge into the austere world of red and white sandstone, to Highway 64. The Trail ends here before restarting at House Rock on Highway 89A, but before driving into the mountains, stop at the Navajo Tribal Park Ranger Station at the junction of Highways 89 and 64 to pick up a permit to camp on the reservation near the Hopi Salt Trail. In Cameron you can also get supplies, a mouthwatering Navajo Taco, and Native American jewelry and pottery.

After crossing the Navajo Bridge over Marble Canyon, and skirting the beautiful and colorful Vermilion Cliffs on Highway 89A, the Trail starts anew at House Rock Valley Buffalo Ranch with a difficult ascent into the mountains along a trail beginning at the base of the Kaibab Plateau. A marker states that Spanish priests Dominquez and Escalante traded for food with the Paiute Indians in 1776. North of South Fork Canyon the Great Western Trail ascends the north plateau of the Kaibab National Forest where California Condor soar in the thermals above the Vermillion Cliffs. A few miles southeast of Jacob Lake, the last leg of the trail travels north to Orderville Canyon, descends the North Kaibab Plateau toward the Buckskin Mountains, and ends in Utah with spectacular views of the Chocolate, Vermilion, and White Cliffs.

The Great Western Trail is a primitive route without water, fuel, or fast-food restaurants. It will challenge the most adventurous, and will enlighten and amaze those searching for an exciting respite from the hustle and bustle of civilization. Wildlife is abundant along this trail, and you may see Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed and mule deer, horses, antelope, black bear, skunk and many other species. Contrary to picture-postcards sold in many tourist stops, however, the Arizonan jackalope, a jackrabbit with antelope horns, does exist, but it is not native to the state.

Chapter One: History of the Great Western Trail

Lyle Gomm, a former Intermountain Region Trail Coordinator, is the “father” of the Great Western Trail. His idea to create a long distance trail open to a variety of users began in Utah during the 1970s, and in 1985 he organized an inter-agency team including the Forest Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service to create the Bonneville Rim Trail to connect the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. In 1986, Dale Sheewalter, a volunteer promoter of the Arizona Trail (Grand Canyon National Park to Nogales, Mexico), suggested the Arizona and Bonneville Rim Trails be renamed the “Great Western Trail.” Simon Cordial from England, and James Priest Lake from New York, hiked the proposed trail from Idaho at the Canadian border to Nogales, Mexico from May to October 1986. In 1990, the Great Western Trail Association was incorporated under the provisions of the Utah Nonprofit Corporation and Cooperative Association Act. The Great Western Trail joins preexisting backcountry trails, dirt or gravel roads, and high speed highways, to create a system of routes that terminate independently or rejoin a main route. It was conceived as a 4,500-mile long network of trails that would traverse central Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming, ending at the Idaho-Montana border with Canada.

It was designed to serve all-terrain vehicles, 4×4 enthusiasts, motorcyclists, horseback riders, hikers, and in the high country, snowmobile riders. In Arizona the Trail, with its “Points of Discovery” or historic and instructive sites, begins in Phoenix in the southern Basin and Range (desert) Region where vegetation is sparse, but cacti, mixed grasses, chaparral, and sagebrush thrive in the alkali soil. Next it travels through the Central Highlands (mountainous) Region in the middle of the state. Here, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, temperatures remain high throughout the year, and piñon trees, Apache fir, aspen, and bristlecone pine abound. It ends in the northern Colorado Plateau Region where tablelands range from 5,000 to 7 ,000 feet. Winters are cold, but summers are warm. Rain is common, and Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine grow on these high plateaus of the Kaibab National Forest.

So far the Great Western Trail Association and the Arizona State Association of 4- Wheel Drive Clubs have designated 350 miles of trail from Phoenix to the Utah border, but there is still work to do. The completed northern two-thirds is on federal land, but in southern Arizona the proposed route is on state and private land. The projected route near the Mexican border may access Sky Islands. Weldon Heald coined the term in 1967 to denote mountain ranges isolated from each other by intervening valleys of grassland or desert which inhibit the movement of various species, as seas isolate plants and animals on islands. Near Tucson, 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, the proposed trail would transect the Butterfield Road, a wagon route between Yuma, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, later used as the Mormon Battalion Trail.