Weather: 60°, sunny, clear
About this Hike: Originally I mapped this hike following old OHV roads in Horsethief Basin. My intention was to see the Native ruins at East Fort and South Fort. Last minute I added on a side trip to the Horsethief Lookout Tower.
February is low season for otherwise popular Horsethief Basin. With unseasonably warm and dry weather, it seemed like the perfect time to visit. The campgrounds and developed sites are closed for the season, so this meant a lot less traffic. In fact, I pretty much had Horsethief Basin to myself on a beautiful Saturday.
My first stop was at the lookout tower. While unmanned for the season, a posted sign said it was OK to climb the tower. I tried, but didn't get far. Those see-thru metal grate steps are just too much for my fear of heights. Regardless, the views at the lookout site are magnificent. You can see Lake Pleasant, Glendale, and mountains in the Phoenix Valley. You can see Superstition Mountain and Weaver's Needle. Four Peaks and the Matazals are prominently visible. Humphey's Peak poked up like a snow-capped glacier to the north. And if you really looked close toward the southeast, you could see the top of the Santa Catalinas down in Tucson. This was by far the most comprehensive view around Arizona I've ever experienced at one site. The only landmark not visible up here was Sedona's red rocks.
Both of the fort sites ended up being a bust. Both areas have suffered heavy fire damage, especially East Fort. The trail became impossible to follow, and it was not mapped correctly on my All Trails GPS. I was getting caught up in burned branches and other obstacles. The fire was bad enough that soil was burned black. It was a similar situation at the South Fort.
Regardless, this was a good day to experience another unique and beautiful part of our state. And while seeing the Hohokam ruins at the fort sites would have been cool, I doubt there would have been any additional views to take in. From the fire lookout, I feel like I saw all that there was to see.
