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| Hiking | 7.00 Miles |
520 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.00 Miles | 6 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.08 mph |
| 520 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | First time for me out to The Crack, me and my buddy decided to give it a go for Easter!
We were the first car in the lot at 6:45am, a welcome sight. We decided to stick to the trail as this was the first time we had been on Bell Trail. The first two miles is decent but it doesn't give away the wonders that sit in the creek. We poked in and out of the creek at around 1 mile just to see what we were missing down there. It was absolutely gorgeous with lots of red rock slabs, some parts looked just like West Fork of Oak Creek like Joe noted in the description, I almost felt like I was at Slide Rock.
Further along we started a perfect ascent into the cliffs. Not too steep, not too easy, my favorite! It must be noted I hate extensive down hill sections, I'm a happy camper when we I see the trail go up ^ ! Great views along this section of Wet Beaver Creek and the red canyon walls.
Next stop, The Crack! It was totally empty here and we spent a good hour checking things out and really enjoying the space. The water was a bit chilly and it was still early so I decided not to swim. There were some good looking fish, I'm assuming trout, throughout the waters. I hardly ever see fish that size in the water around Phoenix, only where there are decent sized rivers.
We continued on down the trail crossing the creek, and began to go uphill again. We kept going up the mountain for about half a mile and decided to turn back so we could take the creek back to the car instead of the trail, and still make it back in time for Easter dinner! The way back down the creek was fantastic. Countless pools and interesting rock walls along the water. Now it really felt like Oak Creek Canyon! We saw the water gauge and also what appeared to be a cart on a cable to cross the water. I didn't see where it connected on the other side, so I'm not really sure what they use this for. We pushed on hard through the creek weaving through several natural obstacles. Now things were getting fun!
Made it back to the car by 2pm, which was now surrounded by over a dozen cars. We missed/avoided most of the people on this trip which I was fairly happy about. I hear large groups often come on this trail, it's just a PITA when I gotta get in front of ten people with my dog and they are all taking up the trail, lol.
All in all a GREAT time on this amazing trail. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Brought my dog with me too, she really needed to get out and hike. When I got there the parking lot was empty, it's been a while since that has happened. I hiked Spur Cross trail to Tortuga, to Elephant Mountain and back. Saw two deer, who were really wary of my dog. Also saw a coyote who did not like me near him. He stood in one spot staring at me just barking. My dog thought "Hey! A friend." He didn't want to be friends! He wanted us gone! 
