Arizona ghost trails

by Richard J. Hinton

Ehrenberg to Camp McDowell, A. T., via Date Creek.

To	Miles.	Miles.	Description.
Tyson’s (Los Pasos)	25	25	Good water; hay and grain.
Desert Station	25	51	Good water; hay and grain.
Flint’s	19	70	Good water and grass.
McMullen’s	4	74	Old road branches here} Road by Martinez’s Cañon.} west of
Cullen’s	10	85	Good water and grass. } Date Creek
Date Creek Crossing	36	121	Good water and grass. } Mountain.
Date Creek	9	130
Martinez’s Cañon	7	7	Water, grass and wood; road boggy in wet season. Right fork to Ehrenberg.
Vulture Mill	18	26	Last six miles of road sandy.
[1]Wickenburg	1	27	Settlement.
[2]Camp on Hassyampa	5	33	Water (except in very dry season), grass and wood.
Road leaves Hassyampa	2	35	Quicksands in Hassyampa sometimes impassable. (See Note.)
Mud Tanks	12	48	Water in rainy season.
Point of Mountain	7	55	Permanent water in White Tanks,1½ miles to right of road.
[3]Forks of Road		56	Right fork to Salinas Lower Crossing.
Crossing of Agua Frio Ranch	9	65
Phœnix (Swelling’s R’ch)	19	85	Settlement.
Acequia	1	86
Forks of Road	12	98	Right fork to Maricopa Wells and Camp Grant.
Camp McDowell	11	110

• [1] The road runs along the bed of the stream for a part of the way; when the river is high quicksands are troublesome, and the road is sometimes impassable; whenever this is the case, the route is via the Vulture Mine, by which the distance is increased 18 miles.
  From Wickenburg to Prescott, via Walnut Grove, the distance, by a very rough trail, is estimated at 55 miles. Ranch at Walnut Grove, half way.
  From Wickenburg to Camp McDowell direct, by trail, the distance is estimated at 65 miles.
• [2] There is a road from this point down the Hassyampa to Burke’s Station on the road between Fort Yuma and Maricopa Wells, with the following Camps:—Gila Bend, 40 miles; Cottonwoods, 25 miles; Camp opposite Oatman’s Flat, 10 miles; Agua Caliente, 16 miles; Burke’s Station (fording Gila River), 5 miles—total, 96 miles. The road is quite good, (though seldom traveled) and water, grass and wood are to be found at all the above Camps.
  From Date Creek to Maricopa Wells, the road is taken to Salinas Lower Crossing (78 miles), thence by the Gila Lower Crossing (17 miles) to Maricopa Wells (6 miles)—total, 102 miles. In winter, when the Salinas and Gila are too high to ford, by going about 3 miles further up the Gila to Morgan’s, advantage can be taken of a Ferry without increasing the distance to Maricopa Wells.
  From Camp McDowell to Prescott, by a proposed wagon road that is opened from Prescott to Agua Frio, the distances are estimated as follows:—Camp McDowell to Agua Frio, 47½ miles; Dickson’s Ranch, by newly opened road, 23 miles; Agua Frio Ranch, by old road, 18 miles; Prescott, 21 miles—total distance, 110 miles.
  The road from Camp McDowell to Camp Reno has the following camping grounds:—Camp Miller, 16 miles; Camp Carroll, 4½ miles; Camp O’Connell, 4 miles; Camp Reno, 8½ miles—distance, 33 miles.
  From Camp Reno to Camp Verde, by a newly opened road, it is to Camp in Green Valley, 30 miles; thence to Camp Verde, by trail, 60 miles—total distance, 90 miles.
• [3] In rainy seasons, when the route by Agua Frio is impassable, it is necessary to take the right fork to Salinas Lower Crossing, (22 miles) thence up the north bank of the Salinas to Phœnix (about 23 miles)—total, 45 miles,—increasing the distance from Camp Date Creek to Camp McDowell about 16 miles.