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| Canyoneering | 6.20 Miles |
1,239 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 6.20 Miles | 5 Hrs 1 Min | | 1.46 mph |
| 1,239 ft AEG | 47 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The last time I hiked Sabino Canyon trail #23 I could hear the sound of rushing water down below and developed an insatiable need to explore this nearly invisible part of Sabino Canyon. After reading a few tidbits on this site and others (including the 2010 triplog from @Vaporman) I decided to, quite literally, take the plunge.
After sourcing some gear (waterproof dry pack and wetsuit) it became apparent that my only opportunity to do this trip was going to be Feb 28 or wait several weeks. Although the weather wasn't ideal (forecast in the 50s and very windy) I decided that I could always bail out if things got ugly.
Took the 9am tram to the last stop and powered through the 2.6mi to the intersection with the East Fork. Turned left and proceeded down the stream until I hit the first pool that would require wading. There was a nice clean slab of granite here so this was the perfect spot for a snack and to change into my wetsuit. After making sure that my $20 Amazon special dry backpack appeared to be air tight I sent a quick InReach note to my wife to wish me luck and set off.
Plotted a course through the center of the pool in front of me and proceeded down the East Fork. From here to the confluence with the West Fork I traversed a series of narrow pools with small falls on the outlets. Depth ranged from a few feet to a couple of spots where I couldn't easily find the bottom. This was primarily a swimming excursion at this point and it was an absolute blast.
The water was COLD . I took temperature measurements in a few different spots and depending on depth and sun exposure it was between 48 and 51 degrees. Fortunately, the 3/2 wetsuit I bought worked out perfectly and I never felt chilled in the water.
The confluence was a bit of a let down as I had expected something interesting to happen here, but it was nothing more than two streams coming together. Looking up the West Fork I saw what appeared to be a similar set of pools to what I had just traversed.
From the confluence to the narrows the stream bed opened up and I was mostly wading through small knee-deep sections and a lot of slippery rocks. Stream flow slowed enough in this area that there were several spots that were more like a marsh than a stream.
As I approached the narrows the stream tightened up and the terrain became more technical with larger boulders and deeper pools. There is a large pool in the center of the narrows which I've seen referred to as Miner's Pool. This is a very deep pool at the entry which makes for some fun jumping in off of the boulder choking the gap. There's even a very dodgy rope on the stream left side which may or may not be safe to pull yourself back up for another jump. If it weren't for the wind and its cooling effect on my wetsuit I would have spent some more time here.
Below the narrows things got quite a bit more technical and really started pushing the limits of my skills. In this stretch house and car-sized boulders create a series of stepped pools. Unfortunately in several places the drop from the upper pool to the lower one is significant and the pool below isn't nearly deep enough to support a jump.
In three spots I had a lot of trouble finding a route. In one of those I successfully navigated a safe path. In another I found a safe path, but slipped when trying to execute which made for a much less controlled descent than I would have liked. The third one was the one that really scared me and if it weren't for the lucky deposit of a piece of driftwood I'm not sure I would have made it through. I ended up finding a path by hiking up the side of the canyon to bypass the boulders which was reasonably easy, but through a forest of thorny plants. Once into the lower pool I realized that one of the more direct routes which I had initially dismissed would have been reasonably easy to execute. Hindsight is always 20/20...
Once out of the technical section is was a wading a rock-hopping exercise to pickup the trail that leads back up to the road. Once I had gotten to the exit point and changed out of my wetsuit I only had a few minutes to catch the tram. I started up the trail and could hear the tram approaching. Not certain that I would make it I jumped off the trail into the adjacent drainage and started boulder hopping up the side of the hill. Popped up at the guardrail, startled a number of people, and took a seat on the waiting tram.
This was, without a doubt, the most fun I've had in a long time. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have done this excursion alone, but with the exception of the technical spots toward the end it was all very manageable for someone with no prior experience. |
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