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| Del Shay - Gun Creek Loop, AZ | |
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| | Del Shay - Gun Creek Loop, AZ | | | |
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Del Shay - Gun Creek Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.29 Miles |
3,189 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.29 Miles | 10 Hrs 25 Mns | | 1.71 mph |
| 3,189 ft AEG | 1 Hour 30 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Joe picked an area neither of us has been to before. Located East of Jakes Corner and South of Gisela, he put together a loop that let us explore Gun Creek.
First, if you go to this area to do this or the Del Shay trail, either call to get permission access or just park off FR1446 and follow the powerline to Tonto Creek. We parked up by the gate for the PP and skirted south, then east to bypass the property. Not a pleasant route.
The temps were in the high 20's on the way in. Not the ideal temps for a mandatory Tonto Creek crossing. Joe went first through the cold swift water, it was crotch deep for him. He made it with minor whining.
How to cross Tonto Creek  https://youtube.com ... ByeA
I went next, and it was waist deep for me. I was 1 step away from making the shore, when I hit a hole an fell flat on my face in the water. Luckily the sun was out by now and after taking my long shirt off it wasn't too bad as long as we kept moving.
We followed the Del Shay Trail for a bit before we went off trail and climbed to FR894 using trails created by our bovine friends. 6-1/2 miles in and we're finally to Gun Creek. It was flowing much stronger than we anticipated. This would mean instead of being able to just follow the 3.3 mile creek, we'd have numerous crossings and bypasses that would add more than a mile and take 4.5 hours to negotiate. What a pretty area though...
Gun Creek Video https://youtube.com ... t=vd
At one bypass we finally just decided to keep going up and out of the creek. We hopped on the Del Shay to make our way back to Tonto Creek for an uneventful crossing back to the truck.
A long, tough, but enjoyable day... |
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Rye Creek |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | Cool to cold, flowing strong | | _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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