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| Carney Springs to First Water, AZ | | -
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| | Carney Springs to First Water, AZ | | | |
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Carney Springs to First Water, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.48 Miles |
2,079 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.48 Miles | 5 Hrs 52 Mns | | 1.98 mph |
| 2,079 ft AEG | 34 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | | Perfect conditions call for desperate measures! So, I broke my loose shuttle rule, dropping the motorcycle early at First Water TH and then heading around to Carney Springs. In the dim morning light, I noticed that some good soul has erased the stupid spray-painted arrows from the boulders along the route (at least until the Wave Cave junction). I've wanted to do just that for some time but have always found something more fun to do. Thank you, Forest Service, or whoever it was. It seemed the steep ascent to West Boulder Saddle was slow, but I still gained the pass in under an hour. To access West Boulder Canyon, one just continues to follow the Supes Ridgeline route west for another half mile past the saddle. The rocks at the canyon's head were super slippery from the hydrated lichens and water seeps, but these first steep sections were still a fairly manageable downclimb. The route gets junglelike (as arizonaheat warns), but not as bad as I'd expect from looking at the unburnt canyon from above. Each time the creek bed seemed impassable, I would just ascend slightly right and traverse, staying on the east side of the canyon until about the 3.3-mile point. Eventually one must don the water shoes and wade into the water to frolic with the Fishy Paddle Maggots. The rock corral was at the five-mile mark and was the only really crappy catclaw bushwack that actually tore my shirt. The water level ebbs and flows depending on terrain (exposed rock or gravel) and how much water is merging from every side drainage. Most of the canyon is absolutely enchanting in its current state. On my previous two trips here, the huge clumps of grass below Willow Spring were such a hassle, in that you couldn't see if there were snakes or know where to step for solid footing. However, the large grass is currently dead and flattened by flooding from the recent storms and the hangry snakes haven't emerged (yet). I exited via Tims Saddle because that's the route I thought the guide described. Consequently, I may go back again sometime to complete the last, lower section of the canyon but I doubt it's as nice as the upper part. |
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