|
| | | Aravaipa Canyon - East Entrance, AZ | | | |
|
|
Aravaipa Canyon - East Entrance, AZ
| | |
| |
|
| Backpack | 19.70 Miles |
200 AEG |
| | Backpack | 19.70 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 200 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Four. Four treasures to find! Last year when we explored the Aravaipa Wilderness - West entrance, we ran into the Ranger and he asked if we've ever done the East entrance. I knew it was a very long dirt road and possible 4WD for the last 2 miles. I responded that I heard about it but hadn't. He said it was worth the exploration for four very distinct features. The treasures are an Arch/Window in the high rock wall, a slot like canyon, a "gushing" spring from a mountain wall and the cliff dwelling in the area. My interest was piqued, so I set out to get permits for May of 2023  to explore. I attempted to get 6 permits, but with the new website for permits, it is impossible to obtain that many anymore.  I was able to secure 2 permits and chose Lois to join me as we are very similar in stride, speed and child-like wonder with new locations. As luck has it, my truck was diagnosed with needing front tie rods so I didn't feel comfortable driving it down the long dirt road (40+ miles of bumpy dirt road!) I am so blessed with friends like Peg  who agreed to swap trucks for the weekend so I could still experience this unique location. So after just getting off the river trip and the long drive home, I swap trucks and pack the backpack for the next adventure! Aravaipa here we come!
The drive takes 5 hours and over 40 miles is dirt road. It's not horrible, but I'm sure glad I didn't attempt this with my truck! We read reports of multiple creek crossings and after about 3-4 of them, we end up at the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness parking lot with the restroom. Since I was in someone else's truck, I didn't feel comfortable doing the last 2.0 miles that indicated 4WD was recommended. So we would start our trek from there. We partake in a mini happy hour  and set up camp for the night. While waiting for nightfall, a turkey  decided to serenade us! Of course we had an interesting conversation until he finally tired of my antics!  I will say this, I never knew they hunkered down for the night in "trees"! I thought they were a ground bird for some reason. Lois joked and said "Watch, he will be the alarm clock in the morning". With the full moon  lighting up the area, we head off to sleep.
Gobble, gobble, gobble! Lo an behold, that dang bird was the wake up call the next morning! I hear Lois laughing  from her tent and I join in. Stupid bird, it's too early. OK, Fine! We'll get up! We grab coffee and breakfast and then head out. The sign says 1.5 miles to Turkey Creek and the East entrance to Aravaipa. I call pumpkin!  We both tracked the trail and it was 2 miles! Yes, that last .5 miles make a difference! (Especially on the trek back out!) Once at the Turkey Creek area we hide our backpacks  and take the "just up the creek/canyon a bit" trail. Well "a bit" turned out to be 1.5 miles! What is it with folks and accurate mileage?  We find the Cliff Dwelling and explore it a bit and we're thankful we decided to drop the heavy backpacks before doing this little side trip. Mark off Treasure #1 ! Once back at the actual entrance to the Aravaipa Wilderness we head off into the canyon. The goal was to take our time and not really travel that far in. I wanted to watch the wildlife and explore the Deer Creek/Hell Hole Canyon which would be where we would find the other 3 Treasures! We find a great site about 2 miles in. This will do! We set up camp and participate in another happy hour! Cheers! This campsite is home to the Vermilion Flycatcher! What a beautiful bird! Actually Aravaipa is home to 190 species of birds! We enjoy listening to all the different birds. While waiting for sunset, I see a couple deer just past Lois. We slowly grab our phones and take photos of these beautiful creatures. Lois gets a great video of them walking past our campsite in the creek. Wow! So cool to see! We hear the turkey somewhere farther down the creek thankful he chose to be down there and not our alarm clock again for tomorrow!  We had gathered some downed wood for a night campfire. We love staying up late tending to the campfire. Temps were predicted to be around 45° to 50° at night. Not bad, but still chilly to me. Days would be in the mid 70° to low 80°. So in other words...BEAUTIFUL weather! Tomorrow, we explore so off to bed and we go to our respective tents. I'm close to the creek so the sound of the water lulls me to sleep. No earplugs needed this trip.
