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| Hiking | 17.90 Miles |
2,058 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.90 Miles | 7 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.80 mph |
| 2,058 ft AEG | 1 Hour 11 Mns Break | 14 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | I've turned down this hike a couple times now as ruins don't excite me much. Figured I best jump on the opportunity as it may never present itself again.
Paul Johnson gave us our orientation. Little did I know it would have such a lasting impact. On to the hike I loaded the gps route. Eight and a half miles, really? Under twenty for the day put a little zip into my mentality. The only question left was how long was the admiring session at the ruins going to take?
At the gate I was careful not to pinch my fingers as described at orientation. The views from the get-go are spectacular. The hike through the canyon was quite scenic and enjoyable. The sand wasn't too bad considering all. Heck the creek crossings were rather refreshing too.
At the main waterfall we got off track. The side canyon was the most difficult part of the day for myself. I got stuck in mud quicksand. Not deep but it took some serious energy to break free. Back on track we opted for the high trail. It has a big wash out that drops ten to fifteen feet and right back up and the rest travels easy.
At the rangers check-in we were greeted with the most sincere and warm welcome I ever recall. Diane and Steve Hayden insisted we stop in. I'm not into the whole smashing up herbs and running scalding hot water over for consumption deal but jj3 took them up on it. Steve asked if we understood that the alcove was closed. I thought he was joking. Nope, there was a big washout last year. Since they don't do excavations or something (yeah I was listening well) the tribe needs to examine these washouts when they naturally occur. Sounded good to me! Since I'm not into ruins much I'm thinking this is shaping up to be a decent hike...lol
Steve is the perfect guy for those interested. I sincerely felt bad as he poured out information. Joel, Kyle, Rob and countless others would likely find this stuff fascinating and more importantly be able to respond intelligently. After nine hours or maybe it was thirty minutes we were off to view the ruins from a distant. Of which I overheard could take around two hours. In the back of my head I'm thinking this will take longer than a movie. Oh please just shoot me now. Later jj3 explained that was if we toured the ruins. ahhh
So we sat at the benches looking over to the ruins. Steve was giving a prize presentation on god only knows what. I'm scanning for buzz words that I can relate to like integer, taco, gps. Wait a minute... hey! why is everyone else here curled over asleep and I'm the one paying attention!
Steve is beyond cool. We simply share different interests. He did enlighten me on the importance of a few things. We said our goodbyes. Steve invited us back, Diane gave us a warm sendoff. Heading back I was in awe that we had already gained 1k and would be hiking down hill until the big climb out. It never got hot the entire day. I enjoyed it all thoroughly. At a moderate pace this only took six and half hours.
For jj3 this completed his "100 Hikes in Arizona" book. I asked "so what are you going to do next", he said "I'm throwing the book away"
Thanks jj3 for a cool little trip to an area of Arizona I've never seen! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx2HH_drvVY |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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