Agua Fria River via Badger • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Jun 02 2025
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	5.00 Miles	600 AEG

Hiking	5.00 Miles
	600 ft AEG

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It was nice to finally see some water flowing down the Agua Fria here. After letting Dot play at the water, we hiked back to the trailhead and then took the primitive road to the top of the mesa to look around. Absolutely terrific conditions.

Pools to trickle

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May 26 2023

ckoss_

Guides 2
Routes 21
Photos 64
Triplogs 7

male

Joined Oct 30 2024
Kenilworth, NJ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		May 26 2023
		ckoss_ • Triplogs 7

Hiking	2.23 Miles	172 AEG

Hiking	2.23 Miles	1 Hour 40 Mns		1.34 mph
	172 ft AEG		5 LBS Pack

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I always heard "Agua Fria" in Marty Robbin's Big Iron so this river / national monument caught my attention when going up/down I17. The petroglyphs at the end near the river are really neat.

Light flow

Apr 22 2023

johnlp

Guides 1
Routes 14
Photos 7,202
Triplogs 5,208

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Agua Fria National Monument, AZ

Hiking		Apr 22 2023
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	10.24 Miles	920 AEG

Hiking	10.24 Miles
	920 ft AEG

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Richinbar Pueblo and Mine Ruins

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Went camping near the Badger Springs TH for two nights. Hiked Badger Springs to the Agua Fria Saturday, and then we hiked to Richinbar Sunday. Ran into Kathy, Karl & John9L by the river. Good to see you all. Crazy wildflowers everywhere. Fun trip.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Banana Yucca Desert Mariposa Desert Onion Lesser yellowthroat Gilia

Wildflowers Observation Extreme

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“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

2 archives

Apr 22 2023

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Apr 22 2023
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	2.56 Miles	223 AEG

Hiking	2.56 Miles	1 Hour 58 Mns	1.69 mph
	223 ft AEG	27 Mns Break

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John9L

slowandsteady

Easy hike down Badger Springs Trail to the Agua Fria River. We wanted to see just how much water was still flowing and we were not disappointed. Once at the confluence headed downstream on Agua Fria to explore. Didn't go to far since my knee is still not ready for lots of rough off trail. The creek gets very rocky downstream but still really nice to see the pools.

Took a break at the turn around point before hiking back the same way. Definitely a good spring hike especially with a good winter rainfall. I'll be back and explore more probably upstream next time!

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1 archive

Apr 15 2023

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Spring on the Agua Fria, AZ

Hiking		Apr 15 2023
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

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Badger Springs is one of our favorite places to take the pups for some exercise and to get outside without a committing drive. This spring the area was perhaps the most scenic I have seen it due to some robust winter precipitation and a subsequent super bloom of flowers of all varieties.

The winter rains and snow in the Bradshaw Mountains did the Agua Fria well this year and it led to a pretty spectacular destination at times where Badger Springs intersects the Agua Fria. Similarly, the winter rains did wonders for the wildflowers in the area as well. For the first time in my over ten years of going to Badger Springs, I observed poppy super blooms on several of the hillsides upstream from the confluence with Badger and the rest of the wildflowers are represented equally as well in the area.

On a sentimental note, similar to the flowers and the local reservoirs, this spring has been a bit of a renaissance for my now 12 year old dog Blanco who had a pretty rough fall. However, like the flowers and the ephemeral waterways, Blanco found his groove again this spring. And although He is no longer capable of getting out for large hikes with us anymore, he is perfectly capable of low key days at places like Badger Springs. Hence the fact that I think we have made at least four separate trips to the area in the last month alone.

I attached an assortment of pics from our "spring" trips to Badger over the last month and set them to hide for seven days to avoid spamming the homepage. If you come across these in research, I hope you enjoy and if you have a trail trained pup, I would highly recommend the area.

Wildflowers Observation Extreme

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1 archive

Nov 20 2022

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Perry Mesa Duck Hunt, AZ

Hiking		Nov 20 2022
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	9.61 Miles	1,056 AEG

Hiking	9.61 Miles	6 Hrs 13 Mns	1.92 mph
	1,056 ft AEG	1 Hour 12 Mns Break

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We went to Perry Mesa and the Agua Fria National Monument today to look for a duck. We did not find the duck, but that did not detract from an otherwise perfect day up on the mesa.