Saturday we leisurely wake and look forward to the sun. Lois had made the comment about how cool it would be to see the deer again.  Ask an you shall receive! The same deer show up down the creek and we watch them until they disappear in the canyon. This is exactly what I wanted from this weekend. Wildlife and exploring Deer Creek/Hell Hole Canyon! So off we go with our day packs to explore. We had actually camped very close to the entrance to this canyon. It was a short quarter mile to the entrance. So up the canyon we go! The canyon gets narrow and looks similar to some of the slot canyons I've explored in the past. Unique trees, hoodoos and side canyons. This slot like area is Treasure #2! Carry on! After a bit longer we finally find Treasure #3! The Arch/Window is high up the mountainside. I say a thank you to the Ranger who told us about this canyon! We continue up the canyon looking for our last Treasure. There are some hawks  just playing in the winds above and we just stop to watch them for a bit. It would be fun to just fly high above the canyon. Time to quit day dreaming and move along. We come upon a spring dripping from the wall and I'm not sure this is the "gushing" spring the Ranger talked about so we continue forward. After a bit we hear what sounds like a waterfall! We get to an area where water is just "gushing" from the side of a mountain! This is Treasure #4! And it is beautiful! There is no mistaking this is what the Ranger told us about! We take a break at the "gushing" spring and feel a sense of awe. What a fantastic Wilderness area! How blessed are we to explore this area! Time to head out. As we exit the canyon I noticed my boots are giving me some grief. I shake it off. We head off to another canyon called Paisano Canyon that the BLM office indicated "after hiking about 5 minutes from Aravaipa Creek will lead you to a beautiful, clear pool being fed by a waterfall above". So off we go to find this next extra Treasure. We get to the canyon entrance and scramble a bit until we come upon a huge bouldering area. I look at Lois and she looks at me.  "Nah" we say in unison. Neither of us feel like bouldering and it's been a full afternoon already. My boots are really beginning to bug me now.  So we head back to camp. Once we get back I change into my camp sandals and notice I have a couple of blisters from my boots. feces. This is going to make the trek back to the truck a Bitch! Lois had KT tape for me to use tomorrow since I doubt my band-aids will last. While relaxing at camp, the Vermilion Flycatcher returns and we are amused. Then all of a sudden, Mr. Turkey comes around the corner and is headed to our camp. 🏕 He is chomping on the grass and grains for his afternoon meal. We sit still with our cameras and while gnats and mosquitos hover all around us we ignore them to capture some great footage of Mr. Turkey just "gobbling" up dinner! So cool! Treasure #5 - wildlife galore! After Mr. Turkey scurries on, a deer family show up again in the creek! We are excited to view and photo more wildlife and hope we are lucky enough to see Coatimundi as well! After a well deserved dinner, we have another wonderful campfire and enjoy the nights sounds and recap the days events.
Today is Sunday and you are only allowed to stay 3 days/2 nights in Aravaipa Wilderness area. It is also restricted to 30 people entering from the West and 20 people from the East. We rarely see anyone, just like we like it, but did encounter a few folks trekking the creek. No where near the 50 allotted people, but that's fine by us! My feet are dreading the hike out and even with the KT tape, I'm struggling. So I adjust and just take it a bit slower and modify my steps so they don't hurt as best I can. It's only 2 miles to get out of the canyon and we encounter more deer on our way out. I've never seen so many deer before anywhere! After we get to the exit of the canyon, I change into my hiking sandals for relief and boy does that make a difference! The remaining 2 miles is mostly a 4WD dirt road with just a few creek crossings so my pace picks back up and my feet thank me! We make it back to the truck and are thankful for this adventure! God is Great!
We head off on the 40+ miles of dirt road and finally hit the pavement. So we head off to Globe for lunch/dinner. We find a cool old Saloon and grab some beers and food. This is always a treat after a fun adventure! Then it's the highway to home! I drop off Lois at her house and then negotiate with Peg on the return of her truck. I need to go through a car wash and vacuum the inside before I return it to her. So tomorrow it is!
I'm incredibly thankful for the many wonderful friends and my loving family that support my adventure seeking life! I am ever so thankful for my health and will continue doing fun adventures as long as this body of mine will allow me to. This is a beautiful earth God created and I'm thankful to visit these wondrous locations and witness the wildlife that flourishes in it.
#livingthedashinaz
#AravaipaEast
#OhDeer
#TurkeyAlarmSet |
|
Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Columbine |
|
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
to explore. I attempted to get 6 permits, but with the new website for permits, it is impossible to obtain that many anymore. 
