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| Canyoneering | 3.80 Miles |
85 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 3.80 Miles | | | |
| 85 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 |
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| no partners | | I usually enjoy a hike more the second time I do it. On the first pass through unfamiliar territory, sensory overload and the greater need for navigational awareness causes me to miss a lot of other details that are better appreciated in subsequent visits. But then, sometimes your first impression of a place is so glorious that it sets the bar impossibly high for future success...
Arriving at the creek, my enthusiasm abruptly tanked when I saw the velvety, chocolate milk colored water, thickly saturated with sticky mud. I had my son with me and at the same time I said, "Oh, #%@!", he said, "Oh, COOL!" Talk about different perspectives! Being a fairly recent transplant from the cooler and much wetter Pacific Northwest, he was more than sick of roasting alive in the scorching desert and just the simple fact that he was standing in cool liquid caused him to be delirious with joy. My disappointment over the situation was lost on him as he rushed ahead into the frothy, brown waters. ~ sigh ~ I guess sometimes you gotta look at things through someone else's eyes to reconnect with reality. He was thrilled enough for both of us, and since that was my primary goal in coming here, the trip was already a success.
But, oh the mud! With zero visibility in the water, caution was King and the going was painfully slow at times. Fortunately, there were enough opportunities for land travel to keep up a decent overall pace. And, I have to agree, cool liquid is also King (regardless of hue or viscosity) and we took advantage of every opportunity along the way to drop our packs and submerge. But, nothing prepares you for what's around that last bend. Muddy or not, the falls are still awesome and well worth the price of admission (which is still $15).
There has been some discussion over the distance to the falls and I am pleased to be able to settle that debate... sort of. I had the brilliant revelation of putting Lithium Ultimate AA's in my GPS instead regular or rechargeable batteries, thinking that the 'enhanced' power might be able to pull in a signal. This was (nearly) a complete success and I had a perfect GPS track all the way to the falls. When we stopped to enjoy a long break there, I tucked my pack under the deep alcove where my GPS continued it's 'journey' without me, logging an additional 2.5 miles of wild spaghetti which obliterated the track with nonsense. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to set a waypoint before it went haywire, so I have the co-ordinates for the falls (see last photo in set). The actual distance to the falls (as a smooth line drawn on a TOPO map) is just over 1.5 miles. The distance you must hike to get there is somewhat greater, depending on conditions. In our blind, serpentine trek for the best route, we logged 1.85 and it took us over 2 hours (but, we goofed off a lot).
Note: Unless your ride has wings, the 4 mile dirt road going in is currently impassable at the creek's confluence with the Salt River. The drop-off from the bank is enough to bottom out a monster truck and the creek is a minefield of giant boulders that you can't avoid (no, I did not try it). Parking would be along the road wherever you could squeeze in without blocking it. |
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I'm at home in the wilderness... it's civilization I have problems with! ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") |
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