Weather: 78º, sunny
About this Hike: Thanks to an Instagram ad, I was inspired to check out Workman Creek in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness. Both Salome and Sierra Ancha wilderness areas have piqued my interest, as they are a part of Tonto National Forest I've yet to explore. So many times from Roosevelt Lake I've gazed up into the Salome Wilderness, but I had yet to visit this area.
I left Payson early and opted to drive through Young to pick up AZ-288, also known as Desert to Tall Pines Scenic Byway. Despite being a state highway, I always thought 288 was dirt. Portions of it are dirt, but more of it is paved than I realized. Watch the pavement just south of Young. It's full of crater-sized potholes. The prudent driver won't speed in here lest they bend a rim, blow a tire, etc.
The Workman Creek Recreation Area begins where FR-487 turns off from 288. There is a developed youth camp back in a mile or so. However, 487 is not a great road. It's narrow and rocky. It gets steeper and eventually becomes a shelf road with make-shift barriers on only the steepest sections. A narrow, rickety bridge traverses a fissure in the canyon. A sign advertises it's weight limit at eight tons. Needless to say, this one frayed my nerves a bit, even with a 4x4 high clearance truck.
The drive initially parallels Workman Creek. The canyon is full of bigtooth maples. As I drove further up, the fall colors became more and more vibrant. Since this was a fall color outing, my plan was to explore the creek area more on the way back down. There's also supposed to be a waterfall that I wanted to check out.
I reached the parking area at Abby's Way Trailhead. Sufficiently tired of the road, I opted to park here, have a picnic lunch, and then set out to hike Abby's Way. A reasonably short hike leads to the summit of Aztec Peak. Even from the trailhead the Aztec Peak fire lookout is visible. The trail started out well enough. Signage looked to be fairly new. Large cairins led the way, although the trail didn't come close to aligning with the All Trails map.
I didn't get far. The trail vanished. I went in every direction. A pile of rocks indicated it had been a cairin at one time, and so I used this as a guide. It was to no avail. I'll never understand how you can go from blazed trail and fresh footprints to nothing in a single step.
I was wandering thru a meadow of dried grasses with a few stands of ponderosa nearby. I gave up and returned to the trailhead.
My next plan was to explore Rim Trail 139. I opted to walk about a half mile along the road to the trailhead. Rim Trail started off OK, but quickly became overgrown. The foliage and views weren't so different from what you can find in the Mazatzals—an arid landscape of dried grasses, catclaw, and gamble oak. I turned back again.
As I walked the road, I noticed it changed. Gone were rocky sections and pot holes. It was hard-pack dirt. I grabbed the truck and decided to drive the ~two miles up to the base of Aztec Peak. I parked at the base and hiked up the road. There was a lot of traffic coming and going, and my truck was all but in the way, precariously parked to the side of the road at the base of the mountain.
I enjoyed the sweeping panoramic views at the top of Aztec. I made note of where Abby's Way trail reaches the top of the mountain. And then I turned back.
My next step was Moody Point Trailhead. The Forest Service has constructed a newer cabin near this trailhead. A lone Jeep in the parking area made me think Moody's was worth checking out. The trail itself recently got some maintenance and was in the best shape of all the trails I hiked today. It was still sorely misaligned with the All Trails map. A fire scorched this area decades ago. I read this could have something to do with trails having been realigned afterward.
In fact, the ecosystem along Moody became boring. Long gone were the old-growth pines. A few charred stumps are all that remain. Gamble oak, grasses, and ferns have taken over this ecosystem, and for some time, too. The gamble oak are pretty tall and create a thick canopy. While oak can be pretty in fall, many times they just turn brown. All the ferns are brown and dead, as are the grasses. And so despite the good trail condition, I opted to turn back after a short hike. There was nothing scenic here, and eventually Moody would run into Rim Trail (assuming the map was somewhat correct). In theory you could do these as a loop using a segment of FR-487 to close the loop.
At this point, I was done attempting to find a good day hike in the Workman Creek area. I opted to head down the mountain. As is often the case, the road didn't seem nearly as precarious and the drive down was uneventful.
The best overlooks near the bridge might accommodate two or three vehicles on the side of the road. It was busy, and there was nowhere to stop; I had to keep working my way down the narrow shelf road. The fall color views were best enjoyed in the moment looking out the window.
I stopped at a few of the larger parking areas near the bottom of the mountain. These used to be camp grounds, although signs advise they are now day-use only. Uranium mining contamination is the culprit for this change in the rules.
Somehow I missed the waterfall. I doubt it would have mattered though. It didn't look that impressive in pictures, and with the creek at a trickle I doubt there was much to see.
Feeling somewhat defeated, I returned to 288 and opted to go south. The highway is mostly paved in this direction, except for one dirt section that's in excellent shape. I completed this scenic drive and returned to Payson via AZ-188. I won't be in a hurry to return to this area. It's a lot of driving for little reward. I'll stick to Arizona Rim Country.