Holdout Creek Trail #69 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

[ checklist ] Miscellaneous Survey Marker Trash Hauled Out

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An early morning meetup for the long drive out to Reef Tank. The drive took quite a while - the last 7 miles after turning off Klondyke Road was slow going, with sections of the road heavily eroded and others quite rocky, with an extremely steep descent to the Reef Tank area. Additionally, the road can get quite narrow, with plants encroaching from either side - your paint will definitely incur some pinstriping with the current and likely future conditions.

Apparently, we don't learn from our mistakes and didn't think to check the wind forecast beforehand - on the drive out, we could feel (and hear) the wind blowing fairly strongly - though we became more optimistic when we passed several flags that were fluttering lightly rather than whipping wildly in the wind. Unfortunately, as we drove higher, it was clear that the winds were indeed high based on how the vegetation was blowing around...and it was quickly confirmed when we finally arrived near the tank where we parked. Temps were chilly, in the low 40s and with the winds probably ranging from 10-25mph, it felt like temps were down in the 30s.

After gathering our things, we decided to set off on the trail to see how long we could tolerate the conditions. There were definitely times when the wind was blowing so strongly that it was difficult to breathe. The cold temps made pushing through brush along the way a bit more painful somehow. The trail has sections that are easily followed, but others where it is completely non-existent. Additionally, there seems to be significant cow activity in the area, resulting in a variety of cowpaths that may lead one astray. We both had tracks downloaded for reference and built a few small rock cairns along the way to help us on our way back and for a hopeful return trip...some clippers might help to clear yourself a bit of margin amidst the grabbier plants.

Between the route finding and all the stopping for photos, our pace was quite slow outbound, and not a whole lot better on the return to the truck. Thankfully, the winds seemed to let up when we got to the rocky wonderland area of the hike. We continued down canyon for as long as we thought we had time for, keeping in mind that we wanted to be able to do the worst of the drive back towards Klondyke Road with daylight. This was my first time in this wilderness region, and I definitely want to make my way back again to explore further. While all the amazing geology is beautiful, I can only imagine how much more wonderous things were before the burn. It was sad to see all the burned tree remains.

The area definitely doesn't seem to see much visitation - we saw some somewhat fresh tracks on the road heading towards reef tank, but they eventually disappeared. As anticipated, we had the whole area to ourselves. Thanks J, for making the long drive (and providing the blood sacrifice to the plants so they left me less damaged

)!

Wildlife: a couple squadron of javelina sighted on our drive in, along with some bunnies (both on the drive and one while hiking). Also saw a plump squirrel scampering amidst the rocky wonderland. Definitely watch for cows on the drive - there was a large group of them right on Klondyke Road when we were headed home.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Goldenrod Mock vervain Redstem stork's bill

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Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Holdout Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	A guess at flow rate - Able to keep feet dry in locations when we were in/out of the drainage in the upper sections. Some flow observed in various drainages on our way to the main holdout creek drainage.

	Reef Tank	1-25% full	1-25% full
	Tank running low.

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Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually

4 archives

229046

Dec 06 2025

GrangerGuy

Guides 36
Routes 153
Photos 1,071
Triplogs 124

69 male

Joined Dec 26 2018
Phoenix, AZ

Drive to Holdout Creek, AZ

4x4 Trip		Dec 06 2025
		GrangerGuy • Triplogs 124

4x4 Trip	7.22 Miles	2,244 AEG

4x4 Trip	7.22 Miles	2 Hrs 10 Mns	4.01 mph
	2,244 ft AEG

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In preparation for leading a future trip on the Holdout Creek / Black Rock Canyon loop, I decided I needed to have confidence we could get to the trailhead. Other triplogs have cast doubt on both the route and the ability to drive here. I drove my Jeep Cherokee up road 941 to Road 68 to the Reef Tank Campsite. The trip is doable, albeit rocky and steep in places. I recommend only high clearance 4x4 with rear locker capability for this trip. I also drove partway down the road to the Black Rock Trailhead, but found it too nerve wracking and did not make it all the way to the trailhead. Reef tank was dry.

