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| Hiking | 10.65 Miles |
579 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.65 Miles | 6 Hrs 12 Mns | | 1.75 mph |
| 579 ft AEG | 6 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | With recent photos of the area popping up in multiple places, I figured I'd check availability for permits - and discovered that there happened to be one lonely permit for the west entrance available for the day. After some technical difficulties (printer malfunctions), I had my permit in hand and headed out to the trailhead. On arrival, there were 4 other vehicles parked in the lot.
Knowing my feet were going to be getting wet numerous times, I brought my neoprene socks. After getting those wrestled on, I wasn't sure if I wanted to start the hike with my long sleeved shirt on, but the air temps still felt a little chilly so I left it on. With a light breeze and the walking often shaded, I was glad to have it.
Sure enough, not long after getting down to the drainage, a crossing was necessary. The walking was straight forward - following use paths on either side of the creek, or staying in the creek itself. The lower section provided a mix of views of the riparian zone right around the creek and out to the more typical desert scenery further afield.
Popped up into Hells Half Acre and scrambled up past the first pool, only to be stopped immediately afterwards by another pool and a 10-15 ft dryfall. Headed back and continued up canyon, enjoying some of the geology along the way. I eventually made my way to Virgus Canyon, the entry of which is full of extremely large boulders (and a good sized pool). I spent some time scrambling around the boulder field to see if I could find my way up canyon. Alas, the boulders were large enough that I didn't feel comfortable scrambling around solo. After a time check, I figured I probably didn't have sufficient time to make it up to Horse Camp canyon (and certainly not enough time to explore up that drainage), so I decided to call that my turn around spot and returned back to the trailhead.
On my way back, I startled a solo javelina and spotted a pair of white tailed deer.
Other people: I crossed paths with two pairs hiking on while I was on my way in, saw one pair that may have been hiking out as I neared Virgus, a trio hiking in, and a late entry solo hiker heading inbound. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
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Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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