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| Bonita and Cibecue Creeks, AZ | |
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| | Bonita and Cibecue Creeks, AZ | | | |
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Bonita and Cibecue Creeks, AZ
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| Backpack | 9.70 Miles |
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| | Backpack | 9.70 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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none
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| no partners | | Veterans Day weekend provided off, so we headed out to the Gila Box for what was supposed to be a chill backpacking trip. The posted route is of our route north (one-way).
Friday:
We left the Valley at 7a.m. The drive went by fast, but that last 5 miles on the road to Bonita Creek is slow and uncomfortable, to say the least. We arrived at 11a.m. and the creek was still super high from a recent flood event, which I verified with the stream gage data. Unfortunately, this made trekking on the banks and in the creek very difficult. Walking in the creek was very muddy and the water was deep. Walking on the banks was straight bushwhacking, every step of the way. Even with long sleeves and pants, my arms and legs were bleeding in the first few hundred meters. This was definitely not the greatest backpacking trip I've been on. We didn't make it to our planned destination (junction with Midnight Canyon) on Friday night and pitched the tents on a grassy-ish bank near the creek.
Saturday:
With the realization that we travelled three miles yesterday in five hours, we decided to just return back to the vehicle. I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see midnight canyon, but my feet were soaked and cold by this point, and I didn't care where we were going as long as I could take my boots off soon. We made better time on the return, arriving back at the vehicle in three hours. It was only 12:30pm, as we began the rough drive out, so we decided to to salvage the day. Originally, the plan was to drive over to Gillard Hot Springs and spend the night there on the banks of the Gila. But we chose to continue through Clifton and Morenci along highway 191. Wow, what an incredible drive! The San Francisco River in Clifton is one of epic historical and ecological value. Highway 191 then follows the ridgeline all the way through Hannagan's Meadow, and then on to Alpine. And the sunset seemed to follow us the whole way. We spent the night at a friend's cabin just outside of Pinetop.
Sunday:
After mandatory breakfast burritos at Eddie's Country Store, we drove down highway 60 to the Salt River and hiked to Cibecue Falls. The Creek was flowing higher than base flow. I saw the USGS/SRP stream gage and told the group about the comprehensive hydrologic models that SRP uses. After the hike, I walked down to the confluence with the Salt. This River is crucial to Arizona. This view and this hike certainly redeemed all my mixed feelings about the high-water Bonita Creek. |
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Bonita Creek |
Heavy flow |
Heavy flow |
| | | Riparian area was flooded, above bankfull | | _____________________
| - there's nothing like finding Water in the Desert - |
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