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great chance i'll have Friday 27th - Sunday 29th available for a 3 day backpack. anybody have some good trips scheduled and would not mind if i tagged along?

The Deer Creek/Tapeats Loop is totally doable in 2 nights/3 days, having done it myself a couple of times. But if you also plan to drive out and back in that same time period, that's going to be tight. We've hiked all the way out and driven home on the same day before. I would say that hanging is a little iffy down there. On this trip I ended up *gasp* going to ground. The trees are just pretty sparse down there. Perhaps one thing you might have going for you this late in the season is the crowds will be lighter and not as much competition for campsites. We camped at the Deer Creek and Upper Tapeats camp areas. The lower Tapeats did not seem worth bothering with. I did manage to pull a few native rainbow trout out of the lower Tapeats just before it let out into the CO river. Definitely take the extra little side trip down to check out the Deer Creek falls. Wish I could join you folks, but family responsibilities are keeping me busy that weekend. Have a blast!

what did people decide? if no one is going i am going to go up there on thursday or wed night so i am not so pushed for time.

i've taken up a new hobby of evaluating my time in between legal discourse. i can pro'lly swing the dates after T-day, since it is unlikely that i will have any court appearances.
this new job sucks!!

te-wa wrote:unlikely that i will have any court appearances.

And here I thought it was a Ninja outfit...Judge te-wa

The only places I can think of in the area that are suitable for hanging are deep in Deer Creek (The Patio, if anyone is familiar) and near Thunder River

i cannot make a worldwide event for these dates, ill have to stay close to the valley so if anyone wants to do one of the trans-supes things or better yet an easy, luxury overnight with all the good food and drink let me know.

this is a great time for all of us lonely losers to hang out with each other.. lol

this is a great time for all of us lonely losers to hang out with each other.. lol

Being i fit this description now, im open for a luxury overnighter, sat into sunday.. I cant get outta work fri being a newby here...

Sorry, guys... wasn't sure what was going down, so I made other plans around Tucson. Thinking of a hike Sunday, though. Wouldn't mind a drive somewhere to meet up with folks. Maybe the Pinals?

Hrm, I can probably do a hike Sunday..

How about a trip to the Huachucas? Might run across some residual fall color there... I'm thinking about taking my big pack and filling it with trash. That way I kill two birds with a single stone (one being the hiking bird, the other being the volunteer holiday spirit bird). Miller Peak sounds good - always wanted to try it!

That could be fun... Saturday I think I'm going up to get a tree from apache-sitgreaves... what time are you thinking about leaving Sunday?

Looks like for me a return to Grand Canyon Parashant area--- solo, new canyon system with my backpack on. Death Valley is still slightly in the running---it'll be warmer. But caves, petros, and the river, no trail----hmmmm. Only 130 miles dirt one way this time. ;)

Sounds like you can't lose either way, RedRoxx... Such jems we have out here!

Dysfunction: Saturday would probably be decently early - leaving plenty of time for driving, hiking, enjoying and not running out of light ;). But, I'm flexible.

i made it to deer valley and tapeat this weekend. i made a loop of it along the river. if you haven't been there, go. i will post pic. soon. it was great,

Hey Josh. So how was the hanging down there? Did you explore the Deer Creek Narrows and hike down to the waterfall? It's definitely a nice backpacking destination. I'll bet this time of year was very pleasant down there too. It looks like you may have just missed the first major storm to come through. And that stretch along the river to complete the loop is really scenic. Did you take the upper or lower route?

pickelltree wrote:i made it to deer valley and tapeat this weekend. i made a loop of it along the river. if you haven't been there, go. i will post pic. soon. it was great,

at deer creek, i did a single tree hang right at the camp site, other than that there wasn't really a lot of options. i did go down to the river in deer creek, i didn't go in the narrows because the water was chilly. i ate lunch by deer creek falls than went back and took the over trail to make it down the river. this trail is great, like the tonto. i ran into bonita creek and hung out for a while. right there is a steep climb up some rocks and roots to continue on the trail, it is easy to see how the 20yr old got confused right there last june. but he should of noticed no trail or water in the canyon. in tapeats there were plenty of spots to hang along the creek. i stayed at thunder spring that night, wanted to make my way up some a little so the day wasn't so long on sunday. that spring is a great thing to wake up to. on the way out the roads had 6 to 8 inches of snow on them, i had my jeep so i was going like 45 and sideways the 30 miles out on forest roads. i am still getting pic around.

Sounds like a great trip! I do love that loop - and that climb right out of Bonita Canyon does seem a little counter intuitive. It's pretty obvious, though, once you take a good look at it with a trained "hiker's eye". Good timing on that weather - I was wondering if you caught any snow. I hiked this loop in Nov. last year and it snowed on us the last day from the Esplanade to the top. Beautiful! Can't wait to see the pics!

http://www.hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=9497

i posted some photo's

Great photos! Looks like a fun trip - I love that river section, too.