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| Triple Arch Revisited, AZ | |
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| | Triple Arch Revisited, AZ | | | |
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Triple Arch Revisited, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.99 Miles |
1,658 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.99 Miles | 8 Hrs 21 Mns | | 1.67 mph |
| 1,658 ft AEG | 1 Hour 47 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | We had passed by Triple Arch a couple weeks prior, but it was dark at that time so we decided to keep moving along. This time we returned to explore it in the afternoon sun. We started at the Willow Springs trailhead around 1pm and traversed the easy, well-maintained trail to the Rough N Ready Canyon. Wildflowers were ubiquitous and in full bloom, so we stopped numerous times for pictures.
In Rough N Ready Canyon, we investigated a smaller arch. The stone was about 15-20 feet high, and the opening was 1.5 feet high by 3 feet diameter. There were a few medium size rocks within the arch which made the opening harder to visualize from a distance. Is this a named arch?
Just beyond the arch, we explored a cave which turned out to be a tunnel, approximately 30-40 yards long. At the other end of the tunnel was another cave in the canyon wall approximately 25 feet off the ground. We climbed up to explore that one as well; it was about 20 yards deep and at the far end was a hole which looked over another part of the canyon. We continued on to Black Glass Canyon. The canyons had only a few pools of water which were no more than 2 feet deep maximum, much less water than just 2 weeks prior. There was another small arch in Black Glass Canyon on the south side that we crawled through to bypass a steep part of the canyon.
We were surprised to find the easy, well defined trail up to Triple Arch, as we had thought there would be some climbing and bushwacking. We explored Triple Arch and took in the views before descending back to the canyon. We proceeded west and exited the canyon toward the saddle. The ascent to the saddle was easy, but the descent back was a little more thorny. There was another tiny arch just before we re-entered Rough N Ready Canyon.
Overall, it was a beautiful day. We achieved our goal of investigating Triple Arch, explored 2 caves, and found 3 additional arches along the way. We enjoyed numerous bird melodies on the trail and echoing in the canyons. We encountered only 7 humans during the first 3 miles and it was easy to maintain distancing. And no snakes this time. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Ubiquitous in the first 3 miles. Red, yellow, orange, purple. |
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