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| Hiking | 11.06 Miles |
592 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.06 Miles | 6 Hrs 2 Mns | | 1.87 mph |
| 592 ft AEG | 8 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | After visiting from the west entrance, I knew I wanted to come back and have a look from the East. At some point, I'll need to make it back again to make it to Horse Camp (and explore up that drainage), and then continue further to join where I left off on my previous trip (Virgus Canyon).
Since the Turkey Creek Ruins are so close by, we opted to stop there first before heading off on our hike. The ruins are in remarkably good condition, though they have seen some stabilization work as evidenced by a large metal frame in the opening of the roof. The sign installed near the ruin has seen some better days - the left half is completely faded away. I hazard a guess that there may be more ruins nearby, but we didn't take the time to explore around, opting to head back to the parking area to get our hike started.
Once I had my neoprene socks wrestled on, we headed on our way. A short walk along the bench brought us to our first crossing. There well estabished use trails to follow on one side of the drainage or the other, interspersed with creek crossings. The water was never very deep - I think the deepest crossing we encountered was about mid-calf height.
With most of the trees in the main part of the canyon past prime, we were able to see the canyon walls and rock features a bit better than we might have had everything still been fully leafed out. Things would also be beautiful when caught with peak colors in play. As we got closer to Deer Creek, we saw a couple pairs of deer, including a young buck. We decided to head up Deer Creek / Hell's Hole Canyon to explore, rather than continuing along the main drainage. As we headed up, we saw even more deer, none of which seemed particularly bothered by our presence.
Walking up the canyon was easy with no significant obstacles. It's a nice drainage to explore, especially as the walls start closing in and getting taller. The congomerate rock doesn't lend itself to becoming smoothly fluted, though it does become nicely sculptured, with some nice features on top including some large alcoves and an arch. We continued up past a few springs with hanging gardens, and continued on past Hell Hole Valley and the large travertine decorated spring for a little ways before stopping for a break before turning back towards the trailhead. When we hit Parson's Canyon, I opted to see how far up canyon I could go - turns out not very far - there was a large pool that would have required a deep wade to cross, and I wasn't interested in potentially being forced into a swim. As we got closer to the junction with Turkey Creek and our vehicle, we startled a great blue heron, which took flight heading up canyon.
It was a wonderful trip to the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. The day was capped off by the sight of a bobcat dashing across the road as we made our way back towards civilization. I'm looking forward to coming back at some point to explore more.
Other People: a pair of east-bound trail runners, no other vehicles parked at the east end. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
Main canyon is well past prime from the East Entrance. Color was predominantly up in Deer Creek / Hell Hole Canyon. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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Parsons Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Predominantly dry - some large pools as you head up, but the confluence with Aravaipa is dry. | | _____________________
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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