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| Hiking | 1.36 Miles |
317 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.36 Miles | 1 Hour 36 Mns | | 2.40 mph |
| 317 ft AEG | 1 Hour 2 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | After our morning/early afternoon climb of Greenback Peak we were all set to search up Greenback Creek for the 75-80' waterfall I'd read about. While the drive was pretty much goinf back downhill for a few miles before heading up toward Malicious Gap TH, the downhill part was just as physically demanding to drive as the uphill was. (If you think driving a rough road like this is less demanding than hiking, try it some time... without power steering and on a 103 degree day without AC, I got much more of a workout driving than the climb up Greenback Peak. But it's a blast driving Sammy!)
Once we reached the trail head we set up our camp right away. We weren't sure how much time the hike would take and we sure didn't want to set up camp in the dark. After all, it was bear country... With a quick bagel and Starbucks Frapaccino pick-me-up we were off on the trail... actually a dry creek bed. Boulder hopping is the name of the game pretty much all of the way to the base of the falls. Once at the falls we took a few photos and sought a way to climb up the right side to the top of the falls. The climb wasn't bad with the help of the trees and light brush, at least up to the rocky area. That's where Tracey decided she'd turn around and wait for me at the base of the falls. Once I got past the thin rock ledge area it was a matter of climbing up a large rock fall and then over toward the falls and drop back to the upper creek bed.
After a few shots from the top of the falls to the base I was off in the direction of Malicious Gap. The first item of note was a stagnant water hole busy with bees and butterflies. Continuing on the going was easy, basically a flat section of rock for 50-100' then a small shelf up 2-4 feet followed by another flat section until the brush started to close in. It was getting late in the day and I was sure Tracey was wondering what kind of trouble I'd be getting into all by my lonesome so I figured it was time to call it a day and headed back. With our campsite just a few miles away I figured on returning in the morning with hopes of getting Tracey to climb above the falls and we'd complete the whole hike to Lion Spring.
We took our time on the return hoping to catch some wildlife that may be moving before nightfall. Once at camp with a long and hot (up to 103) day of driving & hiking behind us it was time for a dry shower... or at least it might as well have been. Attempting to get somewhat clean with a damp washcloth doesn't exactly make you feel clean, especially with the temperature still in the 90's and mosquitos attacking from all sides. Eventually we got our feet to start shedding the dirty look of having tramped all day through all kinds of terrain in our Teva's. With little air movement we left the fly off the tent, which paid off in dividends with a clear sky full of stars, and somewhere around 2 in the morning the moon was bright as could be for only a half moon.
Full set of photos is here:
http://www.changephoenix.com/11/2011-06-21MaliciousGap.html
Video links will be posted when they are edited and posted on YouTube. |
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