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| Canyoneering | 17.07 Miles |
2,366 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 17.07 Miles | 10 Hrs 13 Mns | | 1.90 mph |
| 2,366 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| | Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit | | A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit |
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| partners | | I hiked into Trap Canyon from the east entrance back in November, and the plan today was to explore Trap from the west side. Peralta Trailhead had the usual mass of Weaver's Needle hikers, but the crowds thinned out immediately on Dutchman Trail, and the morning shadows and haze after sunrise were beautiful as we headed toward Miner's Needle. I was pleased to find that someone had done a lot of trail maintenance along Whiskey Spring Trail since my last visit. There was a half-mile stretch before and after the spring where the catclaw had overtaken the trail in November, but everything was trimmed back this time, which saved a lot of time and bloodshed.
Along Red Tanks, even before entering Trap Canyon, the geology was already looking very interesting. The inside of the canyon was even more impressive, with all kinds of caves, alcoves, jumbles of boulders, and at least one arch that we saw. As soon as we entered Trap, we passed the large "second story" alcove on the north side of the canyon. There was plenty to explore, but we kept moving to get as far in as we could before turnaround time.
[ youtube video ]
In the part of the canyon we were in, we didn't encounter any spots where we had to go in the water, though I did unexpectedly sink shin-deep into wet sand near some shallow pools. It looked like solid ground, so it was a surprise when I took a step and felt my boot continue sinking. On the hike out, the same thing happened again with the other foot in a slightly different spot. I guess the silver lining was that my boots were equally full of water and sand, so the weight wasn't lopsided for the hike out...fool me once, shame on the quicksand; fool me twice, shame on me 
We did a little more exploring on the hike out, and I climbed up to the upper alcove. It's a huge space and seemed like a prime spot for cliff dwellings, but there weren't signs of any up there--just a lot of boulders and some modern stacks of rocks. I also went over and took a look at an alcove along the base of the cliff wall on the opposite side of the canyon and found the same thing--some modern "walls" stacked inside, but not much else.
Upper alcove: [ youtube video ]
Lower alcove: [ youtube video ]
We spent a few minutes searching for the mysterious black "Apache curse" handprint on the way out but didn't see it...but, if it's truly cursed, maybe that's for the best . We only went a relatively short distance into the canyon and were still far from the traps, but there was an impressive amount of variety in scenery even in that limited section of Trap, and it would be easy to spend hours exploring deeper into the canyon. Trap is still on my list for a return visit to complete the thru-hike and see the good stuff in the middle...and that handprint.
We decided to hike our same route back to Peralta instead of completing the full Trap west entrance loop. Wildflower season is starting to kick in, and we saw a lot of color today. The temperature was perfect, and other than around the trailhead, we only saw four backpackers all day. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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Whiskey Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| |  Small pools, a trickle of water at the spring box | | | |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
I despise the uninspiring Hoolie Bacon Trail so much that I decided spur of the moment to instead hike over the top of Herman Mountain. It was a great decision that turned out better than expected. Not too shabby of a view in all directions. There were three parties vaguely signed in at the summit. The first was illegible (maybe Feb.'21?). The second was Jordyn & Lee and the third was your DPS DADDY! AKA Trail Ghost or just Greg. 
Clear bottles as summit registers don't work well as the writing fades quickly. I also detoured to Herman's Cave for a quick lunch, which was very peaceful. The Whiskey Spring Trail isn't a favorite of mine, but it gets the job done. Also, some stupid jackholes have left a bunch of trash in the firepit near the spring Cottonwoods. Might have to haul that out next time I'm hiking through.