	Reef Tank	Dry	Dry
	A little mud in the tank, but no liquid to be seen.

227914

Apr 03 2023

martinarrowsmith

Photos 12
Triplogs 2

64 male

Joined Apr 14 2006
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Apr 03 2023
		martinarrowsmith • Triplogs 2

Backpack	6.25 Miles	1,066 AEG

Backpack	6.25 Miles
	1,066 ft AEG

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Wanting solitude and having not visited the Santa Teresa’s before, we thought we would give this loop a try. Drove up FSR 941 to its junction with 941.6. Road was 6.2 miles and passable with high clearance. I put it in 4wd a couple miles in which helped.
Walked the old road to reef tank, where water was plentiful and started down holdout canyon. From here the tread is marginal and once in the burn it’s pretty much cross country even though the GPS said we were on trail more than 90% of the time

. The nasty catclaw, honey locust, whatever it was, took its pound of flesh.
Holdout creek was flowing nicely, even from the upper reaches.
The fire has taken a toll clearly; this area must have been something to behold before. Now it has a different more lifeless beauty.
About a mile short of the confluence with black rock canyon, we saw a great expanse of beachfront property along the creek and decided to call it home for the next 2 nights. Explored the area on Day 2 and enjoyed the running water in the many drainages in lower holdout. It was very quiet.
Except at camp. Starting around 3pm a coati clan apparently gathered in a hole in some large rocks across the river and chattered up a storm. They were still going when I went to bed at 9. What do they have to talk about for so long?
Day 3 had us needing to make up time and ground, so we bypassed the hold out - black rock confluence by taking cow trails cross country directly to black rock. Worked out well and conserved energy.
Black rock creek was flowing strong all the way up to and beyond the turn off to the hike back uphill and to the vehicle. As noted earlier, the burn damage is far less in this canyon and the last couple miles was unnoticeable. Quite lovely. The trail through the black rock canyon is navigable and while the trail map says it runs river right, the cow path is on the other side, river left. Hmmmm. Follow the cow path.

Holdout Creek

Medium flow

Reef Tank

51-75% full

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205298

Feb 19 2022

johnny88

Photos 916
Triplogs 20

male

Joined Jan 17 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Holdout-Blackrock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Feb 19 2022
		johnny88 • Triplogs 20

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I decided to see how the Santa Teresas faired after 2021's Pinnacle Fire by backpacking a loop of Holdout and Blackrock canyons. I had planned on driving up FR-6630 (the GET) and parking at a pull-off near some trees about 3/4-mile before the gate. This spot was previously recommended to me by the guy who ranches this area and my Subaru had made up there before just fine. However, after about 1/2-mile from leaving Klondyke Rd, there is a large gash in the road (I'm guessing made by 2021's summer monsoons).

Not wanting to risk trying it in my Subaru by myself, I made a 27-point turn on the narrow road and returned to Klondyke Rd. I drove North a very short distance, turned onto the next gated forest road (can't find its name) and parked my car at the first pull-off. This was spot was also recommended to me by the rancher. As luck would have it, that same rancher pulled up just as I was getting out of my car. He recognized me and offered me a ride up the road, eventually dropping me off near Reef Tank where I began hiking. Thank you! This saved me a ton of hiking and uphill.

Reef Tank had some water in it and the area around it was unburned. Heading up the saddle before going into Holdout Creek, you quickly enter the burned area. Everything around here has been moon-scaped. The trail isn't too hard to follow though. Going down Holdout Creek, it seems most everything near the creek is completely burned, while rockier areas appear to be untouched. It's still a pretty and scenic canyon, but the wonderful forest surrounding the creek is gone. The fire has made travel through Holdout easier for now - the path is much less brushy. I still lost the trail many times and got some scrapes from catclaw though. I expect that within a few years or less, the path will be overgrown with catclaw and manzanita. Holdout Creek had some water flowing down it, although it looked quite brownish.

