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| Canyoneering | 4.80 Miles |
1,093 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 4.80 Miles | 10 Hrs | | 0.69 mph |
| 1,093 ft AEG | 3 Hrs Break | | | |
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| | Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit | | B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit |
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| partners | | Im almost at a loss for words when it comes to properly describe the way I feel about this magical place! 
Our hike started 3 miles earlier than expected due to how insanely rocky and rough the forest road off of AZ-177 is, I'm realizing Google maps is not even labeling the name of the FR rd for some reason but if I remember correctly it was 317 or 377 anyway we made a smart decision to park at one of the few good pullouts and begin our hike there. Once we climbed to the top of the fr rd which was around 900ft in gain according to route scout we were greeted with our first sweeping views of Devils Canyon and its unique rock formations, not to mention the spectacular view we had of Picket Post mountain looking back west.
Stopped for some shade, snacks and cold beers at the EK tank as we planned out our route and descent into the canyon. Wildflowers were plentiful and that whole area around the tank and all of the drainage's to canyon were lush with green vegetation.
The trek across the "locals path"/ cattle trails down to the old rock wall and then down to the canyon floor went surprisingly well as we were all eager to get to the cool pools and waters of the creek as the sun was beaming down upon us.
Once we neared the creek Brian pointed out the sound of good flowing water which just filled me with excitement as I trampled through some brush to get a sight of the water. Not far from our entry point we reached the top of the first pool and it was glorious! The flow of the water was more than enough to provide a beautiful waterfall flowing into the large pool below which was much bigger than what pictures made it seem which just made me even more anxious to see the other four pools knowing that the first pool is not even close to as big as the 4th and 5th.
I found the bypass to the base of the first pool without getting wet and proceed to set up for some photos of the waterfall. Brian then proceed to scout and find a bypass of the remaining pools which he was successful! Immaculate, extraordinary, massive are just a few of the words I could use to describe the 4th pool along with the waterfall and surrounding setting, truly one of my favorite places I've had the blessing to visit. Except it's hard to pick a favorite as we made our way down to the 5th and final pool it too was an a astounding sight! Each pool much different than one another and the all have such mind blowing views. We dubbed this as more of a scouting trip and getting a feel for the area type of expedition so we will be back to go through the 5 pools the fun and exciting way along with a few other unexpected surprises! Although before we made the hump up and out of the canyon I jumped into the first pool from the top of the falls and boy was the water freezing!  It felt great at first but then I immediately found my heart beating much faster than usual and made a very quick swim to the edge lol my original plan was to wade in the water and back float a little due to how hot it was outside but that cool canyon water plunge was all my body needed.
Our trek out was a fun one to say the least! Really though, I love when things don't go quite as planned and end take a different path because you never know what you may find! We found ourselves chasing down one of our group members who went ahead and is thinking he went the wrong way we followed a rough cattle trail along the northern side of a Mesa instead of the southern side like earlier in the day. Well we ended up coming across another extension of the rock wall and even an old abandoned cabin which is one of my favorite things to stumble upon in the wild, especially when it was unexpected like this one. We soon made it to the EK tank then back to the FR rd and with a gorgeous setting sun to top of the day and then the remaining couple miles underneath the moonlight and stars made for quite the prefect day of exploring!  |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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