West Clear Creek

[mmatkin]

I am taking about 15 scouts (20 including adults) on a hike through the central part of West Clear Creek, the 16n mile route. I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on setting up a shuttle or other ideas on how to do this hike with such a large group. I have a couple of ideas. First leave one car at the bottom and use it to shuttle the drivers of the other cars to the top and then come back and pick up the remaining group. The other idea is to just camp in the middle of the hike and do day excursions down stream and then leave the way we came in. We definitely want to see the White Box and the hanging Gardens. I also have read that it takes 2.5-4 days to do this hike even though it is only 16 miles. Is this because the wading/boulder hoping? Thank you for your time!

[walkalot]

I have a friend from Flag that did that with 2 other people. He tells the story that the 3 of them used large plastic garbage bags filled with air to float their packs when they had to swim. He said the swimming was often and the overall adventure was worth it. Keep in mind these were three, very experienced young adults when they did this.

I've scrambled in and out of that canyon, back when I was more into fly-fishing than hiking and it would be an adventure your scouts will never forget. Best of luck to all of you and please use sound judgment when analyzing the flow, terrain and most importantly, the scouts abilities.

[RickVincent]

On keeping stuff dry. Dry bags are the only way to go. Plastic bags even oversized ziplock's will typically fail. I've experienced this and I've seen others with water damaged digital cameras and soggy sandwiches after believing their gear was safe and dry in ziplocks.

[PLC92084]

I concur with Mr. Vincent's assessment... Any standard plastic bag will develop pin-holes and leak. Dry bags are more expensive but they do keep stuff dry.

[walkalot]

I agree about the dry bags working better to keep stuff dry. The large plastic garbage bags my friend referred to, were used for buoyancy purposes.

[nonot]

Tips on lower WCC:

Swimming is mandatory - everyone must know how to swim with their gear
The water is cool to cold - go during the summer to maximize enjoyment
Footwork is tricky in sections, you will slip and fall at times, hiking poles help here
Take shoes that can get wet, and grip well when wet.
Take shoes that are broken in. Old tennies are better than new watershoes.
Sandals are iffy, you will likely stub your toes many times - a closed toe shoe is better.
Quality drybags (read: not the cheapest ones) and knowledge of how to close them properly are key to keeping yourself from soggy meals and a wet sleeping bag
If you find a good campsite within 1.5 hours of being finished - stop and take it (applicable to lower WCC only)
Take a waterproof camera, it's very scenic!
Going downstream will be easier than upstream (applicable to lower WCC only)
Extra floatation may be of benefit, especially to weak swimmers. Some people bring tubes. Watch out for rocks and pokey things!
Please clean up your camp and pack out all trash, leave it looking as good or better for the next group.
Understand where the exits are in case the weather changes.
Going is slow, plan on 1 mi/hr avg, slower in some sections, and remember, the canyon weaves, it doesn't go straight
Weekends are very crowded in the summer.
The roads to some THs are good, to others are terrible - know which are which.

[toddak]

It sounds like you already have Tyler Williams Canyoneering Arizona book (and if not, get it, its the best guide for this area I've found). It also sounds like you may not be real familiar with WCC, and since I've been down all 50+ miles of it and its tributaries, I'll throw in my 2cents:

Its hard to describe how challenging the terrain can be, its nonstop swimming, wading, rock hopping, boulder scrambles, brush thrashing, etc.
There are no easy sections.
A group of 20 is going to be very difficult to keep moving together, especially with varying levels of experience, fitness, tolerance for cool water temps, etc.
A 1 mph pace is good, slower is likely.
Camp sites for groups that big do not exist anywhere that I'm aware of in the canyon.
Without experience its easy to get disoriented with all the twists and turns and miss entry/exit points which may not be marked, and GPS may not work.
The roads out to the entry/exit points in this area are very rough, to the point that I walk them instead of thrashing my vehicle.

If you're still reading this, I'd recommend you try camping at various points on the rim and dropping in for day hikes. Between Williams book and this website, you can find 3 entry/exit points in this area (Calloway trail, "powerline crossing" and White Box/Hanging Gardens). I wouldn't hurt to check them out ahead of time. I'm not trying to throw a wet blanket on your plans here, just want you to know what you're up against - its an amazingly beautiful place but there's a steep price to pay.