I made it to the corral area near the Holdout and Blackrock intersection and made camp for the night. The creek intersection seemed much sandier than what I remember - debris being washed down from monsoons in the burn areas? I had a peaceful night aside from some cows wandering near my camp. I woke up early the next morning and began hiking up Blackrock Canyon. Blackrock has also been burned and I followed some combination of cow paths and hiking trails. The water in Blackrock was much clearer than Holdout and the flow seemed pretty good. After a mile or less, I hiked out of the burn zone. The next miles up Blackrock make for some great hiking through a beautiful forested canyon. This was my favorite section of the trip.

Hiking out of Blackrock, I made use of forest roads to make my way back to Reef Tank, where I then took the GET back down to Klondyke Rd. This section of the GET (from Reef Tank down to the road) is unburned. It's hard to follow and brushy, but the trail usually exists somewhere. Once back to the gate on FR-6630, I had the long descent back to Klondyke Rd and my car.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

	Reef Tank	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Maybe 1/3rd full? Water seemed decent

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194263

Mar 28 2020

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Mar 28 2020
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Backpack	17.24 Miles	3,392 AEG

Backpack	17.24 Miles	2 Days
	3,392 ft AEG

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BiFrost

RedwallNHops

A return to one of my favorite places. Escapism.

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175010

Mar 28 2020

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 492
Photos 10,995
Triplogs 1,280

56 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Mar 28 2020
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,280

Backpack	17.24 Miles	3,392 AEG

Backpack	17.24 Miles	2 Days
	3,392 ft AEG

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GrottoGirl

RedwallNHops

Great loop in the Santa Teresa Wilderness starting at Reef Tank and dropping into Holdout Canyon. Holdout has plenty of brush and catclaw but the scenery more than compensates. By the afternoon we made to some of the bigger pools and nice boulder stretch of the canyon. We dropped packs and spent about 2 hours exploring the area before circling back to the packs. Then we headed for camp at the confluence of Holdout and Black Rock creeks which both had decent water flow.

After a relaxing night in camp we packed up leisurely in the morning and headed up Black Rock Canyon. It was a fun hike up canyon with some stops along the way at rocky outcrop and small waterfall for lunch. Nice too take our time and just enjoy the scenery. Always a great loop and thanks to Joel for putting the trip together!

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174542

Mar 28 2020

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 28 2020
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Hiking	17.34 Miles	3,392 AEG

Hiking	17.34 Miles	1 Day 4 Hrs 46 Mns
	3,392 ft AEG

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The Santa Theresa's are a great way to get away from everyone. Great weekend seeing no one else but a few choice companions.

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174414

Mar 01 2020

AndrewAZ

Guides 1
Routes 1
Triplogs 24

45 male

Joined Feb 27 2012
Cochise County

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Mar 01 2020
		AndrewAZ • Triplogs 24

Backpack	20.00 Miles	5,000 AEG

Backpack	20.00 Miles	4 Days
	5,000 ft AEG

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I journeyed to the Santa Teresa wilderness to do some brush clearing. I had previously hiked this section in 2018 as part of a GET segment hike and greatly enjoyed it, but knew the trail needed some work.

The drive to Reef Tank was exciting. The ~34 miles of Klondyke Road was scenic and easy to drive, but the ~7 miles of 4x4 driving along FR 941 was much more difficult. The best part was the ridgeline portion where it was a drop on both sides and felt like the road might disappear over each little rise. The last .75 mile down to Reef Tank wasn't bad on the way in, but I spun my wheels a little on the way out.

I camped at the big parking area near Reef Tank. That's a very nice camping area for such a remote location. On the drive in, I ran into Nathan/g-string, who was hiking the GET. He had come up Trail 68 but was opting to do the Black Rock Creek alternate instead of Trail 69. That's the only hiker I saw.

I arrived on the 1st and left on the 5th. Each day, I hiked along the trail and cut back what I could using lopping shears, a brush saw, and an axe. My goal was to improve the first 3 miles and then get a start on the second 3 miles, but the trail had gotten much brushier in the first 3 miles since I was last there, so my time was limited to those first 3 miles.

