Cottonwood Creek - Hells Canyon Wilderness • Canyon Trip • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 28 2023
		LosDosSloFolks • Triplogs 601

Hiking	5.53 Miles	680 AEG

Hiking	5.53 Miles
	680 ft AEG		6 LBS Pack

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Little Jim Trail

[ checklist ] Gila Petroglyph Style (Abstract) Gila Petroglyph Style (Anthropomorphic) Gila Petroglyph Style (Zoomorphic) Intrepid Back Shot Trail Signs and Markings

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

We've been wanting to hike in this area for quite some time. Cathy has recovered from her transplant enough to give it a go so off we went with a bit of encouragement from @DixieFlyer. Cathy opted out of the full 9 mile loop so we used the "Little Jim" crossover trail to cut a few miles off.

From satellite view this trail looks like a giant nothing burger but the first few miles had us oohing and aahing over the views. The superbloom was just an added bonus. We've never seen so much Owl Clover, Lupine, and Globemallow among others.

The Little Jim trail doesn't get a lot of use I guess as it was virtually non-existant for much of the way. Route Scout saved the day along with the cairns. The southern section of the Walkin' Jim loop was very rocky and reminded us a lot of Limestone Trail #252 north of Spur Cross. The clouds we were counting on went away early on and it got pretty warm the last three miles.

Next time out we plan to use the Cottonwood Creek Bed to hike west and then return along the northern section of the Walkin' Jim.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Blackfoot Daisy Cream Cups Mexican Gold Poppy

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Lake Pleasant

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
More Owl Clover and Lupine than I've ever seen. Whole slopes of Desert Globemallow. Also Brittlebush, Coulters Lupine, Arizona Lupine, Narrow Leafed Popcorn Flower, Lesser Yellowthroat Gilia, and Blackfoot Daisy. This area qualifies as a superbloom in my book.

Cottonwood Creek

Pools to trickle

Walkin' Jim Spring

Dripping

_____________________

"If you wait, all that happens is you get older"

Jan 21 2017

JoelHazelton

Guides 16
Routes 11
Photos 1,006
Triplogs 410

39 male

Joined Mar 22 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Canyoneering		Jan 21 2017
		JoelHazelton • Triplogs 410

Canyoneering	5.00 Miles	500 AEG

Canyoneering	5.00 Miles
	500 ft AEG

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Camped along Cow Creek Road, near the banks of French Creek, and hiked out Cottonwood Creek with a return on the Walking Jim Trail in the dark. French Creek was flooding a thin film of silty water over the road when we set up camp, and Cottonwood Creek was flowing strong as well. Beautiful time to be out there - easy hiking no matter how you choose to tackle the creek (trail or creek walking), perfect shallow flow that my dog loved splashing around in, and chilly but reasonable temps. Had a nice fire that night while listening to people drive up hills nearby. Those people came to the campsite next to us as we were going to bed. Obviously they were loud, though there was no shooting so that was nice. Around midnight we were jolted awake by loud country music as they started up their trucks and left. The rest of the night's soundtrack consisted of braying donkeys and howling coyotes. Next morning I made another foray into Cottonwood Creek for sunrise. Creek was about half of the flow and made keeping my feet dry very easy. Upon returning to camp, I saw that French Creek was totally dry.

_____________________

"Arizona is the land of contrast... You can go from Minnesota to California in a matter of minutes, then have Mexican food that night." -Jack Dykinga

http://www.joelhazelton.com

1 archive

Jan 28 2016

AZWanderingBear

Guides 27
Routes 61
Photos 2,620
Triplogs 700

69 male

Joined Jan 23 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 28 2016
		AZWanderingBear • Triplogs 700

Hiking	12.20 Miles	2,778 AEG

Hiking	12.20 Miles	7 Hrs 2 Mns		2.03 mph
	2,778 ft AEG	1 Hour 1 Min Break	16 LBS Pack

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Looked like a great day for a little solo hike. I've had 3465 in my sights for a while now. Set off fairly early (for me any way). Saw three hikers on the way in and only one on the way out. These trails don't get much traffic which is nice.

