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| Sloshing up Picadilla Creek, AZ | | -
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| | Sloshing up Picadilla Creek, AZ | | | |
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Sloshing up Picadilla Creek, AZ
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| Hiking | 4.10 Miles |
645 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.10 Miles | 3 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.23 mph |
| 645 ft AEG | | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | During our short jaunt a day ago along Forest Road 11 we encountered a nicely running Picadilla Creek. Not prepared for a long water slog Tracey was having none of it. But with her back to work I figured it would be just the ticket for a cool hike on a quickly-warming day.
Before leaving home I spent far too much time deciding on footgear.
Should I wear my...
1. usual waterproof boots?
2. newest as-yet un-worn Teva sandals?
3. cheap water-shoes?
4. fifteen-year-old New Balance running shoes?
#1? Nope... knowing the great likelihood of over-topping them I didn't relish that feeling
#2? Nope... I'd only wear them with neoprene socks... which after wasting 20 minutes searching I was unable to locate and gave up. (This would have been my preferred option)
#3? Nope... absolutely no support and too loose-fitting
#4? We have a winner!
Although the soles were completely smooth they were so comfortable and with the mesh uppers they would shed water pretty well. The only issue I would have was stepping into the quicksand-like spots when I'd go in so deep sand that pulled back up let a bunch of sand in. In some cases I was able to pull them out carefully enough and wash them off in a small falls to limit the influx of sand. I took one shoe off twice and the other three times when the aggravation of the grit got to be too much.
But no matter the issues with footgear, the crisp, cool water made it a real joy. Although I did spend some time on dry land, other than those times to detour around the biggest boulders, I spent the rest of the time walking in the water.
Due to the sheer amount of boulder-hopping and sloshing through unknown depth swirls below the many tiny waterfalls, I got a great workout with plenty of bending & stretching... no need for my daily stretches when I got home. Actually the workout was enough I turned around far sooner than planned due the slow pace along with taking too much time for photos and videos.
When I decided to turn around I had been trying for some time to send a photo to Tracey (so she could be jealous sitting at her desk at work) so when I saw some deer tracks going up one of the slopes I figured I'd climb high enough for a better signal.
Sheesh! That was a mistake... ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
I guess I was enjoying the creek water so much my brain failed to warn me about climbing and walking through thorny areas with the wrong footgear. Good thing I had my hiking poles for the ascent, sticking a pole in the ground and placing my shoe right next to it every step to keep from sliding back down. Of course the poles didn't prevent thorns from poking through the mesh.
And all for nothing... I guess Verizon REALLY wants me to replace this S5 with a new phone because it was still Sending the photo well after I got home and not only had 4G with full bars but WiFi as well. I finally rebooted it to finish sending it.
Too many photos and too much video, but hey, you can complete the full 3+ hour hike in just over 12 minutes:
Sloshing up Picadilla Creek (12-1/2 minute video)
Stats for the day:
Number of Homo-sapiens encountered = ZERO (Plenty of shooters nearby)
Number of bullet ricochets angrily whining overhead = ONE (thankfully just as I was getting into the car, but one more than enough) |
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