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| Tonto Creek-Green Valley Creek, AZ | |
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| | Tonto Creek-Green Valley Creek, AZ | | | |
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Tonto Creek-Green Valley Creek, AZ
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| Backpack | 6.50 Miles |
1,055 AEG |
| | Backpack | 6.50 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 1,055 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Last year I explored this area in Tonto Creek/Green Valley from Wolverton Mtn. That trip was a day hike and was to check the access. The road FR 371 was fine but once I turned off on FR 454 it’s 4 miles of bad 4x4 road. However, the road was not enough to deter me from going in again and this time the plan was to do a quick overnight on Tonto Creek. Having already driven the road there was less concern this time but it does take hour and a half to cover 10 miles of dirt road and some patience.
We arrived at the starting point about 11am, grabbed the backpacks and headed down canyon. The first part is old road that soon just follows the side drainage to Green Valley Creek. It’s about mile and a quarter to Green Valley Creek with the last 500 feet a minor boulder hop. Once in Green Valley Creek it’s about ½ mile to Tonto but it’s serious boulder hopping so slow going. Much less water in Green Valley Creek this year than last year with only a few small pools.
We made it to Tonto Creek about 130 with the heat of the day but fortunately there are plenty of pools to stay cool in. We lounged and headed downstream to enjoy the large pools with a floaty and beverage. Very relaxing afternoon despite the warm temps! After several hours we headed back to Tonto-Green Valley confluence and setup camp. The sun was behind the cliff by now so we had good shade to relax. Temps were comfortable as it cooled off nicely and we had a good camp for the night.
Next morning, we managed to pack up and start hiking in the shade again. Really wasn’t too hot on the hike out except maybe the last ¾ mile. We went out the same way so the bouldering in Green Valley Creek was mandatory but it was still in the shade. Made it back to the truck about 10am with plenty of time to drive slowly out FR454. Nice quick overnight with great pools!
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Green Valley Creek |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | No real flow. Just small pools especially closer to the confluence with Tonto Creek. | | _____________________
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