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| Hiking | 8.50 Miles |
710 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.50 Miles | | | |
| 710 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | The hike up to the falls was pretty much as usual, even after that storm. There were a few areas of standing water on the Dutchman Trail, but the water level in the creek seemed about normal for this time of year. I had my pruners with me and did some catclaw damage along the way. The falls looked just as they did last February, although there was a bit more flood debris at the bottom.
The section above the falls up to the turn away from the creek had a lot of water and lots of catclaw. It was really slow going here and I was happy to finally get out of the creek. The trail to O'Grady was, at times, surprisingly good. Other times, well... not so much. The vegetation was sparce enough to keep walking regardless. Just when I'd think I must be way off the trail, I'd walk right past a cairn. This section was much easier than I expected, considering how few visitors it likely gets. The rock formations at the peak where you turn into O'Grady are pretty cool and reminded me a little of Chiricahua (a little). I just had to climb up there and walk around in them.
Coming down the other side into the canyon was kind of a shock. There were downed saguaros lying on the slopes like fallen soldiers and crumpled in heaps in the drainage below. I probably saw 30 of them and I wasn't looking very hard. The carnage in O'Grady Canyon was substantial, though I didn't see it anywhere else that day. So sad.
The shortcut over the ridge down to Parker Pass was in good shape and the rest of the hike was uneventful. I hadn't seen anyone else up to that point and there were only a few people between PP and the Trailhead.
My GPS route matched the HAZ route, but it logged 8.5 miles (it sure felt like more than 7!)... probably due to walk-arounds for obstacles and for photos. |
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I'm at home in the wilderness... it's civilization I have problems with! ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") |
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