I remembered the first 3 miles being brushy but passable, but the manzanita and shrub oak had grown together in a number of places to make impenetrable walls. Some of the drainages required extensive clearing. There are still some brushy spots in the first two miles, but I opened up the worst of the thickets.

Once in Holdout Canyon, I cleared the worst brush to improve the sightlines and built cairns (hopefully visible for both west- and east-bound hikers) where the trail meanders through little washes starting around mile 2. I remember that being really frustrating in 2018 when the trail would just disappear. Up until the trail reaches Holdout Creek proper for the first time, it should be much easier to follow.

I stopped where the trail reaches Holdout Creek and then climbs back up into the brush. The trail hits a massive patch of manzanita there, and I know the trail is there thanks to the flagging tape, but I couldn't get a feel for where it went and where I should be clearing.

I will head back next year and try to get to that second 3-mile stretch. I'll have an extra pair of lopping shears this time (managed to snap the cutting blade off the pair I had) as well as flagging tape. I'll need to camp out in Holdout Canyon, but I should be able to make good progress with 3-4 days working on that second stretch.

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174189

Mar 24 2019

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 848
Photos 22,720
Triplogs 2,039

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Mar 24 2019
		chumley • Triplogs 2,039

Backpack	23.08 Miles	3,669 AEG

Backpack	23.08 Miles	2 Days
	3,669 ft AEG

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Jaxbe22

Decided to visit this little gem again in springtime.

I wore gaiters, but somehow forgot about all the catclaw. Pants might be advisable unless somebody gets out there and cleans it up a bit.

Water flow looked similar to last fall after the October rains. Plentiful. I thought it was flowing about the same until I dropped into the rabbit hole at the top of the chute and quickly discovered it was significantly higher flowing in the narrows. This thwarted my efforts to run the whole thing, but we managed to dip down into a couple of my favorite spots to play.

Black Rock was flowing nicely all the way to the climb out, including a couple of the side drainages. But I doubt I'll ever see it flowing as high as last October in a steady rain.

The ruts in the road to Reef Tank have been cleaned up a bit, and there was an FJ and an F150 with street tires camping there. That was a bit of a surprise. We didn't see the campers. We did encounter another hiker on the loop who looked like he had probably just disposed of a body. He was from Tennessee of all places. And of course we followed in the footprints of the grotto norb group all weekend, without realizing it was them until getting back to town Sunday night.

Always a good one!

Culture

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[ checklist ] Benchmark

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_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

164439

Mar 23 2019

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 23 2019
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Hiking	20.12 Miles	4,892 AEG

Hiking	20.12 Miles	1 Day 4 Hrs 46 Mns
	4,892 ft AEG

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RedwallNHops

Amazing how much water was flowing in the Santa Teresa. I had gone in December of 2017 for NY’s and it was nearly dry.

Lower Holdout was still the gem of the trip, however, I was sad I didn’t get to do the full down under journey.

I played a joke on Chumley when we left the trailhead and saw his vehicle! Hehe!

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164423

Mar 23 2019

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 23 2019
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Hiking	20.12 Miles	4,892 AEG

Hiking	20.12 Miles	1 Day 4 Hrs 46 Mns
	4,892 ft AEG

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GrottoGirl

After sampling the Santa Theresa's a few weeks ago, I had to get back there with all the flowing water. What an awesome overnight trip.

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164433

Mar 09 2019

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 09 2019
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Hiking	8.86 Miles	2,038 AEG

Hiking	8.86 Miles
	2,038 ft AEG

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I can't believe I waited this long to visit the Santa Theresa's. After being aware of them(and a few of the hikes there) for over a decade I finally pulled the trigger. Left Tucson early on Saturday and met a friend in Klondyke and then caravaned to the TH. We got distracted by a nice flowing canyon and got off track a bit and missed Reef Tank. I thought I'd just gradually lead us back to the trail, but there was a lot of brush so it took us a bit. Once we got on the trail it was easy going. Hiked into the heart of all the formations, took a quick nap and headed back to setup camp. I need to explore this more!

