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| Backpack | 12.36 Miles |
3,088 AEG |
| | Backpack | 12.36 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 3,088 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Headed up to WCC on Friday afternoon with the goal of hiking down to the creek and getting camp set up before dark. After a quick dinner in Camp Verde, we finished the drive to the de facto TH, as defined on the official HAZ route, which is a little less than 0.5 mi. from where the trailhead road spurs off from FS412. Anyone with a low/medium clearance will probably want to just park along FR214 and just walk from there.
The actual/official trailhead is another 0.6 mi. down the road from the "HAZ TH," and about 1 mi. from FR214, but the road gets pretty rough beyond the HAZ TH, even for high clearance vehicles.
Anyway, we started hiking around 6:15 pm, and it was a quick road walk to the official TH, where we signed the register and began our descent. The benefit of hiking in that this time of day was that, once below the rim, we were entirely in the shade.
The descent is steep and pretty unrelenting, though there is one spot, where the trail actually climbs back up a bit before resuming the downward plunge. The final 25 yards of descent are the steepest and required descending with care. I chose to do the whole trip in Tevas w/o socks, and the descent was the only section I wished I'd had other footwear. But really, it was fine.
We made it to creek level just as the setting sun was sliding off the upper ridges of the opposite canyon rim, where we saw evidence of some folks having set up camp just downstream of the drop-in point, on some flat slickrock.
Our planned campsite was a sandy beach another 1/2 mile-ish upstream, so we set off in that direction. From this point on, there is no trail. We arrived at the unoccupied beach camp spot with little time to spare, but managed to get camp set up before darkness descended.
vImmediately, we were surprised by the appearance of fireflies/lightning bugs, which I've never seen in AZ and didn't know they existed in these parts. Apparently, WCC is a good place to see them and exactly this time of year is the best likelihood for an encounter. We enjoyed this surprise and watched them flit around the campsite with their lighted bellies reflecting off the adjacent pool on the creek.
The campspot had plenty of space for three tents or hammocks, and another secluded camp spot was just upstream on the left for another tent. A lovely spot with a nice pool for dipping in at your feet.
After a pleasant night, we were packed up and ready for our day hike to Maiden Falls by 7 am. We strung up our bacpacks in a nearby tree and were off with daypacks. Our overnight strategy paid off in allowing us to get to the falls and enjoy them in solitude for a good while.
The route to the falls is typical of WCC hiking--several crossings of the creek and times when it was best (and most scenic) just to hike up the creek. Not nearly as many crawdads and a lot less poison ivy in this section, compared to the Tramway/Maxwell section we did a couple of weeks ago.
One largish mandatory swim where the iconic log is lodged above the narrows. My wife and I brought blow up tubes and enjoyed floating, which we did much more of on the return trip downstream. But tubes aren't necessary if you are okay with some short swims.
Arriving at the falls, they are impressive by AZ creek standards, with a lovely pool below them that affords nice cliff jumping opportunities on either side. Several flat rock places to camp. I'd love to experience the evening light on the redrocks here, but hauling your camping gear up and back would be a bit cumbersome. That said, clearly many choose this option, and indeed after an hour or two at the falls, we were joined by a solo female hiker who planned to spend that night at the falls.
Lots of fish in the pool at the falls, and all along the creek. The biggest we saw was around 8 inches. I brought goggles and felt like I could almost reach out and grab them.
After lunch and our fill of jumping, swimming, and playing around at and under the falls, as well as a short explore further upstream (nothing noteworthy), we headed back downstream just as another solo hiker arrived.
We took our time on the return, enjoying the pools along the way, and ran into a handful of other day hikers, as well as a couple who had hiked up from Bull Pen for an overnight trip.
Once back at our beach campsite, we saddled our backpacks and steeled ourselves for a hot hike out. I advocated for playing around creekside for another hour or so to let the sun go down a bit, but was overruled. Oh well.
We dunked ourselves in the creek a few times and tried out the rock slide in the creek at the turn-up point before leaving the creek for good.
The climb was challenging and warm, as expected, though not as brutal as I thought it would be. And even though the sun had not set, I was pleasantly surprised by pockets of shade from trees/bushes and a couple of sheer cliffs we skirted under on the way up.
Back at the car, we piled in and headed back to CV for dinner at Wendy's before making the drive home. Traffic was uneventful on I-17, and the new additional lanes were nice! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
I marked the loss spot on my route, so let me know if you find it on your next paddle! 
So, it took us awhile longer than it should have to navigate. All good though.
