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| Hiking | 12.23 Miles |
1,580 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.23 Miles | 7 Hrs 47 Mns | | 1.96 mph |
| 1,580 ft AEG | 1 Hour 32 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | It was a beautiful day with a clear sky and highs in the 70s. We chose this loop because it's nearby and we haven't been there yet. The triplog from @adilling on 10/2/2021 was our inspiration. The parking lot was full at 1030am, but 3 cars pulled out within 5 minutes of our arrival, so we didn't wait long.
We went clockwise on the loop. There was a lot of fire damage in the first 3 miles, but every burned cactus and bush had new green plants surrounding it, which was simultaneously sad and hopeful.
We descended to West Boulder Canyon, which had light flow and was very pleasant. We headed west through the canyon about 0.35 miles and ascended to Dead Woman Cave, which involved mild scrambling and a few thorn incidents. The cave was ok, pretty shallow and not overly impressive, but it had outstanding views. We watched a group of people on horses make their way along Dutchman Trail, and could clearly hear their conversations from the cave. There's a small tunnel in the back of the cave that extends about 15 feet but didn't have any cool artifacts or animals hiding back there.
We descended to the canyon and made several attempts to go straight across to Dutchman Trail, but were thwarted by thick catclaw each time, so we went back along West Boulder Canyon until it intersected the trail. We went southeast to investigate Aylor's Arch, but couldn't find it. We checked out the large crested saguaro, which was very impressive, especially with Weaver's Needle looming in the distance.
At this point we headed back to the trailhead along the Dutchman Trail. The views were amazing the entire way, there was light-moderate flow in First Water Creek, and there were numerous birds chirping, so it was a delightful experience. We encountered 5 other hikers in total (plus the 5 people we saw on horseback) the entire day, despite the parking area being full. Overall, it was a fun adventure in a great area on a perfect day. |
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