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163967

Mar 09 2019

Pivo

Guides 2
Routes 514
Photos 5,614
Triplogs 4,374

male

Joined Mar 01 2009
Aztec, NM

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 09 2019
		Pivo • Triplogs 4,374

Hiking	9.25 Miles	2,211 AEG

Hiking	9.25 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns		2.00 mph
	2,211 ft AEG	2 Hrs 8 Mns Break	20 LBS Pack

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MyRudy

RedwallNHops

Fun and beautiful area, route finding is involved here. Trail gets very little use.

Named place

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Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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163976

Oct 07 2018

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 848
Photos 22,720
Triplogs 2,039

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Oct 07 2018
		chumley • Triplogs 2,039

Backpack	23.08 Miles	3,669 AEG

Backpack	23.08 Miles	2 Days
	3,669 ft AEG

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	JoelHazelton	Jonnybackpack
	Powerstroke

After a perfect trifecta of issues that thwarted another plan, this was part 1 of our last minute revision. You just can't go wrong here, and I can't believe it took me three years to return.

Note to self: gaiters

On Reef and Holdout most of the ribbons are long gone, I saw maybe half a dozen remnants clinging to life. Rare cairns are a treat though we certainly managed to get off track a handful of times. Black Rock is easy creek hiking, though the turn to leave the canyon can be missed.

We camped higher up to be closer to the creek. Pat and I ran the chute first while the others set up camp, and it was so much fun, we hiked back up and ran it again! I took the first leap of faith off the last waterfall into the darkness below. The pool ended up being over my head, and after swimming out to the other end I decided it would be a good time to put things in my drybag!

Many photographs were taken in this unique geologic wonderland.

It must have been the noise that four people tend to make, but I am absolutely shocked we didn't see either a bear or mountain lion, as the prints in the sand all along the creek near our camp were plentiful. The weather provided some great cloud drama in the morning and I hiked up canyon into the heart of Lower Holdout in search of Crows Nest Spring, but came up empty. Not even a sign of something that might have once existed there. Luckily the scenery here was more than worth the effort!

We hiked out in a steady rain as the cold front pushed through. Black Rock swelled with flow from the runoff, which made this even more fun than normal. As darkness fell we were treated to the spectacle of the SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg illuminating the moonless night sky.

Named place

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[ checklist ] Black Rock Canyon Lower Holdout Reef Tank

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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

1 archive

159391

Dec 29 2017

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Backpack		Dec 29 2017
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Backpack	16.00 Miles	1,800 AEG

Backpack	16.00 Miles	2 Days
	1,800 ft AEG

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spaceholder

Pete and I did a NY trip for our first anniversary. On the way to our adventure we stopped at the Klondyke cemetery to pay our respects to the Power family. I’ve been fascinated with the Galiuros and the Power story for a while.

We didn’t know if there would be water in the Santa Teresa’s so we placed 10-11 liters of water a piece plus supplies for three days.

We headed down Holdout first. The beginning part of the trail was well maintained by cows. You just need to pay attention that you don’t take the wrong cow trail. After a while there is a gate and that means less cows so the trail was faint at best to follow until we got to Blackrock.

Holdout is amazing! It’s like the Dragoons but better. Beautiful rocks and no people!!! I really can’t wait to come back and explore the Upper part of Holdout more. I was more focused on doing a loop than on exploring and trying to figure out which tower was which. Definitely will have to return.

We decided to camp before the confluence. I admit that the weight of the water plus all the catclaw was getting annoying so I wanted to stop. By carrying our own water we could camp anywhere so we picked out a nice spot.

In the morning we did an explore without our big packs. We went into the drainage and explored the amazing passages under all the gigantic boulders! I definely want to come back when the water is flowing through there. It would be a site to see. There was some water in the pools but we were able to stay dry.

After our adventure we decided to pack up and see how far we could make it. Blackrock Canyon was much easier to navigate. It was dry and mostly clear of catclaw so we pressed on and we were back to the truck by sunset.

