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| Cholla Tank Canyon via Hackberry, AZ | |
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| | Cholla Tank Canyon via Hackberry, AZ | | | |
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Cholla Tank Canyon via Hackberry, AZ
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| Canyoneering | 6.44 Miles |
541 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 6.44 Miles | 4 Hrs 57 Mns | | 1.54 mph |
| 541 ft AEG | 46 Mns Break | | | |
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| | Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use | | A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit |
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| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
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| partners | | Kara texted to let me know that she found a possible slot canyon in the Supes and was creating a route to get there. She asked if I was in and obviously I was! I’m typically the one creating routes/navigating, so I was pumped to just go along for the ride! 
We met at 7:00am at the Boulder Rec Site and dropped off my vehicle and then proceeded to jump in Kara’s Subaru to drive to the first water horse lot for our start point. The sunrise that morning was spectacular, so we ended up stopping twice for pics to enjoy it along the way!
First water road was in the best condition I’ve seen it in a while and the horse lot was pretty empty in the early morning. We started off on Hackberry trail and did a quick side trip to the spring (barely dripping). The last time Kara and I were there (4ish years ago), the creek was raging so badly that we didn’t make it up to the spring! It really is a beautiful trail and was quiet in the early morning hours. We did see one person in a tent who’d been backpacking and one other couple heading out while on the trail.
Soon, we headed off trail in a cross country type fashion just hiking amongst the desert. The topo had looked like it was going to be completely flat, but we ended up needing to cross several washes, so there was quite a bit of up and down on unstable ground. Also, it was a multiple forms of cacti avoidance obstacle course for the majority of the trek. We were able to follow some random cairns and/or travel in the washes for a part of it, but mostly just following the path of least resistance.
Next we arrived in Cholla Tank Wash and began traveling down the canyon. Kara’s book had talked about 3 different obstacles that we’d encounter, so I was excited about that! There were gorgeous views with a goldfields vibe while we made our way into the meat of the canyon. Tons of caves that looked like they’d be fun to check out. The obstacles were a ton of fun to navigate! Nothing was overly difficult and we were able to stay dry through all of them. If there were more water flowing in this canyon, I think the route would be a tad more tricky, but for us it was great.
The geology was really cool in this part of the canyon and although it wasn’t really a full slot, the walls did get narrow and high in one particular section. We worked our way through the rest of the canyon which included some typical canyon downclimbs over larger boulders. The canyon ends and you are greeted with a lovely view of the lake! There is a short, steep scramble out to get you back on a path that heads to the parking lot where your vehicle will be waiting!
Definitely a fun little adventure and great to check out a new area of the Supes! I drove Kara back to her vehicle which was parked at first water horse lot and it was quite busy as compared to early in the morning. |
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| Restless between adventures... |
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