Wasn't sure what to expect once I turned north and headed up. The trail is faint in a lot of places, but there are a few strategically placed cairns to help. Having the track loaded in my GPS as a back up was comforting.

No real problems getting to the summit. I moved cautiously since the Gecko had reported some bees around the summit cairn. There were a few buzzing around but nothing too threatening. Signed the summit log in a small corner under Mr. J. Cleghorn's bold signature. A new summit log would be nice, but unfortunately I didn't have anything suitable with me. Took some time to enjoy the fantastic views and have a snack. Even had cell phone reception for a check in with Headquarters.

The trip down is challenging in spots with all the loose scree on the trail. I brought my trusty staff and put it to good use.

Unfortunately didn't see any burros today. Did hear the echoes of one braying down in the canyon while up at the summit.

Really enjoyed this hike. Love the profile of this peak. Now I can point it out when driving past and say, "yep did that one back in '16."

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Lake Pleasant

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A few ocotillo blooms and scattered globe mallow. Will be a nice spring out here.

	Walkin' Jim Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Some pools down in the stream below the spring.

_____________________

All you have is your fire...
And the place you need to reach

1 archive

Apr 25 2015

mazatzal

Routes 36
Photos 2,658
Triplogs 1,348

67 male

Joined Jul 28 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Apr 25 2015
		mazatzal • Triplogs 1,348

Hiking	12.20 Miles	2,778 AEG

Hiking	12.20 Miles	7 Hrs 10 Mns	1.93 mph
	2,778 ft AEG	50 Mns Break

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no photosets

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Little Jim Trail

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Cloudy and overcast all day - kept the temps down. Hadn’t been on these trails and enjoyed the loop and spur part way up to the saddle / summit.

Got rattled at by a buzzworm but didn’t see it in a large bush. Heard 5 or 6 burros and saw 2.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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1 archive

Jan 24 2015

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,798
Photos 14,514
Triplogs 5,895

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Peak 3465 Hiero Mtns - Morgan City Wash Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 24 2015
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,895

Hiking	18.95 Miles	3,034 AEG

Hiking	18.95 Miles	9 Hrs 43 Mns		2.24 mph
	3,034 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

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Burro Flats Loop

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rayhuston

The_Eagle

Returned after a short sampler of Cottonwood Creek in 2007. A healthy forest of saguaros offers photogenic sun events on the horizon. Peak 3465 steals the show protected by waves of black jumbled rock on the ascent. Gnarly lichen accents demand your attention. Distant views are pleasing. My favorite being the Sierra Estrella range standing proud in the sonoran sea of wannabee peaks.

A large balance of this loop was nice yet forgettable after Peak 3465. We stumbled upon old jeep trails that now look to be cattle fairways. Anti cairnopelli would be no match for a few of the route guidance markers along the way. We only witnessed signs of cattle. The patties now in a styrofoam consistency may indicate winter absence?

We saw two burros and heard another pack out of sight. Two inch disintegrating hay bundles throughout with concentrated piles on occasion suggests a large presence.

Finishing up on the southern Walkin' Jim Loop offered the most stunning views of the day. Lake Pleasant sings on the horizon. Panoramic views sweep through downtown Phoenix with its tiny skyscrapers offering wow scalism.

	Tule Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Immediate area looked dry. Looks to be piped to a tank in the creek. The tank was 2/3rds full with a healthy leak so it must be getting a good flow.

_____________________

- joe

Jan 24 2015

rayhuston

Guides 1
Routes 448
Photos 4,407
Triplogs 939

68 male

Joined Mar 09 2012
Gilbert, AZ

Peak 3465 Hiero Mtns - Morgan City Wash Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 24 2015
		rayhuston • Triplogs 939

Hiking	18.95 Miles	3,034 AEG

Hiking	18.95 Miles	9 Hrs 43 Mns	2.24 mph
	3,034 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break

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joebartels

The_Eagle

Nice, long loop hike in the Hieroglyphic Mountains on a gorgeous day. Please see Joe's (or Bruce's) triplog for the route taken. It was chilly (mid-30's) at the start and warm at the finish (mid-70's).

