| | -
-
-
-
-
| 2 labels |  |
|
1 |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.20 Miles |
1,640 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.20 Miles | | | |
| 1,640 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | | Was looking for a waterfall hike in the Pinalenos and the Ash Creek Falls came to mind. After reading recent triplogs, I was a little nervous about the conditions but we headed up the mountain to the Columbine Corrals and started off. Temps were in the low 60s at the start, but it had rained the night before, so everything was wet which cranked up the humidity. We descended into Ash Creek and crossed over to the old mill site. The trail was in great shape and once we passed the old mill area I even commented how awesome the conditions were. We climbed up the creek bypass and continued on another half mile until the trail just completely disappeared. We tried pushing through to find it but it was a Locust jungle so we stopped and contemplated our next move. Instead of turning around and heading back (which would have been the smart thing to do), we decided to spider-crawl down a steep embankment to the bottom of the creek (which turned out to be a bad decision). The creek was flowing nicely from the recent rains, however, it was filled with big rocks and burned trees which made it slow going through this portion. We came to the slick rock area and started up the embankment as the trail goes up high past the falls. Andy headed down to take some more pics of the falls, while I started up the steep section of the bypass route. It was clear right away the bypass route does not see any traffic as there was not a trail at all, just a steep climb up the hillside that was full of Aspen, Locust, and Raspberry bushes. I climbed up about 200 feet to where the trail should have been and stopped, waiting for Andy. Once Andy caught up it was a stupid half-mile bushwhack through thousands of Locust bushes until we finally made it back to the section with good tread. By this time the steep bushwhack had taken its toll on our arms, legs, and energy as we were pretty tired. Slow 1,100-foot climb back out to the TH getting home after dark. This was one of the most grueling hikes I've done in a while with all the bushwhacking and being filthy, covered in dirt. For anyone looking to hike Ash Creek, I would HIGHLY recommend against it until major trail maintenance can be done. |
|
Wildflowers Observation Moderate
|
|
| _____________________
Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.  |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
