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| Canyoneering | 4.80 Miles |
1,093 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 4.80 Miles | | | |
| 1,093 ft AEG | | | | |
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| | Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical; | | B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit | | Risky - Extraordinary risk factors exist; solid skills/judgement reqd; no beginners | | III - Normally requires most of a day |
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| no partners | | After having to work a half day on Saturday, I was a little skeptical about having a full canyoneering weekend. I stand corrected. We had turned the Jug into an afternoon excursion and set out for Oak Flats to camp and get an early start on Devils. In the am we got to the area and parked by the old windmill; secretly praying our non-4wd vehicle would make it back up the hill, at the end of the day.
The beta Curtis had found was from another hiking site  and was not as good as Joe's write up of this hike. We read through it questioning our route several times as we forged through the bushes, boulders and trees. We were thinking this was quite a hike to be doing in full sun, mid September.
We had reached the 1st pool/down-climb of Hackberry creek early on and passed it with out any trouble, the same was for the large round pool near the the Devil's canyon/ Hackberry junction. I easily found ways to climb around since the water was covered in a 3" thick coat of slime.  (NOTE: there is a large cairn where the creek intersects Devils Canyon this is VERY important on the way back since you will need to turn back into the creek at this point.)
After hours of heading down stream past countless bodies of disgusting water, we finally could see our prize! WOW! What a sight! We were SO HOT and SO ready to get in. I used the sketchy rope to down-climb figuring a fall would just get me wet, Curtis jumped right in! The 2nd mini pool had a slide that looked better than the Jug.. it was! The 3rd pool we used a 8mm static line doubled and left it in place for the return. Then we caught sight of the biggest pool and rappel(4th), Crazy awesome sight! Curtis rapped 1st and politely set his hat up to me so I could keep the waterfall off of my head, while trying to get off rappel. It was nice, and a really great way to clean Curtis' dirty climbing rope. We reach our stopping point here at the end of the largest pool, right above the 5th pool. It was good choice, besides the passage to the next pool wasn't straight forward... I couldn't see bolts and there was no safe way to the tree. We stayed and played; drying in the sun. The pools were still quite cold, even at their warmest point of the year.
When it was time to leave, I began to freak out a bit! The thought of ascending a rope in a waterfall, while wearing a waterlogged pack, made me want to vomit... I am not a strong person, and this seem like quite a feat. I am a climber so I evaluated the other options, NO WAY! The rock is very polished and from this point (at the top of the 5th pool) a slip would have been a fatal, non water landing... perhaps even bouncing into the 5th pool until they could recover my body. Ascending was the option, I didn't realize this was going to be part of things today. Just like staying the night on the side of the mountain, it was my only choice.
The fear was real, but the task was a little easier than I imagined. Very slow going but possible... Then the ropes were crossed; by moving the non weighted rope I made the knot slip from the anchor, I dropped 3 feet.  After a little scream, I was back on task again.. and at the top. (NOTE: (1)it's hard to ascend over a ledge where the rope is taught on the rock (2)have the plan VERY clear because you can't hear each other well from under the falls)
The sun was fading fast and the swims were so cold, the last climbs were a little tough but short, to save time we didn't ascend the ropes. The Sun had set while Curtis put on his dry shoes, I had my wet salomon's with the wool hiking socks these work great wet or dry, I always bring a headlamp.
It was a tough trek up the canyon and through all of the obstacles. From now on I will always keep my handkerchief to use with my headlamp if the bugs are thick.. Bugs of all sizes were flying in our nose eyes and mouths.. UGH I hate bugs! I was shocked how fast we were coming up on specific landmarks, and HUGE thanks to Curtis for remembering the cairn, we caught the Hackberry creek junction. (verified by the photo I had taken earlier) About an hour left... we estimated the current time to be around 11pm. Hackberry is much more scenic and easier to navigate; much more rock hopping then bush whacking. When we were on the home stretch Curtis saw a rattlesnake, it didn't rattle. I don't know how he saw him he blended so well and was very light in color. We had to take the catclaw detour to go around him but after that we were home free. Except we were still hoping our vehicle could make that tough hill..
Curtis kept enough speed and momentum to crest the hill and we were finally safe. It was only about 10pm when we reached the car, but we had met in N Scottsdale at my work, the hour drive home was the hardest part of the day for me. I was so tired I was literally hallucinating and jerking to stay awake. |
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