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| Hiking | 12.15 Miles |
3,104 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.15 Miles | 9 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.30 mph |
| 3,104 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | I've pondered many times why no one has posted on these "near" Valley trails in the nearly 14 years HAZ has been online... The area of this triplog is what every rest stop visitor to Sunset Point ponders in awe, the eastern flank of the Bradshaw Mountain Range.
The original plan was to loop up Castle Creek Trail & down Twin Peaks and check out a seventy foot waterfall off trail on the way back. Heading out to the lower trailhead we were pretty surprised to find out Castle Creek was flowing in June. Being so close to Phoenix and with such little rain in months this seemed wacky, maybe it's perennial? Anyhow there was no way we could get up enough speed to negotiate the terrain. Off to plan B... take the 27 mile road up and then 7 miles over to the upper trailhead.
The long drive had us starting later yet the temps up top were a mere 63 degrees 
Castle Creek Trail heading down went pretty easy. For the most part it's pretty obvious with only a couple route finding issues. It appears to have been catclaw clipped a year or two ago. It's growing back but not horrible yet. The main issue we encountered was getting tangled in the dead clippings that were right on trail. Before that all started I opted to throw on pants. Whereas Senior Boyscout Bruce chose the shiny grail, the hot girl and a bag of fine grain sugar. Sorry, back on track... the views heading down were better than anticipated. You have a sweet view of Black Mesa and Perry Mesa. More of what you expect to see in Utah or northern Arizona, not central Arizona near the valley.
The cool weather was tapering off as we neared the lower elevation junction for the Twin Peaks Trail. After the turn the cat's claw started encroaching more and cairns became the game. Then the cairns let up and the trail just turned to ravines filled with cat's claw. I've seen some pretty bad stuff on the Half Moon Trail. So while conveying that story was dealt a whole new nightmare. This stuff went on for... friggen miles. It was unreal. One section was over our heads. In total disbelieve there were cairns below under the cat's claw. So we hacked through that too.
The going was grueling slow. The temps were undoubtedly hovering 90 yet breezes kept us in the game. Our energy levels dropped from the constant fighting for five foot sections of trail most would never deem possible. It was daunting in the middle of these huge cat's claw fields with no end in sight. Finally it let up around 5,400 feet to good old fashion bushwhacking.
With the joy of survival on our side things looked on the up and up. Not for long. Soon we realized we had 2,400ft in gain and the little water left in our packs was depleting fast. With a good four to five breaks we finally put this one to rest. The long hours spent in the June sun and the relentless bush fighting really owned me today.
Bruce stopped by the lake were we washed off our feet. Next he bought me one of the best burger and fries I've had in my life at the Bar in Crown King. (appetite may slightly alter my "best in life" rating but it was darn good!) A pretty swell guy I must admit. I made up the stuff about the grail and what not. However I couldn't make up the following, cause nobody would ever believe me. Bruce brought pants but was too stubborn to put them on until after the cat's claw. With a wounded hand from a fall and the rest of his non clothed body resembling a mistreated package of sausage I have to say... you're crazy man! Yet something must be wrong with me cause all I have to say at this point is, thanks for a great hike! |
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