The highlight of the day was peak 3465, which offers outstanding views of Lake Pleasant and the surrounding countryside. More fun as we went off trail looking for an alternate route down and around the mountain to our next destination (Pike's Peak), hoping to save some of that hard earned elevation. We didn't save much, but we found a cool route through a pass that had a man made rock wall at the top. Big, heavy rocks that would have taken some time and effort to build. Not sure of its purpose; there is an easy route around it, albeit a couple hundred feet down and half mile longer if you dropped down into the canyon below.

Dropping down from the pass, we aimed for a creek. I went farther left, down a drainage and landed on a trail that turned out to be part of the Burro Flats Loop. We followed that for awhile, but realized it was taking us too far away from our second goal. We turned south and headed uphill hoping to follow a ridgeline back towards our goal. We took a break at the top of the hill and decided there wouldn't be enough time to accomplish all that we set out to do, so we headed towards Morgan City wash to continue on the loop.

The wash provided some easy walking for a few miles. Nothing exciting here unless you're on an ATV, but we made good time getting to Bog Ranch, which is not worth your time unless you like shooting up stuff and leaving a mess. The place was trashed.

Another off trail excursion to hook up with the Walkin' Jim trail. I enjoyed this section. The wild burros cut some nice trails through here. Two of them stopped and posed for us as we passed by (see Bruce's photo set - mine didn't make the grade). They were more beautiful in person. Lot's of beautiful saguaros through here. We took another break in this area to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

We linked up with the Walkin' Jim trail and closed the loop with Joe singing songs. How a guy can sing after 18 miles is beyond me (I was hanging on by a thread). More outstanding views as Lake Pleasant came back into view.

This was the second longest hike of my life. Well worth it, but I was a tired puppy at the end.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Lake Pleasant Tule Spring

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1 archive

Jan 24 2015

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,627
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,762

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Peak 3465 Hiero Mtns - Morgan City Wash Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jan 24 2015
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,762

Hiking	19.89 Miles	3,013 AEG

Hiking	19.89 Miles	9 Hrs 45 Mns		2.34 mph
	3,013 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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Burro Flats Loop

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joebartels

rayhuston

Still dark, the day started off to a brisk and breezy 35 degrees. We covered the 4 miles to the "Big Jim Trail", quickly to warm up. From here you climb +2200' to the summit in less than 2 miles. This is the first time since the end of 2010, that I've done this hike. Back then, there was no defined trail from the end of the "Big Jim Trail" to the top. This has been getting noticeable traffic and has been flagged in spots.

The view from the top is still one of the best in the area. It took a while to re-find the 1902 inscription, but Joe spotted it.

The next person up, should bring a new summit container and log pad. The past records are getting trashed. It was too fragile to take out of the jar.

We picked a route down the backside that was slow going, but not too bad. We luckily ran into the "Burro Flats Loop Trail", saving us some brush fighting. We bailed on target two for the day and set our sites for the Morgan City Wash. The 4.5 miles in the wash drug on, but were easy miles.

On the way we stopped at the Bog Ranch area, right off the wash. This area is a disgrace with all the shot up stuff and shell casings everywhere.

We got out of the wash at Tule Spring and started the cross-country burro trail trek to meet up with the "Walking Jim Trail" and the truck.

Another fine day in the Hieroglyphic Mountains, with still some unfinished business.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Teva Wild Burro

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Inscriptions

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Pikes Peak Tule Spring

	Tule Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Catchment was full and pipe was dripping clear water

	Walkin' Jim Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	There was some pooling in the area

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Oct 22 2014

mt98dew

Guides 69
Routes 37
Photos 3,010
Triplogs 2,387

55 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Phoenix, AZ

Canyoneering		Oct 22 2014
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,387

Canyoneering	4.18 Miles	500 AEG

Canyoneering	4.18 Miles	1 Hour 55 Mns	2.18 mph
	500 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