We accessed Perry Mesa from the Badger Springs area and then took a series of roads over to one of the larger Perry Mesa ruin complexes. The walk across the mesa was pretty eventful, as I found a projectile point shortly after climbing out of the Agua Fria drainage and then we ran across the largest herd of pronghorn that I have seen in Arizona. It was quite the sight to walk parallel to them for a few tenths of a mile. When they moved as an entire herd it almost resembles something more consistent with a flock of birds from a distance versus a herd of ungulates. The ruin complex was one of the better ones on the mesa in terms of setting and size and it was quite the area to walk through. We found several great glyph panels in the area, which proved to be of the superb nature and I found them to be as interesting and thought provoking as any other glyphs that I have come across out there. After spending well over an hour at the site walking through the rubbles, staring in awe at the glyphs and walking around with our heads down looking at all of the sherds, we headed back. On the hike back we ran across our pronghorn herd again and stumbled across one more nice glyph.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Pronghorn

Pools to trickle

Batt Tank

Dry

Pipe Tank Number Two

Dry

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Dec 21 2021

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Dec 21 2021
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	4.05 Miles	555 AEG

Hiking	4.05 Miles	2 Hrs 24 Mns	1.88 mph
	555 ft AEG	15 Mns Break

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I had always assumed it was likely some sort of ruins were up on the high bluffs above the Agua Fria at Badger Springs, but I never made any effort to confirm that assumption. My year's old suspicion was recently confirmed when I came across an old triplog of @Hansenaz, during some researching of the area, brought about by my recent re-interest in the Monument. I then came across an archaeological reference to the Badger Springs Pueblo and that was enough to get me back out there.

The Badger Springs Pueblo was a 30-50 room structure at one point and sits atop the high bluffs of Black Mesa just south/downstream of where Badger Springs Wash meets the Agua Fria River. From the trailhead, I headed up the gentle slopes of Black Mesa to its flat "ish" plateau. I then hugged the rim and made my way towards where I thought the pueblo was located. I examined several boulder piles and rock out-croppings along the way looking for glphys, but I only found three sets. However, for me thats a pretty good day, so I was not disappointed. The pueblo was similar to Richinbar in size, but maybe not as impressive in distinct room outlines and portions of intact wall. However, I was still impressed by the size of the ruin and all of the pottery and flaked stone artifacts. After a few minutes at the ruin and a quick water break for the dogs, I returned the way I came. However, I took a more direct line along a fence line back to the wash and then continued on to the river for the dogs. A few fall colors at the river and a light flow, with some significant pools downstream. Just another day in the AFM.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

Pools to trickle

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2 archives

Jul 16 2021

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Jul 16 2021
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	1.55 Miles	110 AEG

Hiking	1.55 Miles
	110 ft AEG

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I took advantage of some “moderate” temps a nice breeze and some clouds to sneak the dogs up to Badger Springs for a late morning walk today. It was just cool enough to hike and there was a significant amount of water flowing at the Agua Fria. Badger Springs Wash showed signs of a significant water event recently as well and had some sitting pools of water and a few muddy spots. A nice little dog walk and it was great to see some water flowing in the Agua Fria this time of year.

	Badger Spring Wash	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Pools to trickle for the wash and a medium flow at the Agua Fria

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2 archives

Oct 17 2020

Hansenaz

Guides 4
Routes 205
Photos 9,282
Triplogs 526

72 male

Joined Apr 06 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Badger Springs Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 17 2020
		Hansenaz • Triplogs 526

Hiking	8.46 Miles	1,178 AEG

Hiking	8.46 Miles	6 Hrs 23 Mns	1.44 mph
	1,178 ft AEG	31 Mns Break

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I noticed a section of the Perry Mesa edge I haven't walked before and figured I could make a loop passing a few good spots I'd been too before.

