In Arizona, the beauty of the Sierra Ancha Wilderness unfolds upon itself revealing everything from desert terrain to box canyons to mountains covered with pine trees. There is so much to explore that its hard to choose. I was looking for a somewhere a little off the grid. In Phoenix the hiking trails can become so crowded on a daily basis that you begin to feel as though you're in line for a ride at Disneyland. If you're like me then you prefer the quiet mountains and solitude of solo hiking.

I usually look at the map of Arizona and start searching for places that I don't common hear people speaking about. I look for places that I can experience water, earth and sky. I look for places that are challenging but as a a solo hiker I use wisdom in those selections as well. What I fond was Workman Creek Falls in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness. It is close to Globe in Eastern Arizona.

Sitting in solitude watching the waterfall.

Water Pooling upstream from the waterfall.

I drove in on the 60 East, passing through Superior. There were some heavy delays on this stretch of freeway due to road work and lane closures. If anyone has every driven on this freeway you know that passing through the mountain on the winding road up can take a very long time especially when the lanes are closed and the speed limits were 35. I almost gave up and turned around but I decided to stick it out. On the drive there as I was getting closer to Roosevelt Lake I kept thinking there is no way that there's a forest near here, It's impossible! I kept driving and realized I was again on reservation land. When I am on reservation land, I feel like everything is alive and speaking to me, the land, the trees, the wildlife. I feel it and I can't describe how amazing that feels. So I enter very quietly and respectfully and listen.

The view looking out from the waterfall onto the treetop lined forest.

Soon I was seeing the terrain change from desert to mountain and as the elevation changed, I surrounded by pine trees. I was driving the winding mountain road and seeing clouds moving across the sky as they changed shape. I came to the forest road and turned to drive down it. Again the roads are very primitive and it seems as though I was passing behind the homes of residents and camp grounds for kids. I kept driving very slowly. The bridge just before the waterfall had some very deep grooves that I thought I would get caught in but I passed through. After I parked the car, I grabbed my gear and headed toward the waterfall.

Workman Creek Waterfall

The waterfall was lightly flowing. It was warm out and I imagine in early spring is probably the best time to see it flowing more vigorously. Still, sitting there in solitude was Heaven. The views were breathtaking, looking across the pine covered forest that seemed to go on forever the skies were blue and mostly clear. When I was driving up it looked as though a storm would be heading in soon so I wanted to get started hiking. Upstream from the waterfall there was an area with a small pool of water. I didn't go too far upstream because of the approaching storm I thought it would be best to head back down stream to see the waterfall from a different angle. I found a nice spot where the water was slowly moving and I got in for a while to cool off. Due to the delays in getting here I wasn't able to spend as much time there as I wanted to. There are so many hiking trails here that I plan to go back when the weather cools down.

Sierra Ancha Wilderness