Since looking at this MTBR Thread posted up in May of 2010, I been wanting to the opportunity to do a little adventure into the Jug.
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BrettN put out the notice that he wanted to lead a group (along with his brother ScottN), and just like that we had 11 people who wanted to wade/swim the pools, hit the granite slides, and rappel (or jump) the final cliff.
Brett and I split from his house at about 5:15 and we knew it was gonna be warm day. We then picked up Dave and drove into Fountain Hills to meet up with the rest of the group (Mr.& Mrs. Chollaball, ScottN, Justin, Isaac, Alex, Markus, and Jessy).
We then set out AZ-87 and then took a right on AZ-188 and then took a left on A-Cross Road. I'd say we got to the lot about 7:30, and we started the 2.5 mile across and down to the top of the Jug at 8:00.
The walk down was pretty easy, but the concern of being blasted by summer AZ sun on the way out was heavy on our minds.
The top of the Jug was had a small pool of water with a plenty of green algea, and the marks on the rocks told me the water level for the typical pools was way down. But hey their was water at the beginning. Woot. Actually as we headed do the jug the pools got deeper and deeper. Suhweet!
The pink granite at the top was utterly amazing; a really neato contrast of colors up there.
The granite slide barely had a trickle of water, but fun none the less. I can't wait to shoot these with more water flow. We hit it very late in the year, as I'm hearing the optimal time to do this trip is April or May, but a wet suit is pretty much mandatory, as the pools will be cold because they don't get much sun to warm them. The pools were perfect temperature today for just shorts and t-shirt.
As we made our way down, the cliff walls got higher and higher and in some spots they got really narrow.
This is not a hike, it is canyoneering. Beginning canyoneering, but dangerous and having the proper equipment is a necessity. We all had climbing harness just in case the second to the last pool was to shallow to do the 25 to 30 foot cliff jump. Jumping this cliff can be a little hairy and certainly isn't for everybody. Rappelling is the only other option down. If you go here, please do yourself the a favor and bring your rope an harness.
The whole 5.8 (or so) trip took exactly 4 hours, not bad considering the size of the group.
Here is the vid of the day:
Showing posts with label Hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hiking. Show all posts
Jun 26, 2011
Jun 25, 2010
Apache Lake/ Alder Creek Wash/Brown's Cave
I took a mental health day yesterday, but in Phoenix this time of year you need to get up at an insane hour to get some outdoor play time in.
I got up at 3:30 am and was on the road at 3:45, as I had my kayak stuff all loaded up the night before. My plan was to drive up to Apache Lake (two hours away from my house in Phoenix) and do little paddling and hiking exploration.
I was on the water at 6:00 am, and the temps weren't all that cool. Perhaps the temperature was 80 degrees, but it was fairly gusty. Luckily the wind was gonna be blowing me in the direction I wanted to go, and my hopes were that as the temperatures climbed and settled that the winds would die down for my return trip. And they did.
After reading about this trip report about Brown's Cave, I decided to see if I could duplicate this adventure. Instead of heading staying on the south shore of the lake, I darted across the lake to the north shore, anticipating that I'd might catch a glimpse of some Big Horn Sheep, and I was rewarded almost immediately. Directly across the lake form Crabtree Wash, where I put in, and down about a half mile, I spotted a single sheep way, way up on the bluffs. The cliffs I was paddling under were very tall and steep, so the sheep got out view very quickly. I continued west on down the north shore, and about 2 miles down the lake I spotted another big group of sheep between Ash Creek Bay and Alder Creek. They're were several up pretty high, but then I notice one a couple hundred feet above me. The horns weren't very big on these sheep, and there were a number kids running with this flock, so I suppose the bigger ones were all ewes. I believe the rams and ewes run in separate crews until mating season. Although the I didn't get a very good view of the horns on the first one, it was very big animal, and very well might have been a ram. I am easily amused, so I thought this was pretty kewl. I think I know what to spot these animals now. In the future I will look for isolated cliffs, that will offer the flock some habitat protection, and then I will scan the the hillside for a big white hiney moving about.
At 8:00 I arrived at Alder Creek Bay, it shouldn't have really taken that long, but I took my time and shot a bunch of video.
From there I tucked my kayak way, and started walking up the dry creek bed. I was kinda creaped out because a rattlesnake could very well be hiding behind each and every rock, but I didn't see one on my entire hike. Phew!
According to the Brown's Cave trip report I alluded to earlier, I need to head up the wash and about .5 miles I would run into a waterfall. Although the wash started off dry, about .1 mile up from the lake there was actually water coming down, and the amount water coming down the creek built up in volume as I climbed up the wash. I was actually surprised to see water, considering it has been a very, very long time since we've had significant rain. The wide and dry river rock turned into really, really kewl box canyon that had narrow rock walls. Very scenic and confining.
I made it up to the waterfall,and I was rather impressed. You can actually go behind the waterfall. Neato!
I ended up finding a rope to the west (left hand side) of the water fall that I used to climb up to the top. I continued up the creek and followed the rock cairns, which were kinda helpful as the was splits into two about .1 mile past the water fall. Stick to the left. The instructions I had said the cave was about .3 mile past the waterfall, and I found the barbed wire fence on the east side (right hand side) of the creek bed. And as mentioned, it really isn't a cave, but more of an overhang.
