caddymob's Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Jan 18 2009

caddymob

Guides 2
Routes 2
Photos 92
Triplogs 3

43 male

Joined Jul 16 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Mount Ajo

Southwest, AZ

Mount Ajo

Southwest, AZ

Hiking		Jan 18 2009
		caddymob • Triplogs 3

Hiking	8.80 Miles	2,800 AEG

Hiking	8.80 Miles	8 Hrs	1.10 mph
	2,800 ft AEG

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Did this hike with a couple friends over the MLK weekend. Great hike, and talk about views!! From the top we could see the ocean ~70 miles to the south. What a treat -- the ocean from Arizona!! This is a pretty strenuous hike, at least if you are like me and insist on bringing 2 SLR cameras, a big tripod, a 70-200mm lens... And other stuff like water...

I really wanted to get a 360° panorama from the top, hence all the gear. I posted a small version here on HAZ, but also have a Big panorama viewer version on my website.

We took about 8 hours to do the whole hike, but that included about 1.5 hours sitting on the summit just soaking in the views and having a cold beer. Also quite a bit of stopping to explore along the route, and on the way down my girlfriend slipped and tore up her knee a bit, so that slowed the pace dramatically. I logged 8.8 miles on my GPS, but we did not do the 'loop' down through Estes Canyon -- just Bull Pasture up and back. The Park service has a warning sign at Bull Pasture that the trail is hard to follow up to Mount Ajo -- I would disagree, unless your idea of a trail is something more like the Bright Angel

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Dec 23 2007

caddymob

Guides 2
Routes 2
Photos 92
Triplogs 3

43 male

Joined Jul 16 2006
Phoenix, AZ

Fish Creek Canyon - Upper Bridge

Phoenix, AZ

Fish Creek Canyon - Upper Bridge

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 23 2007
		caddymob • Triplogs 3

Hiking	3.00 Miles	600 AEG

Hiking	3.00 Miles	3 Hrs	1.00 mph
	600 ft AEG

no routes

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Fish Creek is perfect right now. There is a good amount of water flowing, but not too much as to make it impassable and the cottonwoods and sycamores are showing their fall colors (in late December!). This is a great canyon, one of my favorites close to the valley.

I wonder what Joe describes as a spectacular canyon since this one doesn't get those marks from him... I haven't found one that blows this one away, at least outside of Southern Utah. Its not an easy hike by any measure, but the rewards are well worth it. There are waterfalls, waterfalls, and more waterfalls if you go at the right time. There is some fantastic geology including the geode pocked boulders Joe mentioned, and this crazy swirl in the rock face - its like the earth was as soft as dough and just folded over on itself. This is one of my favorite features in the canyon.

All in all, this is a great place to explore and climb around. It's easy to get to and yet isn't crowded. The terrain filters out the less adventurous, which is fine with me! At the entrance as I sat on my tailgate putting on my boots I must have seen 12 different cars packed with tourists stop and take a quick casual shot of this very scene and get in their cars and take off. I sat and stared at this beauty for like 10 minutes, took 40 some odd pictures of this spot alone, and then hiked up the canyon for the afternoon collecting some 500 pictures. Sigh. I shouldn't complain, I had the canyon all to myself.

Be prepared if you plan to go into this canyon. Last spring some friends and I rescued a group from the Arizona Trailblazers in this canyon. They were totally unprepared - out of water, out of shape, and didn't have flash lights. We had to basically carry 3 elderly men out, in the dark. They were so dehydrated and tired they couldn't move. This was in February, so if we weren't there to help them, they would have spent the night in the canyon and with temperatures dipping below freezing...

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Dec 16 2007

caddymob

Guides 2
Routes 2
Photos 92
Triplogs 3

43 male

Joined Jul 16 2006
Phoenix, AZ

White Canyon

Globe, AZ

White Canyon

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Dec 16 2007
		caddymob • Triplogs 3

Hiking	6.00 Miles	660 AEG

Hiking	6.00 Miles	1 Day 8 Hrs
	660 ft AEG

no routes

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Visited White Canyon for my 4th time last weekend. I knew it would be spectacular after the recent rains. Lots of water and the cottonwoods were nice and golden yellow.

This canyon is not for the casual hiker. Its rough and knarly - especially with a lot of water flowing. The canyon is littered with house sized boulders and choked with catclaw, ironwood, and tamarisk (Grrr). With a lot of water flowing, much of the stream bed cannot be used as a trail. You have to get creative, take your time, and expect your clothes and skin to get nice and torn up.

With this in mind, White Canyon is a special place. The huge boulders can be seen as a obstacle or part of what makes this a giant playground. This is a canyon that forces you to go slow, explore, and take it in. The shear canyon walls on either side remind me of some of the sandstone canyons of S. Utah.

There are several waterfalls that depending on the rain can be quite amazing. There are two major falls, the first I call The Wave at 33°10'13.83"N, 111° 5'32.57"W. I would imagine this is where the canyon gets its name. These falls are made of some beautiful white (with a tinge of pink) rock. The other main falls, I call Tube Falls, is a fall that has carved a tubular channel in the rock - its kind of like a little water slide.

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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