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| | | Holdout Black Rock Creek Loop, AZ | | | |
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Holdout Black Rock Creek Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 16.18 Miles |
2,367 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.18 Miles | 10 Hrs 25 Mns | | 1.79 mph |
| 2,367 ft AEG | 1 Hour 23 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | S and I hiked a portion of Holdout Creek back at the end of January, but being a 4-hour drive, we did not have a ton of time, so I packed up the 4Runner, and we headed out Tuesday afternoon to camp at the TH near Reef Tank to hike this loop. 941 is rocky and has some minor erosion, but nothing a 4WD HC vehicle can't handle. 68 has a couple of minor eroded steep sections, but the biggest thing about 68 is the width, as it's pretty tight, expect a ton of AZ pinstrips. After stopping at the Taylor Freeze in Pima (I've driven by this place for years, and finally stopped), we arrived at the TH around 5:30 to discover two FJ's (one with bull horns) parked, which was a complete surprise considering the drive and seclusion of the area. Discussed moving to a different location due to the other vehicles already there, but we never saw the people driving them, and they were still there when we left Thursday evening. The TH was cold, wet, and shrouded in cloud cover due to the rain earlier in the day. We got up before sunrise and started the loop CW right at sunrise.
Easy road walk on 68 to the turn off road to Black Rock Canyon. This road is insanely steep and eroded in some places, with nowhere to turn a vehicle around if needed. I would not drive my 4Runner down it; however, tire tracks were going down it.
Black Rock Creek
We initially missed the gate by Poncho Tank but soon realized the mistake and retreated. The only carin we saw on Black Rock all day was in the creek bed after dropping down off the road; after that, it's a ton of route finding or walking in the creek. After a rock-pounding hike up/down Campaign Creek last week, part II was in store so a couple of times, we jumped on a path we thought was part of the tread, only to find it to be a cow path that ended or went up some insanely steep ridge; it definitely needs some carins built, but unfortunately, we did not have the time to do so. Most of the hike (except the last mile or so) is unburnt with tons of Pinyon Pines, the last mile is Defcon 4 for catclaw, I gave the usual sacrifices  . Spent a few minutes at the corral near the confluence, took a break in the shade, and continued.
Holdout Creek
We initially attempted to check out the grottos in Holdout, but after hiking up the creek for a few, there was a section with boulders too big to climb. S had Chumley's bypass route around; however, it was already near 1, and we didn't want to delay our climb up Holdout, so we put it on the back burner for next time. As we backtracked and started up the Holdout trail, we heard a dog barking, so we assumed our FJ friends at the TH were up there camping. However, after we made the initial small climb, we spotted the dog, walking around, barking with no one in sight. We called him over to look for a tag, but there was not one. He would not let us get within a couple of feet of him and would run away when we got close. He followed us for about a mile, then we never saw him again. We hoped he was with our FJ party, but were not certain. As it was in January, the trail is messy with sacrificial plants along the way to assist you. There are some carins, but route finding is necessary. The temps were only supposed to be in the high 60's with a nice breeze; however, S's gauge was reading 80 degrees with zero wind. With minimal shade, the heat started to get to me, and it was a slower hike out, stopping a couple of extra times to cool off and filter water in the creek. We got back to the TH a little before 5:30, cleaned up, and made the long drive home.
While most of this area was affected by the Pinnacle fire, it is still beautiful in a different way, and the secluded nature of it adds to that. Thanks, S, for joining me on this adventure. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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Holdout Creek |
Heavy flow |
Heavy flow |
| | | Good clear running water to filter. | | _____________________
Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. Made the turn at the RR T junction and headed up to the tunnel. The last section is hella steep with tons of sand to slide on (not sure what was worse, going up or down). We got to the tunnel with a group of 3, already there. A bit disappointing seeing the tunnel only goes back maybe 100 feet, the hike there and back was not worth the ROI. Made the steep climb down, then back up to the rim. 
.](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
. Stopped for a few to talk with a father and son in Barks Canyon who were on their yearly backpacking trip. The father was 83, carrying a thousand-pound pack, but was still out there doing it. S helped him make a couple of adjustments to his pack, and off they went. I absolutely despise Cardiac Hill, as my knees were screaming at me the whole climb down. The lower we got, the more mall traffic we came across, with a ton of cars and people at the mall TH. 
. Other than that, just a nice, quiet hike with beautiful scenery. Tons of deer tracks, but no wildlife sightings, just some birds and a nice looking Cardinal with no human sightings except for a guy parked at the TH who asked if we were hiking. Not sure what gave it away 
. Uneventful hike back as my knees were not happy with me descending the steep sections. Temps were good all day, with a little bit of refreshing wind higher up; however, down lower, the brush and grasses were wet, which cranked up the humidity. Overall, the trail is easy to follow as there are tons of carins to assist. There is a little brush here and there, and up by the ridge, the grass is thick in spots, but nothing horrible. Tons of signs of wildlife, but none seen, including the two-legged kind. There were no fresh prints along the trail, or along the very small section of AZT we walked. 
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. With this being an 'easier' hike, I decided not to wear my ankle brace (which turned out to be a stupid decision). Nice easy hike moving past the GR and SF junctions before turning into Deer Creek, where I lost focus for just a split second, rolling my left ankle, the same recovering ankle I should have had a brace on 
Water was plentiful, flowing nearly the entire way except for the bottom section. I would love to come back to hike this trail in the fall when the colors are plentiful.
