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Whats goin' on guys and girls. Some of my partners are looking at hiking Hells Gate wilderness in the middle of July. They want to take trail #37 down to the canyon that Tonto creek flows in,and hike that down to Gisela. They want me to go with them. I have a couple worries; 1. The heat. 2. What is that canyon like, is it somewhat safe to hike during the monson season. Will we be swept away by a flash flood. 3. I read somewhere the there are some impassable waterfalls in this cannon. So with that being said can you make it all the way to Gisela using this cannon. I could really go on with this list for a awhile, but any feed back that I could get from you guys would be much apperciated.
If I get a overwelming responce of, "Don't hike there" Where would you guys go on a three day hike in arizona, in this hot month of july, where water runs most of the way? Any suggestions would also be apperciated. Thanx.

Josh

I wouldn't go in July. You'd probably be OK, but it's close enough to monsoons that it's only a 'probably'...

If you go anyway, please keep your group small. Campsites are limited in the canyon and if you've never hiked in canyons like this before you should plan on it taking at least 4 days (including the initial hike down to Hellsgate). There is a lot of swimming (plan on 10 or 12 swims per day minimum) and scrambling (especially if you want to limit the amount of swimming you'll be doing), you should all be strong swimmers and have some experience with class 4 scrambling. The waterfalls are all passable (or were when we were there last month), but there are no guarantees. Getting down the falls (all of them) requires some down climbing. Make sure the contents of your bags are completely waterproofed, and please don't use the inner tube method to float your pack. When we went down last there were several of these abandoned in the canyon, it would be a shame to see any more.

Good luck and have fun where ever you decide to go!

Hey man, I apperciate the feed back. Thanx.

What Matt said,

Here is the link to the USGS water site for the Tonto.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/uv?cb ... o=09499000

If we get any rain before then check out the site. It can from good (little flow) to flood stage very easily. I would want to think you would be ok if you go quick, but the monsoons are on the way and it's started raining across some parts of the state.

-TIM-

Thanks again for the info guys. We decided to start from Gisela and hike up stream as far as we could, to camp. Unfortunatly, that wasn't very far(about three miles in) and don't get me wrong I bet we hiked about six or so to get there. It was rough terrain. Now we have a good idea what we'll need next year when we do the hole canyon. I'll post some pictures when I get'em.

Hey, I see you already gave up on this trip for this year, which is a good idea in my opinion. There are some very narrow sections, and I would NOT want to be anywhere near the canyon during the monsoon. For your future planning, some friends and I did this trip in 4 days a couple of years ago, and it was tough going. I would recommend five days in June for the best experience. It's a really stunning place!

renshiwo wrote:I did this trip in 4 days a couple of years ago, and it was tough going. I would recommend five days in June for the best experience.

Or you could do it in 1 day and get it over with!

In response to Hoffmaster:Looking at doing Hells Gate, please call to discuss if you have time. 480-560-3335

In response to renshiwo:
Looking into hells gate in May, have a few questions. If you have time a call would be appreciated. 480-560-3335Thanks, HAMMER

willinghamer wrote:Looking at doing Hells Gate, please call to discuss if you have time.

I'm probably not the best source for info regarding this area. It has been years since I've to the upper end of Tonto Creek and the Hell's Gate area.

Post your questions, I'll answer them.