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| Galiuros' Fall Walkabout, AZ | |
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| | Galiuros' Fall Walkabout, AZ | | | |
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Galiuros' Fall Walkabout, AZ
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| no partners | | Missing my mountains---- I don't know what alternate universe my mind was in conceiving this
trip but it was a combo of wanting to see the colors in Rattlesnake canyon and up Pipestem,
showing Brian a neat canyon and area of the Galiuros' I love. However, I seem to have totally spaced how difficult this might be in two days of shortened daylight as we go into the early winter, late fall season.
Late start--- delayed on Hwy 70 by a slow utility truck, then by a cattle drive with cowboys and herding dogs on Power Hill road, which is on a ridgeback so you can't really drive around the cows in the road and in places is really steep so you don't want to drive them off.
We parked on Rattlesnake Mesa and dropped into the deep Rattlesnake canyon. Nice to see the
sycamores and ash trees in orange and gold. I had thought since it had been dry a
while there would not be much water in the canyon here---discounting the spring flow. Mistake.
We wore jeans because of the amount of thorny bushwacking and poison ivy which you are going
to go through no matter what, but that meant I really didn't want to swim, wouldn't dry out quick enough.
Beautiful rock hopping, then at the first pool sure enough still a short swim. Climb around. Brian ferried packs, I am glad, because at one point I was spread on the rock face, one knee and tip of boot on a small ledge and my body smeared against the rock with the other leg trailing. Found a good bomber hand hold to swing across. Then my favorite, boot tips on ledge and heels hanging in space. You can tell I like climbing. We had to pull Charlie up a couple of these, he had his pack on so we had a handy way to get him up the climbs. Anyway then the high traverse around the pools, taking pics, Brian spotted an underwater arch. Need to come back and swim under that.
Drop back in at an area of slickrock and nice deep pools you can walk around. The crude trail in Sycamore canyon comes in then at the old road in the wide nice part of Rattlesnake canyon. A trail crew was working and camped in there, apparently contracted out by the Forest service. I am of mixed feelings about that here, like the wildness, don't like looking at lots of cairns and flagging tape. I can appreciate a nice trail.
Some maples and sycamores, giving the canyon a nice glow. I wasn't sure about water but there was plenty around. Pipestem was dry at the junction where Rattlesnake turns to go to the Garden, but in areas plenty of water and seeps. We camped at the area of the pink waterfalls, barely running now, but big pools and a nice small sand beach above a short small slot. A section of blazing maples just down canyon, on a cliff face. Not sure about the fire situation, but we built one at the edge of the beach, and Brian is a master at making remnants disappear as to not mar the area.
We were super tired from the thrashing in the harder canyon portion. Brian was getting some water from upstream when he slipped and fell on the slickrock. I was scared at first, he was pretty banged up, his knee, hip, shoulder and wrist---which might be badly sprained or broken; he will get xrays today--- and a cut on his palm. First aid kit use, and put cold water bag on various areas to cool it down.
I had thought I would not take a tent to lighten our load. However weather underground out of Safford said 20 then down to 10 percent chance of rain. I decided to take a small light tent, strung up my poncho tarp to give the dog and gear some shelter. Good thing, about 11:00 pm started at a gentle persistent rain that kept up for several hours and then resumed later. I know Brian was miserable; at least we had a good shelter.
Morning was nice, the cloud cover was clearing but it had kept it from getting really cold. We decided to hike up the canyon some to see the trees, Brian was not as sore if he was moving, but could not bear any weight on the hand. We saw some nice maples, but I can't remember if was the nice area I had seen before on a previous trip. Again, water off and on. It's a good time to take a backpacking trip in these mountains with water in the canyons.
We packed up and started out, back down the canyon and out for the roadwalk on the Power Hill
road, the views from the road is incredible. ( Off the Rattlesnake mesa, quad or modified 4wd only.)
A cool wind kept it comfortable; and the clouds were just great. The sun was lowering as we drove out, giving the shadows and color incredible beauty as we looked at the Santa Teresa and Pinaleno mountain ranges. I dropped Brian and Charlie off in Globe and drove home, very tired but glad to have been in my home, however hard it was to be. Hopefully the pictures will help tell the tale. |
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