What an amazing place!!! Even the drive in is an adventure - definitely recommend 4x4.

	Holdout Creek	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Pools near the confluence with Blackrock

	Reef Tank	1-25% full	1-25% full
	Enough for the cows and deer to be happy.

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151038

Dec 11 2015

rvcarter

Guides 36
Routes 310
Photos 2,235
Triplogs 241

80 male

Joined Mar 27 2008
tucson, az

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Dec 11 2015
		rvcarter • Triplogs 241

Hiking	13.26 Miles	2,540 AEG

Hiking	13.26 Miles	7 Hrs 21 Mns	2.17 mph
	2,540 ft AEG	1 Hour 14 Mns Break

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Excellent hike to a beautiful canyon of rock formations straight out of Disney World. It's a little longer than I normally like, but we had a great group and excellent weather. The trail is in pretty good shape and easy to follow. Just go north of Klondyke and park off the road at a corner where the road turns directly west toward Arivaipa east. The trail is much easier to find than when we were here a few years back, probably because of the increased traffic on the Grand Enchantment Trail Segment #8, of which it is a part. The only tricky part is to make sure you go just past Reef Tank and find the nice path that goes directly east. There is a few feet of water in Reef Tank, but I hope you don't have to drink it. Highly recommend this hike, but it's a bit difficult to get to from ANYWHERE! Long way in from Willcox (~30 miles) or Pima (35 miles), both gravel roads in good shape.

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Check out my Instagram posts at "cartershift", and videos on my Rumble channel "rvcarter".

125095

Oct 30 2015

slowandsteady

Routes 67
Photos 966
Triplogs 694

51 female

Joined Jan 05 2012
Phoenix,AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Oct 30 2015
		slowandsteady • Triplogs 694

Backpack	23.00 Miles	3,500 AEG

Backpack	23.00 Miles	3 Days
	3,500 ft AEG

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Santa Teresa Wilderness - GET #8

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	BiFrost	chumley
	clairebear	John9L
	nonot

Great into to the Santa Teresa's, hiking is definitely a pants party to get through all of the prickly stuff.

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

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123862

Oct 30 2015

John9L

Guides 6
Routes 194
Photos 6,012
Triplogs 1,659

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Oct 30 2015
		John9L • Triplogs 1,659

Backpack	25.91 Miles	3,873 AEG

Backpack	25.91 Miles	3 Days
	3,873 ft AEG

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[ checklist ] Black Rock Canyon Cottonwood Mountain Fisher Canyon Holdout Creek Holdout Mesa Laurel Canyon Mud Spring Mesa Pinnacle Ridge Reef Tank

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	BiFrost	chumley
	clairebear	nonot
	slowandsteady

Chumley planned this hike and it turned out to be fantastic! The hiking was rugged but not overwhelming. The views were epic and vast! We spent three days and two nights exploring this area. It was a great trip with a fun group!

Our trip started on Friday morning. The five of us (Karl, Kathy, Chumley, Claire and myself) left Phoenix in two vehicles and met at McDonalds in Globe. From there we caravaned to trailhead. Nonot is hiking in solo on Saturday. All of us will hike out together on Sunday.

The first mile and a half are easy going as you descend to the creek in Laurel Canyon and then make your way to the northeast towards Reef Tank. At that point we started our lasso loop and headed east into Holdout Canyon. The going was rugged and slow going as we were constantly route finding. It really helped having a GPS route and a group of five to sniff out the route. Sections of the route are overgrown but we pushed through and dropped down towards the confluence of Black Rock Canyon and Holdout Creek. We selected a campsite near the bend in the creek located next to the corral. We set up camp in the waning light and started a fire. I brought brats for dinner and there were dynamite!

Our group of five woke on day two and talked about our options. We decided to spend a few hours exploring to the north into Fisher Canyon and the GET. The going was tough as we proceeded up a drainage. After a mile we hit the old road. The GET takes off to the east and Fisher Canyon heads to the north. We originally followed Fisher but the old road has deteriorated and is covered in catclaw. It was no fun so we turned back and followed the GET for a bit. The landscape looked rather plain up ahead so we cut that short and returned to camp.

