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| Hiking | 7.33 Miles |
1,167 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.33 Miles | 2 Hrs 29 Mns | | 2.95 mph |
| 1,167 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | It's been eight years since I've hiked in Aravaipa: [ photoset ] .
My plan was to hike a 13½ mile loop up Bear Canyon, over a ridge, down Arizona Gulch to an abandoned ranch, thn down Deer Creek, before following Aravaipa Creek back to the east trailhead. Due to weather the night before, ad expected weather later on Wednesday, I had to modify my plan.
Thankfully, it was sunny and 48℉ when I started hiking at 11:00 a.m.
As I headed up the Bear Canyon road, the cliffs on the right (east) gradually gave way to bluffs, then easily climbable slope. To the left (west), several washes looked worth taking down on my return trip.
The road climbs 600 ft. in the next 1¼ miles. The steepest section, a mile up, wasn’t bad, because it was so short, but I did have to mind my footing on the way back down. OHVs would have no problem, and I think even my SUV could do it. Driving up wouldn’t save any effort on the loop, but it would allow you to save the best for last if you hiked the loop clockwise out of the Arizona Gulch ranch.
At the top of the climb, there is a triangle intersection: The first left goes directly to the weather station, the second left goes to Deer 3996 Benchmark. But decided to first at least take a peek further down the road.
The road is fairly flat for the next ½ mile. There is a jeep trail left, that heads southeast three miles, bordering the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, 600 ft. down a ridge to a possible observation point 300 ft. above Deer Creek. I bet that OP has great elevated angles of Hell Hole!
Another jeep trail is on the right. I only went maybe 50 yds. down it, but it follows the south rim of Arizona Gulch four miles to Aravaipa Townsite Rd. I found a concrete pole base, marked “?-26-1965 / J.T. Sanford / D.B. Sanford”, which is possibly related to the Arizona Gulch ranch.
I headed back up the road, then started down a grassy jeep trail towards the Deer 3996 benchmark. On satellite view, the jeep trail is obvious, and a mile long. I lost it after ⅓ mile. I could have gone cross country, but with the late start and worsening weather, said  it.
Back at the weather station -- marked A-34960 -- I had 3-bar LTE Verizon reception on my iPhone SE. (There is none at the trailhead.) Besides previously mentioned formations, the weather station also had great views south to Table Mountain and other peaks in the Galiuros.
Freezing my rear off, I made the 2¼ miles back to the trailhead in a speedy 43 minutes. Changed shoes, chugged a restorative V-8, and headed out, making the drive back to AZ-70 in 65 minutes. Good thing too, as the weather went all to hell that night. The wind was howling in Thatcher: I can only imagine what was happening in Aravaipa Canyon!
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/804825547 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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