The hike up took me couple hours, as I took my time to carefully climb up the boulders and shoot some video. Coming down took me about 45 minutes. I ended up gaining 400 to 500 vf of elevation above the lake. The lake sits at about 1,900 vf and some of the surrounding peaks are as high as 4,000 vf. And the nearby Four Peaks, climb as high as 7,600 feet.
I got back to my boat, and ate some lunch before paddling the 5 miles back to my car. It was pretty hot, but not entirely miserable. When I actually pulled back into parking lot, it was 1:00 and was well over 100 degrees.
Very fun adventure.
If you have the Google Earth on your computer, here is an interactive map of my tour route: Apache Lake/Alder Creek Wash
Here's a vid of the day:
And here is a higher quality (Quicktime) version (note: it will take a few minutes to download):
If you have the Google Earth on your computer, here is an interactive map of my tour route:
I got up at 3:30 am and was on the road at 3:45, as I had my kayak stuff all loaded up the night before. My plan was to drive up to Apache Lake (two hours away from my house in Phoenix) and do little paddling and hiking exploration.
I was on the water at 6:00 am, and the temps weren't all that cool. Perhaps the temperature was 80 degrees, but it was fairly gusty. Luckily the wind was gonna be blowing me in the direction I wanted to go, and my hopes were that as the temperatures climbed and settled that the winds would die down for my return trip. And they did.
After reading about this trip report about Brown's Cave, I decided to see if I could duplicate this adventure. Instead of heading staying on the south shore of the lake, I darted across the lake to the north shore, anticipating that I'd might catch a glimpse of some Big Horn Sheep, and I was rewarded almost immediately. Directly across the lake form Crabtree Wash, where I put in, and down about a half mile, I spotted a single sheep way, way up on the bluffs. The cliffs I was paddling under were very tall and steep, so the sheep got out view very quickly. I continued west on down the north shore, and about 2 miles down the lake I spotted another big group of sheep between Ash Creek Bay and Alder Creek. They're were several up pretty high, but then I notice one a couple hundred feet above me. The horns weren't very big on these sheep, and there were a number kids running with this flock, so I suppose the bigger ones were all ewes. I believe the rams and ewes run in separate crews until mating season. Although the I didn't get a very good view of the horns on the first one, it was very big animal, and very well might have been a ram. I am easily amused, so I thought this was pretty kewl. I think I know what to spot these animals now. In the future I will look for isolated cliffs, that will offer the flock some habitat protection, and then I will scan the the hillside for a big white hiney moving about.
At 8:00 I arrived at Alder Creek Bay, it shouldn't have really taken that long, but I took my time and shot a bunch of video.
From there I tucked my kayak way, and started walking up the dry creek bed. I was kinda creaped out because a rattlesnake could very well be hiding behind each and every rock, but I didn't see one on my entire hike. Phew!
According to the Brown's Cave trip report I alluded to earlier, I need to head up the wash and about .5 miles I would run into a waterfall. Although the wash started off dry, about .1 mile up from the lake there was actually water coming down, and the amount water coming down the creek built up in volume as I climbed up the wash. I was actually surprised to see water, considering it has been a very, very long time since we've had significant rain. The wide and dry river rock turned into really, really kewl box canyon that had narrow rock walls. Very scenic and confining.
I made it up to the waterfall,and I was rather impressed. You can actually go behind the waterfall. Neato!
I ended up finding a rope to the west (left hand side) of the water fall that I used to climb up to the top. I continued up the creek and followed the rock cairns, which were kinda helpful as the was splits into two about .1 mile past the water fall. Stick to the left. The instructions I had said the cave was about .3 mile past the waterfall, and I found the barbed wire fence on the east side (right hand side) of the creek bed. And as mentioned, it really isn't a cave, but more of an overhang.
The hike up took me couple hours, as I took my time to carefully climb up the boulders and shoot some video. Coming down took me about 45 minutes. I ended up gaining 400 to 500 vf of elevation above the lake. The lake sits at about 1,900 vf and some of the surrounding peaks are as high as 4,000 vf. And the nearby Four Peaks, climb as high as 7,600 feet.
I got back to my boat, and ate some lunch before paddling the 5 miles back to my car. It was pretty hot, but not entirely miserable. When I actually pulled back into parking lot, it was 1:00 and was well over 100 degrees.
Very fun adventure.
If you have the Google Earth on your computer, here is an interactive map of my tour route: Apache Lake/Alder Creek Wash
Here's a vid of the day:
And here is a higher quality (Quicktime) version (note: it will take a few minutes to download):
If you have the Google Earth on your computer, here is an interactive map of my tour route:
Feb 15, 2009
Rogers Canyon
I don’t get out and hike much, prolly because I don’t find it all that entertaining. But I’ve come across a few people who’ve mentioned their trip to the Salado Indian Cliff Dwellings in the Superstition Mountains. I knew this would be good time of the year to hit up the trail, and I gotta say it was an exceptional day. Lotsa water was flowing down the creek, and even some patches of snow.
