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| Hiking | 7.30 Miles |
4,866 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.30 Miles | | | |
| 4,866 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | I last visited the Mount Graham area in the early 90's. It reminded me of my home state of Colorado. Great views and beautiful forests. I've wanted to head back there and finally made the trek after Jason suggested the area. Ash Creek Falls was my target for sure. Mount Graham is still beautiful, but the sheer number of dead trees and tree fall in the area was unbelievable. It’s a part of the natural cycle, but still depressing to see how this area has been transformed.
The weather was very nice at the start. It was clear they had a nice rain shower the day before as the ground was damp and all the lovely flora was covered in dew. Reading triplogs about this hike, I wasn't sure what to expect. The trail started off ok going down to the Webb Peak Trail and the mill. There was some pretty thick raspberries other new growth over the trail, but we could see the trail. Once we hit the mill area, it was actually nice. Cleared of trees and open.
We came across a cairned area that seemed to be where people have dropped down into the creek, but the erosion and tree fall as crazy. Choked out and washed out. We opted to take the bypass route to get to get to the falls. It started ok, but quickly devolved into a mess. The trail basically disappeared. It has been reclaimed by an immense locust forest. We decided to turn around.
The creek was below the trail, but a steep, rocky slope was in the way. I could tell Jason wasn't feeling it, but I knew I was so close to the slickrock and falls. I decided I wanted to proceed, and Jason reluctantly agreed. The creek is a real mess. I would have liked to see this area before the fires and subsequent floods.
We made our way down past the slickrock area and made it to the end of the "Bypass Trail". I wanted to see the falls, Jason was done with that and told me he would meet up on top of the trail. The trail going down was in ok shape, but overgrown. I saw a little ledge off trail and worked my way down. I got my view of the falls, and it was really nice. The waterflow was light, but it was still impressive.
Climbing out from ledge the was bad. Steep, loose soil, tree falls. It took me a while to finally climb out. I made my way over to the cairns marking the bypass and started up. That was another steep non-trail, trail. No semblance of a trail. I was looking at my track and it said I was right on top of it, but there was no trail. It was a brutal bushwhack back to the actual trail. The loose soil, tree falls and never-ending nasty locust. We were both happy to see the trail re-appear.
The climb out was a slow slog for both of us. But, we made it out. Jason is probably done with this trail. I, on the other hand, want to return when the falls and creek are flowing. Snowmelt in the spring sounds good to me. I know what to expect now, at least. This is a beautiful area and now that the trauma of getting ripped to shreds and beat up has faded, I will definitely be back. |
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"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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