Badger Springs Trailhead is a good place to start: very accessible and instant riparian scenery. I crossed the dry river and walked up to the mesa top on the far side, turned north and walked the mesa edge. Passed a couple favorite petroglyphs along the way up and ran across a couple new sites (for me) on the way to Baby Canyon. I had been a little worried about tall grass on the mesa but it wasn't as bad as it could have been (knee high). Still I probably missed plenty while trying to avoid tripping over the hidden rocks.

Steep bushwack down to the mouth of Baby Canyon where I visited another couple familiar petroglyphs then a return down the sandy, rocky, dry riverbed. I noticed only one very small pool in this stretch - there looked to be a bit more surface water at Badger Springs in the side canyon.

Not a bad day...by the end I was feeling fairly confidant with my new camera phone!

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Mar 15 2020

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Mar 15 2020
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	4.00 Miles	235 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles
	235 ft AEG

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The Agua Fria was raging. The pups had a good time.

It was an interesting day on Bloody Basin Road after our hike. We came across a rolled over ORV, with no injuries and then at the first creek crossing which was impassable, we came across two men trying to pull a motorcycle out of the raging creek down stream. One of the riders had tried to cross the creek and was swept down stream. He may have drowned, but the truck following him was able to get a tow rope out to him. When we arrived they were working on getting the bike out to no avail. The scary part was the older gentleman that was helping stated, “I’m glad that bike was ahead of me, I was going to just drive through it, I’ve never been on this road before.” He would not have made it. After determining there was nothing we could do to help, we turned around. Stay safe out there.

Medium flow

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1 archive

Apr 28 2019

MAP

Routes 137
Photos 1
Triplogs 105

44 female

Joined Oct 21 2016
Tempe, AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Apr 28 2019
		MAP • Triplogs 105

Hiking	17.00 Miles

Hiking	17.00 Miles	13 Hrs 1 Min	1.31 mph

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This was one of the most spectacular Arizona 20-20 Challenge hikes I have done and I never never would have thought it would have been. The official triplog mentions a lot of boulder hopping but I think that needs to be emphasized a bit more. We had about four devices tracking and they all were close to 17 miles when we got back to the trailhead. That additional mileage was from "boulder hopping" and attempts to navigate over/around massive rocks. I would highly recommend wearing an old pair of hiking shoes with good support and traction OR hiking sandals with neoprene socks so the sand isn't constantly building up and scraping your feet. We both had good water shoes (I wore Astrals and my friend had the mostly closed Chaco water shoes) and we had to stop often to empty out sand that was painful. I still have painful sand burns a week later. There were waterfalls EVERYWHERE. Too many to count. The landscape of the river is mostly smoothed rock so the water has many surfaces to fall over. There is a lot to be in awe of on this river. We started at 6 am and got back to the TH at 7 pm. We did stop to take a lot of pictures and play in the waterfalls as we hiked downstream to the lowest point of the canyon but did not expect a 13 hour hike. I loved every moment of this hike but it was physically draining and much more challenging then expected. If you are attempting to reach the lowest point of the canyon, be prepared for a loooong day (and spectacular scenery)!

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2 archives

Aug 19 2018

kelly14

Routes 92
Photos 885
Triplogs 160

30 male

Joined Sep 27 2015
Phoenix

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Aug 19 2018
		kelly14 • Triplogs 160

Hiking	3.17 Miles	339 AEG

Hiking	3.17 Miles	2 Hrs 20 Mns	1.50 mph
	339 ft AEG	13 Mns Break

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Just a nice leisurely EPIC Sunday Morning hike! The Agua Fria was pushing an incredible amount of water down canyon . So much more than expected! Ears are still recovering from the roar of the river!

