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| Y Bar - Deadman - Rock Creek, AZ | |
| | Y Bar - Deadman - Rock Creek, AZ | | | |
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Y Bar - Deadman - Rock Creek, AZ
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Backpack |
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Feb 11 2017 |
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The_N |
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Backpack | 27.47 Miles |
6,244 AEG |
| Backpack | 27.47 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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6,244 ft AEG | | | |
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Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Mazzie Waterfall Tour 2017. Slept at the TH Friday night and before the hike even started I spotted a Teva, a Tortoise & an Eagle on Saturday a.m. Nice to meet you fellas. Myself, Dallin & Bradley set off up Y Bar first. Looks like some work was done on Y Bar. Still rocky as ever, but some of the old deadfall was removed and replaced by new deadfall. No navigational issues here. Water flowing from every drainage. We hit the Divide and set out for Bear Spring and a lunch break. Essentially, all we did was add 2 hours of snow plowing by adding this trip. Good times, though. There was plenty of new deadfall along this stretch that we have previously cleared. Bear Spring was not the oasis it usually is during warmer months. It's currently still snowed in. There were a couple of 'unnamed' falls along the Divide between Y Bar and Bear Spring. The Divide Trail was a real treat this weekend. Patches of snow and plenty of water. We didn't even carry any water. Get thirsty, drink from the next drainage. We arrived at Horse Camp with wet feet, set up, and me and Dallin took off for Deadman Falls by following the creek there. Truly, a spectacular sight. Cacti and pines below a huge waterfall and neat geology. We ran into a group of backpackers I had chatted with at the TH. They were camping right at the edge of Sandy Saddle Falls. Back at camp, we enjoyed a very comfortable night, huge fire & an early a.m. sprinkle or two. Sunday a.m. we were off and headed up Rock Creek Trail. Not much of a trail to begin with. We followed the path of least resistance until finding cairns and the actual 'trail' which still requires pushing through manzanita. The other side of Rock Creek Trail is pure beauty. Perhaps one of my favorites. A snowy, pine covered hillside to the North meets a rocky, cacti & manzanita covered hillside with a raging creek in between. The views of the Mazzies, Tonto Basin and beyond are amazing, as well. After some steep downhill, we were cruising and missed the Half Moon junction. A quick uphill bushwack straightened us out. Half Moon Trail was the biggest unknown for me on this trip. Turned out the be in much better shape and more scenic than I imagined. Where the trail disperses, cairns are there to guide you. The 2 big seas of catclaw are impressive. We finished back at the Barnhardt TH just as storms moved in. Ended a great trip with the first thunder/lightning show of the year. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated Saw a few small species of blooms. The show is just getting started. |
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If there is no struggle, there is no progress. |
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