Some people read directions. Some people even follow those directions.
I am not one of those people.
If I had been one of those people, we would have found the mine we were looking for when we decided to make the Iron Door Mine trail our second hiking excursion here. This is a five mile round trip four hour hike which takes 50 minutes to get to by 4 wheeler (according to Havasu’s trail guide website).
This was not the experience we had but that was of our own making.
The drive to Bison Falls
We followed the directions to reach the trail head at the base of Bison Falls, a dry falls because we are in a desert. It didn’t take us 50 minutes but we were in the Iron Butterfly (our jeep) which perhaps accounts for the time difference.
Bison Falls
Being lunchtime when we arrived we did the sensible thing. We scrambled up the falls to enjoy the view while eating.
Dave climbing Bison Falls
Me climbing Bison Falls
As we sat there enjoying our meal from Jimmy John’s (picnics just aren’t what they used to be), Dave noticed a road next to us.
Upon further inspection, we both agreed it would be fun to drive the Butterfly up it then use her to follow the wash for at least part of the journey. It’s not laziness, I swear. It’s combining off-roading with hiking.
As a note, I have an odd fear of falling. As long as I don’t look down, there are a number of things I will cheerfully go up without issue. In fact, I enjoy scurrying up rocks and trees…it’s the looking or getting down portion that becomes the problem.
What does this have to do with the story?
It was all fun and games driving up the trail around the falls until the solid earth disappeared from our view as we crested the hill. Looking back, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I felt it to be.
Dave cresting the hill on the way home
Timing is everything. Right after our only view became blue sky, the Butterfly slipped just a little towards the edge which was, naturally, on my side.
I, quite possibly, overreacted thus giving my husband a scare. Among other things, I told him to stop (in a less than calm voice I’m certain), opened the door, and hastily exited. He was worried I was too panicked for caution. Trust me, I have a very strong sense of self preservation, I looked before I leapt. He needs to be concerned when I’m off goofing around, having too much fun to bother paying attention to my surroundings.
After leaving the vehicle then guiding him through this narrow area, I realized my fear was unnecessary. The road was not so bad and Dave is a skilled and conscientious driver who wouldn’t put us in real danger. Remembering this made going down this hill on the way back enjoyable.
With the initial terror behind me, we bounced happily along the wash that comprised part of the trail until we reached a second dry falls.
There was no possibility of motoring beyond this point so we trekked our way along the brush filled wash for about a third of a mile before turning around, having agreed this was not the right path.
Without cell signal, and me not having downloaded the directions, we had no idea where the right path was so we headed home. Not disappointed though. The drive was fun and that short hike was a strenuous blast as it involved a steep incline combined with a fair amount of climbing over rocks to get as far as we did.
It’s all part of adventuring.
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