	Badger Spring Wash	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Occasional pools and trickles of running water here and there

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Jul 25 2018

nolove923

Triplogs 17

38 female

Joined May 08 2014
Phoenix

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Jul 25 2018
		nolove923 • Triplogs 17

Hiking	4.00 Miles	235 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles	2 Hrs 10 Mns	1.85 mph
	235 ft AEG

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Love this place! So many creature tracks! Cute frogs, crawdads, birds and tracks of many different other animals. I wish I would have brought my dog. I was worried because of heat alert in area so he didn't get to come, but the weather was honestly so comfortable. Very moist, lush wash and lots of pools of water. I forgot to look for petroglyphs, so I can't wait to go back, for this. The road to trailhead was fine for 2 wheel drive today

My son really enjoyed this place and traveling on boulders.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Jan 27 2018

The_Dude

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 1,367
Triplogs 364

47 male

Joined Jun 10 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Canyoneering		Jan 27 2018
		The_Dude • Triplogs 364

Canyoneering	9.63 Miles	859 AEG

Canyoneering	9.63 Miles	1 Day
	859 ft AEG

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Eartheist

Uberdroog

Got in a fun and easy weekend trip up to the Agua Fria NM. We had been looking at this one for a while as a backpack trip going from Silver Creek down to Sunset Point, but we had considerable doubts about water availability due to the lack of winter rain this year. We got the idea to park an extra car at Badger Springs for some water just in case there was not much to filter, but then got to thinking that we could just leave our big packs there as well and do the trip as a series of two day hikes, with an easy 2 mile backpack in the middle. Saturday started off great, we started hiking about 10 after we set up our shuttle and took a nice leisurely pace. Turns out that the small storm we had in Phoenix the weekend before was more than enough in the northern part of the state to fill up the Agua Fria. There were still some large dry expanses, but pools to moderate flow were the norm for this part of the trip. We made it back to the Earthiest's car about 2:30, grabbed our big packs, and headed back for the confluence. Great little spot right on the bank of the river, nice bit of shade and we were able to scavenge a surprising amount of wood for a campfire. Unfortunately, the Droog got a pretty wicked headache and started feeling ill, after a few hours he thought he would be better off spending the night at home. We helped get his gear all packed up, doused the fire, and hiked back out Badger Springs wash to get him to his truck parked down by Sunset Point. Hiked back in to camp for the rest of the night, weather was great and the wind stayed calm until about 9 or so Sunday morning. The Earthiest and I spent a nice lazy morning in camp since we were not completing the second leg of our trip, made it back to Phoenix in time to catch some lunch with my family. Bummer that we could not get the whole hike in, but a fun trip nonetheless.

Baby Canyon

Pools to trickle

	Badger Spring Wash	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	A few small pools and wet sand, large pools and good flow at confluence with AF

Bishop Creek

Pools to trickle

Silver Creek

Dry

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Jan 27 2018

Eartheist

Routes 7
Photos 273
Triplogs 234

54 male

Joined Jul 16 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Jan 27 2018
		Eartheist • Triplogs 234

Hiking	9.63 Miles	859 AEG

Hiking	9.63 Miles
	859 ft AEG		22 LBS Pack

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The_Dude

Uberdroog

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1 archive

Jan 06 2018

Bradshaws

Photos 2,243
Triplogs 145

48 male

Joined Feb 12 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Jan 06 2018
		Bradshaws • Triplogs 145

Hiking	4.00 Miles	235 AEG

Hiking	4.00 Miles
	235 ft AEG

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my daughter and I have been sick with bronchitis for almost 3 months! It’s been endless doctor appointments, coughing and medicine. My daughter even broke 2 ribs from coughing so much but we both have been feeling better so I suggested a hike. We both wanted to get out of the house and I had to try out my new Nikon D3400

After hiking for about an hour we both quickly realized we weren’t as well as we thought

We both were panting, coughing and sweating like an old overweight dog. I’ll be giving it a few more weeks before I hit the trail again

This was the first time I’ve ever been to the Agua Fria and it have absolutely NO WATER in it. It was a beautiful day but a very exhausting and rough day of hiking!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Western Bluebird

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“ you know what I think?... It doesn’t matter what I think”

May 06 2017

PJackalope

Routes 28
Photos 68
Triplogs 39

50 male

Joined Jul 25 2007
Peoria, Az

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		May 06 2017
		PJackalope • Triplogs 39

Hiking	2.25 Miles	223 AEG

Hiking	2.25 Miles	1 Hour 48 Mns		1.69 mph
	223 ft AEG	28 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Nice easy hike just off the I-17. Never knew it was even there. Really enjoyed the boulder hopping along the Auga Fria. There is still a decent amount of water flowing and some deep pools for swimming. Water was very chill, but given the air temperature, was pretty nice. Of course, once you're out the water you dry in less than 10 minutes. In a very short period of time this is going to be a trail best avoided until after the summer bake passes us by. After the little stroll, went back to the truck, fired up the grill and made some tasty burgers. All in all, a very pleasant day

Enjoy!

