| | -
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Canyoneering | 8.40 Miles |
1,140 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 8.40 Miles | 6 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.29 mph |
| 1,140 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| | Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use | | A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit | | II - Normally requires a half day |
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | Day 2-3 Soap Canyon
Leaving Coyote Buttes North, UT we crossed the border back into Arizona! Took the opportunity to finish the final ten feet of the AZT as I was near the southern terminus three weeks ago 
With South Canyon Route and Rider Canyon out of the picture Soap Canyon was our ticket. Starting at 1pm the hike in was toasty. All went well until we got to the part where the old ladder used to be. Kurt climbed both sides of the canyon looking for a route to no avail. I headed down again, with some more searching I spotted a "fallen" rope. After more fiddling around Steve went to check it out himself. Kurt got the keen idea to fetch the rope with one of the fishing poles. Adrenalin kicked in and I high tailed it back down to Steve. After looking at it again I said screw the rope and down climbed it as Steve kept me informed on my progress from above. It's just over body length so it's nothing to write home about. On the other hand I probably would have turned around if I was alone not knowing if I could climb back up without assistance.
On to the river in full force Kurt soon made a comment "looks like we have about a half mile to go". No clue if he was right at the time but it was the loooooongest half mile in my life. Looking at the maps now it's apparent it was two full miles. Of course we had to joke him about it on and on.
Finally after the 1+ hour "half mile" we arrived at the river. Unfortunately when Paria flashed it turned the Colorado chocolate. Nevertheless this was my first trip ever to the river so I was pleased to knock it out. Within minutes a commercial rig eased through Soap Creek Rapids.
We setup camp down stream a little on the sand. I tried to liven up the group with my patented "Cramp Dance Crawl" in the sand. Steve missed out but Kurt enjoyed it thoroughly. We enjoyed a perfect weather evening. Steve did have one bout with a pack rat in the middle of the night.
Headed out at 7am. We made much better time going out. The "climb" turned out to be even easier going up. What took 4 hours to figure out coming in was breezed with little effort in 2.5 hours going out.
I'm not sure where Tyler got 5mi RT for this one. It's 4.0mi one-way and 1140ft, so I'll update the page data. I could probably clear this canyon out-n-back in under 4 hours with a day pack. IMO it's not worth driving from Phoenix just for this hike but if you're in the area it's worth tagging on. The company made this one worthy  |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
