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| Backpack | 20.55 Miles |
910 AEG |
| | Backpack | 20.55 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 910 ft AEG | | 37 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | This one was a doozy! 
Joel introduced me to this creek about a year ago. What's not to be intrigued by? A 30-mile perennial creek with a huge catchment in the mountains above ... lined with lush Cottonwoods, sheer cliffs, and deep pools. Oh, and basically nobody knows anything about it. Web searches turned up next to nothing.
So months and months of research, countless hours poring over maps planning routes, researching access, land ownership, dozens of permission requests mailed, phone calls made, numerous replies spanning affirmative, negative, and just being hung up on -- to finally pick a date in April when we figured the temperatures would be right for this kind of adventure. Then in the past month or so, I set out on two separate reconnaissance trips just to see if it was possible to even get close to this creek. I can assure you that maps and satellite photos are nothing to what you learn on the ground. This never would have happened if not for my recon trips.
Finally, the day came, and we headed out on Wednesday. Knowing it would take 6 hours to get there, we decided to take a break and do a car camp overnight in an interesting area about an hour from the creek. (Separate triplog) Thursday morning we drove the final 10 miles to the creek. This is a white-knuckle, 4-low crawl that takes 90 minutes. It's actually a little stupid to do this with only one vehicle because if something happens, you are an eternity away from any assistance.
So finally, at the creek, we loaded up and headed upstream for our three-night adventure.
Here's what you need to know about this creek. There's a reason why nobody goes here. There's a reason why there's no information about it online. It's gross. This area is so heavily grazed by cattle that the creek--and the entire canyon--has had it's ecosystem basically destroyed. The cattle have trampled tons of vegetation. Cow paths exist everywhere. And cow poo and urine have destroyed this otherwise pristine mountain stream. The water has several species of algae (flora?) that I've never seen before. And it's scary ugly and gross looking. There is nothing living in this creek except for the algae. You would think a creek by this name would have fish? Nope. I'd suspect that they simply can't live in this water.
In this remote area along a beautiful creek, there are very limited signs of other wildlife. No footprints in the sand or mud. Literally none. We saw coyote poop twice. In 20 miles. No javelina. No mountain lion. No ringtail. No coati. We did smell a skunk a couple of times. And saw a handful of squirrels. But it was surprising how little sign of other activity existed. Just cows. It was truly depressing to see.
Despite that, it was still strangely beautiful. So amazingly remote. Not a single sign of human visitation. We were here and we enjoyed exploring 10 miles upstream over two days. Originally we had planned to go all the way to the spring that makes up the headwater of the creek, but decided that the extra day wasn't needed. We ended up hiking back out a day early.
One positive was avian life. There were more birds than I can remember seeing anywhere. I think these large healthy trees and cliff faces provide a home for them and being above the cattle provides them some relief. And there were a ton of lizards in the sand. Which presumably fed on the hundreds of spiders in our camps  . We also saw two whipsnakes frolicking (necking?) together.
It's a fascinating creek, and there are many beautiful areas along it's banks. But I can't help but wonder how amazing it could be if not for the destruction caused by the grazing. The open range land in that part of the state is beautiful. Trout Creek could be a gem, but it disappoints. The rewards for the efforts required to get there aren't that great. But if it's solitude you seek, there are few places that provide more than here. |
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Dividing Canyon |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | Light flow entering Trout Creek from Dividing Canyon |
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Gonzales Wash |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | Gonzalez is the lower part of Dividing Canyon, where a light trickle was entering Trout Creek | | _____________________
| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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