I was able to secure 2 permits and chose Lois to join me as we are very similar in stride, speed and child-like wonder with new locations. As luck has it, my truck was diagnosed with needing front tie rods so I didn't feel comfortable driving it down the long dirt road (40+ miles of bumpy dirt road!) I am so blessed with friends like Peg 
who agreed to swap trucks for the weekend so I could still experience this unique location. So after just getting off the river trip and the long drive home, I swap trucks and pack the backpack for the next adventure! Aravaipa here we come!
and set up camp for the night. While waiting for nightfall, a turkey 
decided to serenade us! Of course we had an interesting conversation until he finally tired of my antics! 
I will say this, I never knew they hunkered down for the night in "trees"! I thought they were a ground bird for some reason. Lois joked and said "Watch, he will be the alarm clock in the morning". With the full moon 
lighting up the area, we head off to sleep. 
from her tent and I join in. Stupid bird, it's too early. OK, Fine! We'll get up! We grab coffee and breakfast and then head out. The sign says 1.5 miles to Turkey Creek and the East entrance to Aravaipa. I call pumpkin! 
We both tracked the trail and it was 2 miles! Yes, that last .5 miles make a difference! (Especially on the trek back out!) Once at the Turkey Creek area we hide our backpacks 
and take the "just up the creek/canyon a bit" trail. Well "a bit" turned out to be 1.5 miles! What is it with folks and accurate mileage? 
We had gathered some downed wood for a night campfire. We love staying up late tending to the campfire. Temps were predicted to be around 45° to 50° at night. Not bad, but still chilly to me. Days would be in the mid 70° to low 80°. So in other words...BEAUTIFUL weather! Tomorrow, we explore so off to bed and we go to our respective tents. I'm close to the creek so the sound of the water lulls me to sleep. No earplugs needed this trip.
Ask an you shall receive! The same deer show up down the creek and we watch them until they disappear in the canyon. This is exactly what I wanted from this weekend. Wildlife and exploring Deer Creek/Hell Hole Canyon! So off we go with our day packs to explore. We had actually camped very close to the entrance to this canyon. It was a short quarter mile to the entrance. So up the canyon we go! The canyon gets narrow and looks similar to some of the slot canyons I've explored in the past. Unique trees, hoodoos and side canyons. This slot like area is Treasure #2! Carry on! After a bit longer we finally find Treasure #3! The Arch/Window is high up the mountainside. I say a thank you to the Ranger who told us about this canyon! We continue up the canyon looking for our last Treasure. There are some hawks 
just playing in the winds above and we just stop to watch them for a bit. It would be fun to just fly high above the canyon. Time to quit day dreaming and move along. We come upon a spring dripping from the wall and I'm not sure this is the "gushing" spring the Ranger talked about so we continue forward. After a bit we hear what sounds like a waterfall! We get to an area where water is just "gushing" from the side of a mountain! This is Treasure #4! And it is beautiful! There is no mistaking this is what the Ranger told us about! We take a break at the "gushing" spring and feel a sense of awe. What a fantastic Wilderness area! How blessed are we to explore this area! Time to head out. As we exit the canyon I noticed my boots are giving me some grief. I shake it off. We head off to another canyon called Paisano Canyon that the BLM office indicated "after hiking about 5 minutes from Aravaipa Creek will lead you to a beautiful, clear pool being fed by a waterfall above". So off we go to find this next extra Treasure. We get to the canyon entrance and scramble a bit until we come upon a huge bouldering area. I look at Lois and she looks at me. 
"Nah" we say in unison. Neither of us feel like bouldering and it's been a full afternoon already. My boots are really beginning to bug me now. 
So we head back to camp. Once we get back I change into my camp sandals and notice I have a couple of blisters from my boots. feces. 
is coming up so after dinner we were just admiring the sky. Not only was this close to the full moon, but also a meteor shower! Lois saw 2! 
Later on down the trail Cindy sees a Javalina across the way. Just watching us. We boogie on down the trail. 
After lunch on the creek we head back to camp. We know there will be afternoon rains so we want to beat it. Once back at camp we huddle under an attempt of a shade/rain tarp. These trees SUCK! The ground was too soft for tent stakes so we attempted to hang it from tree branches. We rigged something up but none of us trusted it if a wind came up! 
We stayed there until the wind came up and then ran to our tents! 
