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| Canyoneering | 3.60 Miles |
540 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 3.60 Miles | 1 Hour 15 Mns | | 2.88 mph |
| 540 ft AEG | | | | |
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| | Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use | | B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit | | II - Normally requires a half day |
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| no partners | | I can guarantee you 3 things about this hike.
1. Getting to it might be the worst road I've ever seen. An hour and fifteen minutes to travel 6 miles. Do not attempt to get to this hike if you have a stock car or 2wd truck. Even a stock 4wd truck will have some troubles. My truck is lifted 3" and I still hit bottom a couple of times. I would highly recommend a 4x4 with a lift.
2. This is not your standard beginners hike. If you are afraid of heights, slipping on loose dirt, insects or water animals (fish, crawdads, water spiders, etc), this is not the hike for you. For the beginning hiker. there are places on the hike down that you will probably have to scoot your way down on your butt. There are also spots that are very narrow. On the way up there is some tough footing and areas you may have to pull yourself up a little or at least brace yourself so you don't slip. I do not consider the hike down or up terribly dangerous, but it's not your normal day hike. I'd call it more of a mountain descent and ascent.
3. This has to be the greatest destination in Arizona. With everything said above, it's worth it. This place is incredible. The mix of the climb up and down, the rock hopping to move down and up stream and the swims/floats are INCREDIBLE! I recommend everyone take this hike next Summer, you will not regret it.
Now to the actual hike. Let's start first with how to get there. It seems some of the Forest Roads have changed since the driving directions on the main page of this hike. To save you from having to waste any time being lost like I was, here is an update to get yourself to the hike.
When you exit Highway 260 onto FR142 you will be on a dirt road and will immediately encounter a few other dirt roads. FR142 goes to the left. Do not take the first road you see on the right and do not continue straight. You will go to the left, even though it is unmarked. Eventually, when you are on FR142A you will see a sign for FR142J. FR142J is blocked by a HUGE tree. At the time of this writing, you can not get past it. Continue on 142A another 20 yards or so and you'll see an unmarked road. Take a left on it to bypass the downed tree. I never saw any signs for FR142B. As far as I can tell I went straight from FR142A to the FR142J bypass and then on to FR142J after getting by the large downed tree. Take FR142J all the way until it ends. It ends right at a camping spot with a camp fire on your left.
Now to start the trek down. The description on the main page says that the start of the trail down is slightly to the left. We looked left and couldn't find anything, so we decided to just start making our way down. We ended up traveling about half way down off the marked path. It seemed kind of strange, but we actually slid down slowly where the water runs down the mountain during/after a rain. We just didn't know any better. Later when we climbed up we followed the cairned path all the way up and ended up almost dead even with our truck. So if you park right at the end near the camp fire, just walk straight toward the canyon to find the start of the path.
As mentioned, the first half we made our own path down. It looked like others had gone that way before, but it definitely was not the main route down. No worn trail and no trail markings. About half way down we ran into the actual path and took it the rest of the way. Because of the slow going during the first half with not having an actual trail it took us about 45 minutes or so. It probably should take less than 30.
Once we made it all the way down, the scenery was beautiful. Huge rock walls around us and flowing water at our feet. When you first get down the water is very sparse. You have to walk/rock hop down steam about 10 minutes or so to get to the parts where you have to cross water and swim/float. Because of the water, I would recommend June/July/August as the times to go here. The water is probably about the same anytime, but the hot weather would be helpful to balance the cold water. We got out of the house too late, got lost finding the correct forest road and then didn't plan on taking an hour and fifteen minutes to go 6 miles, so we didn't make it to the end of the creek and the hanging gardens. We did a few swims with our tubes and then had to head back before it got too dark.
There is no doubt I will return next Summer with an earlier start and better knowledge. Hopefully my description will help others get to it with less problems and allow you to enjoy the area for a full day. A 9am or 10am start time would probably be ideal. You will also want some sort of water shoes, at least when you get down to the creek. Something like Teva's or the like that has a solid sole, but can be in the water when you are swimming/floating down stream. Taking off and putting on shoes would be a real hassle. Also, be VERY careful with slippery rocks. Consider every rock slippery and be prepared to slip/fall when walking through shallow parts of the creek. I would also suggest a water proof bag. We found a large one at Walmart for about $10 or $15. It was great. You throw your stuff in it and it keeps everything dry and it even floats on the water if you let it go or drop it.
In conclusion, add this destination to your wish list! You will not be sorry. It's well worth any hassles to get to it. |
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