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So many great triplogs...wow...

Permits acquired for 3 days in the AC....
Friday Nov11 to Sunday Nov13

any suggestions for where to camp?
best springs for water? and/or do I really need to filter or can I drink it straight up?

Do's/Don'ts or a little sarcasm... go!

Yes, you should bring a way to treat water. I'm pretty sure all the campsites are awesome, the best campsite likely depends on which side canyons you want to explore that day. I thought the east side was slightly nicer than the west side.

I had an awesome campsite across from Booger Canyon last time ... the area around Horse Camp Canyon probably has the most/best sites in general.

nonot wrote:....... I'm pretty sure all the campsites are awesome, the best campsite likely depends on which side canyons you want to explore that day. I thought the east side was slightly nicer than the west side.

x2 -

If in a small or medium group and as the popular/bigger camps are generally picked-over for wood, I generally camp where the wood is. It can even be cool to camp up one of the side canyons as you are unlikely to encounter anyone up them.
Nice spring about 15 min. up Hell Hole canyon, creek right. I try to gather water from the side canyons to avoid the fertilizer that makes its way into the main creek. Should be an optimum time of year... enjoy!

@hikeaz
Thanks for your wisdom.......definitely going to go for Virgus Canyon for first night and Booger canyon for night 2. Less than a week away, cant wait....are we there yet? are we there yet?

I'll echo cactuscat, the sites right around Horse Camp Canyon are great. They provide a good base camp to explore Virgus and more importantly Horse Camp which I think is super cool!

Have fun!

Perhaps the most impressive side canyon is Hell Hole Canyon which is near the east end. It's a slot canyon containing a window, spring and hanging garden. You might have some fall color in Aravaipa which tends to peak near the end of the month.

Bumping this topic, as I have my first trip to Aravaipa coming up next month. Heading in from the East side. Based on the prior comments, seems that the Booger, Hell Hole, and Virgus are recommended side canyons for exploring, and Horse Camp Canyon and across from Booger are recommended camping spots. Any updates or additional wisdom/suggestions for a 3-day, 2-night trip?

Other than generally "exploring," any specific sites you'd recommend putting down as "destinations"?

Thoughts on setting up a single base camp for the two nights and exploring from there vs. setting up at different places in the canyon on each night?

As a general itinerary, I'm thinking:
Day 1:
Backpack in to the mouth of Hell Hole Canyon;
Drop backpacks and explore Hell Hole Canyon;
Return and then press on to the mouth of Booger for night 1 camp.

Day 2:
Explore Booger;
Return to night 1 camp & pack up;
Backpack up to mouth of Horse Camp;
Drop backpacks and set up camp for night 2 across from Horse Camp;
Explore further west in the main canyon (or check out Virgus)--opinions on which offers the best bang for your time?;
Return to Horse Camp for the night.

Day 3:
Explore Horse Camp Canyon;
Return to night 2 camp and pack up;
Hike back out to East Entrance.

Is that way too ambitious?
Any fans of Parsons Canyon? I know there are some nice ruins down that way, but not sure if they are too far back to make the trip worth it vs. other destinations.

Thx.

@ddgrunning Hell's Hole will take you the most time. Depending on whether this will be a weekend or not, I would probably go straight to Booger and explore Booger your first day and camp there. Do Horse Camp and Virgus on the 2nd Day and if you get done early, pack up and camp at Hell Hole the 2nd Night. Hit Hell Hole the 3rd Morning and hike out. And if you finish early, I highly recommend dropping the packs and hiking up Turkey Creek and visiting the Ruins. Parsons? Eh, it was ok, but I think the other three and Turkey Creek would be my priorities. Just thoughts.

@ddgrunning Hell Hole, Bogger and Horse Camp canyons are our favorites. As Outdoor_Lover says Hell Hole deserves the most time. I have only come from the West but we always camped at Bogger, the mid-point of Aravaipa Canyon. The East end has the most interest in my opinion. Bogger and Horse Camp each have large areas and attract the larger groups (8-10). If you are a small group more opportunities exist. Parsons and Virgus were each dry when we explored them and lowered our interest. My opinion pick a central point for your base camp and keep it, day hike and exploring is not far. Deer Creek (Hell Hole) we went in all the way to the Wilderness Border and back out to Base Camp at Bogger for a day. High chance of seeing big horn sheep on the cliffs of Hell Hole. Enjoy!