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Apr 29 2017

scikopas

Routes 8
Photos 17
Triplogs 12

36 male

Joined Jan 27 2016
Tempe, AZ

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Apr 29 2017
		scikopas • Triplogs 12

Hiking	3.66 Miles	469 AEG

Hiking	3.66 Miles	3 Hrs 12 Mns		1.25 mph
	469 ft AEG	16 Mns Break	5 LBS Pack

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zartunindi

We were looking to check another item off the AZ 20-20 list, and saw that this hike was in season and right near Phoenix, so despite not having high hopes we drove up to check it out before the summer got too hot. Wow this was a great surprise! A nice easy stroll down badger springs wash led to a cool clear river right outside of town--can't believe I didn't know about this since I grew up in anthem just 20 minutes away. We followed the river south for a while, alternating between walking on soft sand to hopping over big grey granite boulders, totally smoothed by past high flows. Picking different routes and finding creative ways to cross the river without getting our toes wet was a fun game, and there was plenty of shade under trees and big rocks. Found a lot of great places to swim, and almost as many good places to camp, including one or two that had been used before (rings of rocks where someone had a fire). I'd love to come back with overnight gear to give us an opportunity to go really far, apparently we need to travel at least 6 miles down the river to find the deepest part, and that would be slow going crawling over all these rocks. I wonder if someone could follow the canyon down and come out a side canyon at the sunset point rest stop? that might be a nice almost-loop, or a really easy place to leave a car.

Lots of cars in the trailhead parking lot (6-10) but we only ever saw three groups right were the trail meets the river, and two more sunbathing groups slightly further down. Very little trash except for cigarette butts and a couple surprisingly good looking tires half-buried under huge 15 ft tall boulders (how did those get there?). Except we actually lost (and couldn't find later) a little paper bag we were using to pick up trash...

Neat to see pinecones washed down from up north, and pools full of big tadpoles, little fish, and weird wiggly things that might be mosquito larvae(?) but we missed all the petroglyphs! Can't wait to go back.

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

Light flow

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Apr 14 2017

MountainMatt

Guides 3
Routes 202
Photos 3,513
Triplogs 530

male

Joined Jan 24 2016
Arizona

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Apr 14 2017
		MountainMatt • Triplogs 530

Hiking	4.83 Miles	582 AEG

Hiking	4.83 Miles	4 Hrs 16 Mns		1.82 mph
	582 ft AEG	1 Hour 37 Mns Break	25 LBS Pack

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Finally hit up this off the highway TH and I must say I was surprisingly impressed! :app:

On my way down the trickling Badger Springs Wash I came to a halt on the trail just before stepping on a small Rattlesnake (first of the year) I gave him/her plenty of space but it was a mean little one and immediately coiled up and began to rattle in striking position, I took a horrible cell phone photo and moved on.

The Badger Springs/ Agua Fria River is a real gem right about now, vivid greens and an abundance of water make this place a bit surreal considering its location and ease of access.
What pleased me most is that this area had a lot less human impact than I had imagined, I only picked up a handful of trash and it truly seems like not many people ever venture down river.

My original destination was Perry Tank Canyon but I was feeling lazy and the constant boulder scrambling and wading drained me even more, I instead took a nap on one of the many scenic lush green beaches and just relaxed.

Made my way back upstream and found a couple areas to take photos until the sunset over this idyllic little oasis.

Wildflowers Observation Light

Light flow

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Dec 29 2016

The_N

Routes 54
Photos 1,508
Triplogs 325

39 male

Joined Mar 18 2015
Payson, AZ

Badger - Baby - Agua Fria Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 29 2016
		The_N • Triplogs 325

Hiking	9.21 Miles	1,156 AEG

Hiking	9.21 Miles	4 Hrs 19 Mns	2.15 mph
	1,156 ft AEG	2 Mns Break

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