I - Short 1-2 hours

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Revisited one of my favorite local spots by doing this short hike. Basically did a loop going clockwise. In on the wash for about 2 miles to where it connected to the Walkin Jim Trail and then back on the Jim trail. The views from the wash were ok, though I had the sun in my eyes and I was frequently watching my footing because of the rockiness of the wash. I feel you are able to enjoy the views much more easily from the Walkin Jim Trail, though the wash does give you an interesting perspective of the closer sights. Saw the petroglyphs about .9 miles into the hike. There was occasional pools of standing water, but the mosquitoes weren't bad at all. Embarrassed to say that I missed the first intersection between the wash and the Jim trail. Luckily, the next intersection was only 100 yards further up the wash and I saw that crossing. The recent monsoons has really masked, through erosion amd plant growth, where the Walkin Jim intersects with the wash. For the first 2 miles the wash and Jim trail are probably no further than a stone throw away from each other with the Walkin Jim Trail being just to the north of the wash. (This is is true if you keep taking the right fork every time the wash splits. There was two major "Y"'s in the wash prior to it intersecting with the Walkin Jim Trail). However, after about 2.5 miles the wash and the Jim trail go there separate ways and so you don't have the "safety blanket" of having a well used trail just up the bank. I heard a burro or cow (it snorted) but I never saw it. Saw a few lizards, tadpoles and toads but no other wildlife.

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Dec 10 2011

burntlizard

Guides 1
Photos 1,148
Triplogs 219

54 male

Joined Jul 14 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 10 2011
		burntlizard • Triplogs 219

Hiking	1.35 Miles

Hiking	1.35 Miles	1 Hour 45 Mns		0.90 mph
		15 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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I went just past the rock art and took the small creek heading South and followed that for a half mile or so. There is a little wet area, with what looks to be an area of wheat grass, that is growing in large clumps and has been a nice grazing area for the cattle. The grass is very healthy looking, I think there might be some type of underground spring supplying the moisture, it is very wet in this area. This would be a nice area to hide out and wait for some mammals to come and get water.

Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate

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1 archive

Nov 08 2011

burntlizard

Guides 1
Photos 1,148
Triplogs 219

54 male

Joined Jul 14 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 08 2011
		burntlizard • Triplogs 219

Hiking	2.50 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	2.50 Miles	2 Hrs	1.25 mph
	500 ft AEG

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This was a nice hike through the Creek bed. The bee's were feeling sassy, being that they were dive bombing me around every puddle, guess a little rain water will do that. I decided to cut this one short and bail out, being that the terrain was becoming redundant so, I hopped over and picked up Little Jim trail. At this point, I headed over to hike Peak 2191, just North of the parking area.

Side note: I always seem to hike when the stunt planes are out, 30 minutes of dive bombing and aerial acrobatics. :wrt:

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May 04 2011

JulieBoisvert

Photos 103
Triplogs 24

43 female

Joined Mar 08 2011
Surprise, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		May 04 2011
		JulieBoisvert • Triplogs 24

Hiking	3.50 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	3.50 Miles
	500 ft AEG

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breebree26

_____________________

Nov 26 2010

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,627
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,762

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 26 2010
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,762

Hiking	12.20 Miles	2,778 AEG

Hiking	12.20 Miles	6 Hrs 59 Mns	1.75 mph
	2,778 ft AEG

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Little Jim Trail

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Eaglet

I've been eyeing this one for awhile now. My son was home on break, so it was a perfect day to eat away at the over eating from T-Day.

First....A big thanks to Bob Gregg, who has created and maintained the trails up here (quite recently actually). This was the first time I've hiked the northern portion of the loop and did not need GPS to guide me.

We followed the Walkin' Jim Trail at Cottonwood Creek, to the newly created Big Jim Trail.
The Big Jim Trail (Newly signed) takes off from the western most portion of the Wakin' Jim Trail.
This trail takes you to the saddle almost directly north of Peak. 3465. From here, my son and I cairned a trail to the top of the peak. It's about .6 mile to the peak. We thought we'd be one of the first to ever get to this remote peak..... but after reading the peak log that was placed in 1993...... we were the first since 2008.

Excellent 360 views from the top!

We were very lucky to stumble across a rock that was engraved with the name H T Sprouse Jan 26th 1902 (See my pictures).
So there was a 108 year span from first to last on the peak!
Saw 6 wild burros on the way back to the TH.

