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| | | Massacre and Canyon of the Waterfalls loop, AZ | | | |
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Massacre and Canyon of the Waterfalls loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.97 Miles |
1,981 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.97 Miles | 5 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.66 mph |
| 1,981 ft AEG | 32 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Wanted to get out and check see if there was any evidence of recent rains that had been advertised in the weather forecasts. Sadly, it seems like the forecasts were overly optimistic early in the week and by the end of the week, most of the rain fizzled.
The trails definitely looked like they had been rained on (they bore speckled patterns from landing raindrops) but by the early morning when I got started, the trails were completely dry.
Knowing that I was planning on hitting some extremely popular trails, I aimed for a 7am start out of the trailhead. On arrival, there were only a handful of cars and I saw one couple with their pup hit the trail ahead of me while I was pulling my things together. What a difference day of the week makes...heading up trail, I could hear the dull roar of traffic on 88 interspersed with the much more pleasant sounds of cactus wren and quail.
The Massacre Falls trail is a veritable highway, showing significant wear and erosion, likely due to its popularity with the hordes in addition to equestrian traffic. Encountered numerous folk hiking out as I was hiking up, lapped one couple, and got lapped by one couple. There really wasn't any evidence of any rain found aside from the water droplet pits on the trail surface obscuring footprints from visitors prior to the rain falling. After checking out the falls, I headed back down the trail, looking for a use path and cairn that would get me on the cutover trail towards Canyon of the Waterfalls / the Praying Hands loop. The use path I hopped on turned out to be a dud, disappearing into the tall grasses - I realized should have stayed on the Massacre Falls trail a bit longer before cutting over as I found myself on top of a cliff band. It was easy enough to walk cross country to eventually meet up with the fairly well established use trail to cut over towards Canyon of the Waterfalls / Praying Hands loop.
Once I regained established trails, weekend hiker traffic became more evident, with numerous other hikers spotted. The hike up to Canyon of the Waterfalls (the waterfall at in Weekes Wash) was appreciably easier for me compared to the first time I hiked it back in November when I was just getting back into hiking - was nice to actually feel a difference in my ability, though I'm still ridiculously slow on inclines  ah well, it's not a race. Managed to check out the dryfall area quickly before others who had been yelling up canyon arrived. The pool at the base of the falls has been replenished by the recent rainfalls, but I anticipate it won't last long as the weather heats up.
On a whim, I decided to widen my return route, and headed towards praying hands, where a climbing group had been working on summiting - when I was heading up towards Canyon of the Waterfalls, they were at approximately the equivalent to the first knuckle on the index finger, and by the time I hit praying hands, they had summited and at least one climber was rapelling down. Praying hands marked the beginning of the absolutely bonkers weekend hiking traffic complete with train horns and booms from the Goldfield Ghost Town down the way on 88. I had forgotten how horribly braided the trail is and was glad to break free of the bulk of the weekend visitor traffic once I hit the crosscut turnoff.
Wildlife: a few lizards, a ground squirrel (too fast for me to identify), cactus wren, quail, and various other birbs.
It was nice to get out in the morning for a quick-ish hike, though I'll have to check my sanity next time I decide to do a popular trail during the weekend! |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Some ocotillo are putting out blooms (no leaves though!) |
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First Water Creek Falls |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Pool at the bottom of the falls replenished by recent rain, no flow observed. | | _____________________
| Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
ah well, it's not a race. Managed to check out the dryfall area quickly before others who had been yelling up canyon arrived. The pool at the base of the falls has been replenished by the recent rainfalls, but I anticipate it won't last long as the weather heats up.
I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the road was to the TH. The days of rain hadn’t hurt it at all. I was also surprised at all the beat up campers, cars and debris that line SR 88 and the surrounding area. The closure of the Goldfield area seems to have caused a migration. 
Today was well worth it. Water was flowing down sections of walls that I hadn’t seen before. Shared the falls with one woman, before heading back. Within the first half mile passed 19 people heading in! 
Route 
Not too shabby.
). Great hike and a great morning. While exiting on first water road, I saw not 1 but 3 coyotes crossing the road. I have certainly seen coyotes before but they were always solitary and seemingly in need of a meal. These 3 were obviously traveling together and robust, looking more like healthy German Shepherds than coyotes. Of course, I stopped the car and tried to grab a photo but they were too fast for me.
