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| Backpack | 15.88 Miles |
400 AEG |
| | Backpack | 15.88 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 400 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Backpacking trip into West Fork of Oak Creek Trail. Our planned trip followed the first 3.5 miles of the official trail and 2.5 miles of unofficial creek walking. Be prepared to get into at least waist deep water. There are one or two parts that required us to hug the side of a slick, algae incline to avoid getting fully submerged, however, one of our group members unfortunately slipped and fell in at this section.
The maintained trail was a breeze to follow. Once we got to the end of it though, it was time to switch to the water shoes and swimwear. Pretty early on in the creek walking we found clear evidence of fire rings where people have camped well within the 6 mile boundary of the trailhead. It didn't occur to us until the sun went down that we should have started the hike earlier than 5 pm. The water crossings were slowly becoming less enjoyable around 7:30pm. We stopped at a site just past a group of large boulders that we had to navigate around. These boulders were just past the sketchiest sections where one of our group members fell in.
I was able to find a campsite alongside the large boulders climbing up the left side of the canyon. I was only able to find it by shining a flashlight up towards a reflective rope someone had hung across the campsite. It featured a small flat area and a structure that looked like a makeshift rock furnace.
The hike out the morning after was a much better experience. We were able to see what was ahead much easier and the water was so much more tolerable. People relaxing at the end of the maintained trail were caught by surprise seeing a group wading through the creek back towards them though.
Overall a very enjoyable experience. I definitely recommend to prepare to get wet though and to leave at a much earlier time than we did. |
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