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| Hiking | 8.72 Miles |
1,009 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.72 Miles | 3 Hrs 45 Mns | | 2.58 mph |
| 1,009 ft AEG | 22 Mns Break | 26 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | For my wife and I, this was our first trip to Ash Creek and it was nothing short of remarkable. We probably missed the peak of the fall colors by about two weeks but what we were treated with was nothing short of fantastic.
Our plans initially were to visit the Clear Creek Wilderness area (thank you @ALMAL for answering questions) but we changed destination last minute after the recommendation from a colleague (and speaking with @joebartels) for a better fall hike. I cannot believe a place this beautiful exists in Arizona. Prior to the spring of 2019, I have not been backpacking since my early twenty's. My wife and I have decided to up our recreating with more physical oriented activities and I am now just getting into exploring Arizona through a different perspective. This area is truly special and I hope it remains that way.
Having decided on keeping this a quick trip and budget friendly we agreed on backpacking into the canyon. However, I think we’re going to reconsider that for our next visit. We started our hike at the gate leading into the area which gave us the opportunity to add a mile'n change to the hike. Once we got into the canyon we noticed a limited number of campsites (that we found) and most of which appeared to be too close to the trail. We didn't want to disturb the area too much by off-trail exploring. Unfortunately our home for the evening was less than ideal but it made due for what it was.
We also noticed the area was extremely dry, to say the least. I spoke with Safford District about fire restrictions before our trip and they indicated none were in place. When we got there we were surprised the area was not in at least Stage I conditions. Lighting a fire would likely have been extremely foolish, so we embraced the suck and 'enjoyed' the brrrr for a couple hours before bedtime. There is something about just sitting in a dark forest and listening to the sounds around you. Some of which bring a feeling of discontent while some of that feeling is extremely peaceful. No fires but we still enjoyed our evening out there!
I hope I am able to catch this place in it’s peak in 2020 and I look forward to visiting in the late spring for a different view of the area. Thanks for reading. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Extreme
I think this was the last 'hurrah' of the colors. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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