Angel Wings

Trail Overview

The road up to the mines is through heavy timber with recently burned areas in the upper section, and can easily be blocked by burned trees blown down or washed into the trail. Take a chainsaw if you want to be sure you can get to the top. The lower part of the road washed out in 2016 but has been repaired as of 2018. The upper part has been washing for years and has not been repaired. The rebuilt road starts out easy for the first mile. After that, the trail is more difficult and you may find down trees. The repaired road ends at an old gauging station and an abandoned truck in Pocket Creek, and a waterfall on a side canyon of Pocket Creek. There is a boulder area and a narrow, tippy spot just above the repaired section. You should stop driving at the top of the first wing. The road is passable beyond this, but there is no room to turn around. There are numerous mines that are open for inspection, but these two are the easiest to access. Health officials will warn you to stay completely out of the mines because of the risk of asbestosis. Probably a good idea. We went into these two mines only far enough to snap a few photos.Angel Wings were formed by tailings from asbestos mines on the American Ores claim. Information from the Arizona Mines and Minerals Resources indicates there are 32 contiguous claims established by Charles Watkins in 1915. Mines were active until 1927, then ceased production in 1947. There was a varying level of activity up to the early 1960s.

Photos of Angel Wings

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Difficulty

The upper part of the trail is a strong 3.0. A lot more boulders and quite a bit of gullying. Fun for a well-equipped Jeep.

Technical Rating