Arizona Epic Adventures - Playin' in the Pinaleños

[Orange]

Sick of the valley heat? Yeah, me too...so lets find a 200 ft waterfall to play around in Southern Arizona. Yes, there is such a thing! Come out and enjoy the awe and awesomeness of the Pinaleño Mountains in this both challenging and rewarding Southern Arizona backpacking trip!

Starting Elevation: 9,434 ft.
Elevation Gain: 6,034 ft.
Elevation Loss: 6,139 ft.
Net Gain/(Loss): (104)
Difficulty: Moderately Strenuous (2.5/5 first 12.6mi; 5/5 last 4.4mi)

Located in the Safford ranger district, this section of the Coronado National Forest is home to some of the more remarkably striking landscape in Arizona. At over 7,000 feet of vertical relief, the Pinaleños ‘appear’ taller than any other mountains in the state. Capped by its highest point of Mt. Graham at 10,720 feet, these mountains, according to The Nature Conservancy, traverse five ecological communities and contain “the highest diversity of habitats of any mountain range in North America.”

Besides all of that cool jazz, did I mention that we’ll be camping near the Ash Creek Falls? What are the Ash Creek Falls I hear you ask? Well, check out the pictures and read the description of trail #307! This is going to be a wicked cool trip!

The Plan
We will meet Friday and drive to the Pinaleños. Once arriving, we will setup camp in a dispersed area near where we will be starting out from on Saturday. Saturday will be our longest day, hiking nearly 12.5 of the total miles. While there is significant elevation change, I do not see this being anything particularly problematic…because Saturday is mostly all downhill (literally) at a pretty regular pace. Once hiking in to Oak Flat at the Ash Creek Falls, we will setup camp, unwind, play in the water (please do not go over the falls, I will not climb down to recover you), and enjoy our typical fireside (probably still no fire though) shenanigans. Sunday, we’ll have a much shorter hike at less than 5 miles, but remember…this is the ‘up’ part. With the up and down nature of the trip, I would highly recommend trekking poles. I have them and use them often…but they compensate for my little legs! So that decision will be left entirely up to you. Just remember, your knees will thank you!

Getting There
Safford is simple enough to get to. After meeting up at Bass Pro, we will take the 202 around to the 60 East and drive to Globe. We can grab a bite to eat in Globe and head down the 70 all the way to Safford. Once we get into Safford, we will be taking US Highway 191 south and we will reach a junction with the Swift Trail (AZ 366). We follow his road for 29 miles, straight up into the mountains, to the Columbine Ranger Station where we will find parking nearby.

-Poochie
http://www.meetup.com/Arizona-Epic-Adventures-Under35/

[nonot]

FYI: Oak Flat is not at Ash Creek Falls, though you will pass the falls along the way. There is also no dispersed camping at your parking spot, though there is a fee campground there.

[Orange]

Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it.

-Poochie