Great weather! Great Hike!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wild Burro

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Inscriptions Summit Register Log

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Sep 07 2008

cabel

Guides 4
Photos 2,750
Triplogs 402

60 male

Joined Nov 13 2005
Cave Creek, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Sep 07 2008
		cabel • Triplogs 402

Hiking	6.00 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	6.00 Miles	4 Hrs	1.50 mph
	500 ft AEG

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Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White-lined Sphinx Caterpillar

_____________________

All who wander are not lost...just me.

Feb 02 2008

JoelHazelton

Guides 16
Routes 11
Photos 1,006
Triplogs 410

39 male

Joined Mar 22 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 02 2008
		JoelHazelton • Triplogs 410

Hiking	8.00 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	8.00 Miles	4 Hrs	2.00 mph
	500 ft AEG

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I thoroughly enjoyed this hike this time! The creek is flowing at a very pleasant, humble trickle. Nothing like those arrogant Superstition Creeks, but enough to make you smile! If you decide to do this hike within a week or so of rain, I encourage you to stay in the creekbed rather than the cairned route, at least for the first mile or so, because it's easy walking and the small cascades are fun to hop around. When I reached the wilderness boundary gate at around 2 miles (again, forgot the GPS, I swear I'm destined to get lost and die one of these days I'm out on my own), I turned right on the jeep road that passes through the creekbed and followed it through Spring Valley. Spring Valley is a wide valley with awesome views of the Hells Canyon Wilderness to the west. It basically borders the wilderness boundary the entire way. What is odd is that there is a Spring Valley Trail in this same area, but it never actually reaches spring valley. It ends at Garfias Wash, although you could follow a tributary from Garfias Wash to Spring Valley legit. Anyhoo, I followed the jeep road until a turnoff for some unnamed springs I saw on the map. There were definitely springs and they were definitely flowing into a large muddy pond, although I could not physically get to the source because there were too many pesky Tamarisks in the way. Pain! After checking the springs out, I took a break and ate my honey roasted cashews (now my favorite hiking snack after buying them off a total whim), took in the views of the crazy looking Hells Canyon Wilderness, and returned the way I came.

There are so many peaks to bag out there!

Oh, and of course I saw some wild burro action. It's inevitable when you're out there.

_____________________

"Arizona is the land of contrast... You can go from Minnesota to California in a matter of minutes, then have Mexican food that night." -Jack Dykinga

http://www.joelhazelton.com

Oct 22 2007

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,798
Photos 14,514
Triplogs 5,895

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Oct 22 2007
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,895

Hiking	4.40 Miles	500 AEG

Hiking	4.40 Miles	4 Hrs	1.10 mph
	500 ft AEG

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Headed in with little expectations. Arrived at the trailhead to a couple trucks with atv trailers and the expectations dropped further. About fifty yards onto the trail I passed a recent copper mine of gun shells and the expectations were rounding the bottom of the barrel.

Now for the good news. With the fence and narrow width of the trail I didn't see any atv activity in this canyon. Since you don't find gun shells over a two minute walk from an atv source this one started looking pretty good!

The area really does have some pristine saguaros in quantity. I crossed the creek and never returned as I found a pretty good trail. It started off pretty good. Then you had watch for cairns through some indistinct sections. About a mile later it turned into a cairn hunt. Not quite two miles in I decided to head for a high point and abort the cairn hunt. Would have gone further but I got a late start. Returned in fading light.

The going is probably faster in the creek bed as it looked fairly clean. Looks if you keep going you'll eventually hit Burro Flats. I've hiked trails further north and off trailed further south. This is a nice area in that it hasn't been overrun and the desert flora is rich and pristine!

Joel nailed the hike description, nice work. Right after photographing some rock art I read about it! Literally too, about twenty seconds later :lol:

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Tarantula

_____________________

- joe

Oct 21 2007

JoelHazelton

Guides 16
Routes 11
Photos 1,006
Triplogs 410

39 male

Joined Mar 22 2006
Phoenix, AZ