After a break our group hiked back up our trail from yesterday and dropped into Holdout Creek. From there we worked our way down canyon and admired this beautiful creek! It was very picturesque with lots of water flowing. As we neared the bottom of Holdout Creek we came to a large cluster of boulders. And by large I mean house size boulders with lots of debris from flash floods! Karl and Chumley explored the creek below the boulders while Claire and I checked it out from above. The going seemed like too much of a hassle to me so I climbed out and returned to camp via the trail. Our group reconvened at camp and were met by Nonot right before sunset. We settled in for another night around the fire.

On day three we took our time packing up camp and enjoying breakfast. Our group of six then started the hike up Black Rock Canyon. We were all pleasantly surprised to find the hiking very easy and enjoyable. The creek was wide open with a decent flow of water. Just about all of us got our shoes wet as we worked our way up canyon heading west. We took a break at the scenic waterfall and then continued on to the old road. From there we climbed out of Black Rock Canyon and made our way via the old road back to Reef Tank. We made good time and then completed our lasso loop back to the vehicles where we took one last break before making the drive back to Phoenix with another stop at Arizona Wilderness Brewery for beers and dinner!

This was another great trip and a wonderful area! I never paid much attention to the Santa Teresa Wilderness and didn't quite know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with the beauty and intimacy of this canyon. It has a feel similar to Wilderness of Rocks. Plus we were the only ones in this wilderness. That was a real treat. Thanks Chumley for driving and organizing! It was a fun trip and a great group!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Black Widow Spider

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Camp-fire Campsite

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

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4 archives

123562

Oct 30 2015

nonot

Guides 107
Routes 249
Photos 2,067
Triplogs 515

male

Joined Nov 18 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Oct 30 2015
		nonot • Triplogs 515

Backpack	18.00 Miles	2,500 AEG

Backpack	18.00 Miles	2 Days
	2,500 ft AEG		33 LBS Pack

no routes

no photosets

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	BiFrost	chumley
	clairebear	John9L
	slowandsteady

It is always great when you can head into the desert without concerns about water or it being too hot/too cold. Also, visiting a Wilderness you have never been to before is always a treat.

The road to Reef Tank TH is definitely 4wd/high clearance, but you could always just hike it as it is part of the GET.

I'm still not quite sure where Holdout Creek Trail starts, nor where it exists in places. Someone has done a good job of flagging a route, but large portions of the trail are overgrown, and it seems in some places that the flagging simply takes a brush free path, rather than following the original trail. Once you get over the second major ridge the impressive inner basin of Holdout Creek greets you with the large granite mountains and boulders with a lightly flowing creek that you skirt along, more or less. The views are great throughout this basin, while the catclaw is annoying it isn't terrible and I made it to the confluence to meet up with the rest of the group who had gone in the day before. Arriving at dusk, they already had a campfire up and going for me, and despite my alias, 9L did a fine work of tending to the fire all night.

The next day we headed up Black Rock Canyon. There are slim signs of a trail, but the hike along the creek is fantastic, and there is a good road that allows for a brush free journey back to reef tank. I would rate this entire section as fantastic, as even the hike up the road was nice, since it was still clear of catclaw.

It was good to meet a new HAZ member and to see other HAZ'ers I haven't seen in years.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

	Cottonwood Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	I seem to recall a trickle coming out of this canyon.

	Holdout Creek	Medium flow	Medium flow
	nice flow through the lower half of this creek.

	Reef Tank	1-25% full	1-25% full
	disgusting

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http://hikearizona.com/garmin_maps.php

Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!

123565

Oct 30 2015

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 492
Photos 10,995
Triplogs 1,280

56 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Holdout Black Rock Loop, AZ

Backpack		Oct 30 2015
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,280

Backpack	25.91 Miles	3,873 AEG

Backpack	25.91 Miles	3 Days
	3,873 ft AEG

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