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| Flying V Canyon (WM Apache Res.), AZ | |
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| | Flying V Canyon (WM Apache Res.), AZ | | | |
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Flying V Canyon (WM Apache Res.), AZ
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| | Hiking | | 5 Hrs | | 0.00 mph |
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| no partners | | Flying V Canyon (02/28/2009)
Flying V Canyon is a side canyon of the well know Salt River Canyon. Exploring the side canyons in this area will reward adventure-seeking hikers with some of the most seldom visited and rewarding locations that can be found. Along with being beautiful, these same side canyons can also be very dangerous and demanding to hike. Few people explore this area, making it almost impossible to know what you're getting yourself into. You really need an adventurous sprit to hike this area. All you can do is pick a canyon, figure out how your going to get down into it, and just start hiking until you cant go any further. Going until you cant go any further sometimes happens sooner than you would prefer. Death drop water falls and slot gorges are never uncommon obstacles to encounter. Sometimes you can pick out a relatively safe bypass and other times you're completely done without climbing gear and the knowledge of how to properly use the equipment.
My obsessive pursuit of adventure and the unknown always keeps pushing me forward. I love getting into a location that has likely not been visited by more than a small handful of ambitious individuals. Finding those types of places is surprising easy when hiking within the White Mountain Apache and San Carlos Apache Reservation. Flying V Canyon is a route that I have wanted to attempt for some time now. My intent was to make it down to the Salt River, however I was suspicious of how successfull I would be. The vertical drop in elevation between where you access the canyon and where it intersects the Salt River is about one thousand feet. The canyon bottom is very narrow and is within a deep and sheer gorge. The odds were not in my favor.
Consequently, I did not make it down to the river. What a surprise. I may not have made it to the river but my hike was anything but a failure. My hike started out as a fairly straightforward boulder hop down a scenic canyon. The farther down into the canyon you get, the more interesting the obstacles become. The canyon walls start to close in on you and before you know it, you're in a narrow and deep gorge. The first few waterfalls were mainly just huge boulder jams. Manageable slick rock drops were becoming more and more frequent.
I was like a kid in a candy store while working my way down this canyon. It just kept getting better and better. What came up next can only be described as magical. The canyon walls towered above me and the bottom was now mostly solid rock. The creek had begun running above ground through this segment. Springs were dripping through lush vegetation along the canyon walls. A small grove of cottonwood trees was growing along the stream. The setting was so peaceful, yet unfortunately was also the end of the line. The stream at this point was sliding down a smooth vertical drop of about thirty feet with steep and jagged slopes on both sides. The pool below was about eight feet deep and crystal clear. It was absolutely stunning. The only conceivable bypass was just too dangerous and the price was too high. It's important to add that I cannot stand turning around just when things are starting to get good. I'm pretty gutsy, however this was just too sketchy for me. After about twenty minutes of contemplating how to get around an impossible obstacle, I finally gave up and decided to just relax and soak in the moment. It was a special day.
Last post until April...
During my hike in the Big Horn Mountains Wilderness I managed to injure both of my legs. I initially though that it was the lower hamstring tendons but now it seems to have something to do with the area between the tendons, coming up from the lower leg muscles behind the knee. What ever it is, it's a very annoying disability that cannot be ignored. Continuing to do the off-trail backcountry hikes that I frequent is not an option for a while. I thought this was going to be a two-week thing but that's proving to not be the case. The climb out of the canyon was fairly painful. This will be my last post until the first part of April. Between sessions of treadmill rehabilitation, I'm going to spend March in my kayak, fishing and relaxing. Oh well...  |
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| MATTHEW 11:28-30 / PSALM 84:1-2 |
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