The first thing I heard about this trail is the challenge the drive up is. The 15 or so miles of unpaved FS road almost requires a high clearance 4X4, but I managed in my Honda Element. Stream crossing after stream crossing I learned that I certainly wouldn’t go anywhere near this trail if I knew there were recent big rains, or if was forecasted to rain. It is that serious. I could certainly see being stranded out there if a gully washer came thru. I was so concerned about the road, I actually brought my mountain bike along just incase my car wasn’t up to the final approach to the parking lot. So let’s see her, I split from house in Ahwatukee at 5:30 and three hours later I finally made to the trail head. It wasn’t a pile of miles, just really, really slow miles.
How to get there:
From Phoenix - Heading East on U.S. 60 take a left on Queen Valley Road (About 2.5 miles past Florence Junction). Turn left and drive another two miles to Hewitt Station Road (Forest Road 357). Turn right and follow FR 357 3.5 miles to FR 172. Turn left on FR 172 and go about 15 miles to FR 172A. Follow this route another three miles to Rogers Trough trailhead.
Here’s a google map link: Rogers Trough
The Trail Route:
This trail actually started off at the high point at around 4,300 vf and followed the creek down about 1,000 feet to Rogers Canyon, where the cliff dwelling are located. I suppose a loop could be composed, but I just wanted to do the down and back. The route I did was down Reavis trail, and then about mile and half down, intersected with Rogers Canyon Trail. The trail is pretty intuitive, as it follows the creek down. In fact it has numerous creek crossings, and like I mentioned it was flowing, and as I got lower the tributaries started adding up. Rock cairns mark the crossings, but you still haveta keep your eyes peeled for the route. As for the dwelling, I kept looking for them, and eventually I noticed them while filming a shot of a waterfall. I wasn’t convinced these were the main dwellings, because I didn’t see the official sign when I went by, so I continued on. I actually went way past them. I ended going past the Frog Tank Trail junction about a half mile down and continued on the Rogers Canyon Trail for about another mile. I finally caught up to with some overnight hikers, and they filled me in that what I was looking at earlier were in fact the dwellings. I doubled back, and finally saw the FS site sign, way up on the hill; on the east side of the creek.
Speaking of the other side of creek, I musta crossed the it what seemed like two dozen times. And on my way out, on one of the last crossings, I actually step on a rock and it shifted on me, and I ended up rolling my ankle. No big injury, just kinda smarted.
What a beautiful set of hills and canyons.
Here's a vid of the day:
A high res Quicktime version can be found here: Rogers Canyon / Cliff Dwellings
The first thing I heard about this trail is the challenge the drive up is. The 15 or so miles of unpaved FS road almost requires a high clearance 4X4, but I managed in my Honda Element. Stream crossing after stream crossing I learned that I certainly wouldn’t go anywhere near this trail if I knew there were recent big rains, or if was forecasted to rain. It is that serious. I could certainly see being stranded out there if a gully washer came thru. I was so concerned about the road, I actually brought my mountain bike along just incase my car wasn’t up to the final approach to the parking lot. So let’s see her, I split from house in Ahwatukee at 5:30 and three hours later I finally made to the trail head. It wasn’t a pile of miles, just really, really slow miles.
How to get there:
From Phoenix - Heading East on U.S. 60 take a left on Queen Valley Road (About 2.5 miles past Florence Junction). Turn left and drive another two miles to Hewitt Station Road (Forest Road 357). Turn right and follow FR 357 3.5 miles to FR 172. Turn left on FR 172 and go about 15 miles to FR 172A. Follow this route another three miles to Rogers Trough trailhead.
Here’s a google map link: Rogers Trough
The Trail Route:
This trail actually started off at the high point at around 4,300 vf and followed the creek down about 1,000 feet to Rogers Canyon, where the cliff dwelling are located. I suppose a loop could be composed, but I just wanted to do the down and back. The route I did was down Reavis trail, and then about mile and half down, intersected with Rogers Canyon Trail. The trail is pretty intuitive, as it follows the creek down. In fact it has numerous creek crossings, and like I mentioned it was flowing, and as I got lower the tributaries started adding up. Rock cairns mark the crossings, but you still haveta keep your eyes peeled for the route. As for the dwelling, I kept looking for them, and eventually I noticed them while filming a shot of a waterfall. I wasn’t convinced these were the main dwellings, because I didn’t see the official sign when I went by, so I continued on. I actually went way past them. I ended going past the Frog Tank Trail junction about a half mile down and continued on the Rogers Canyon Trail for about another mile. I finally caught up to with some overnight hikers, and they filled me in that what I was looking at earlier were in fact the dwellings. I doubled back, and finally saw the FS site sign, way up on the hill; on the east side of the creek.
Speaking of the other side of creek, I musta crossed the it what seemed like two dozen times. And on my way out, on one of the last crossings, I actually step on a rock and it shifted on me, and I ended up rolling my ankle. No big injury, just kinda smarted.
What a beautiful set of hills and canyons.
Here's a vid of the day:
A high res Quicktime version can be found here: Rogers Canyon / Cliff Dwellings
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