Story:
We started from the parking lot at the West end off Arivaipa Rd. The first quarter mile or so is an unremarkable trail put in by the Nature Convervancy which owns the land there until you get to the BLM land about a mile upstream from the trailhead. Because it is wilderness area there are no trails but there are many social paths that wind in and out of the creek which gives you a chance to dry your shoes out for a little while. We hiked in about 5 miles until we came to Horse Camp Canyon where there were some nice camp sites. We picked the one directly across from the side canyon and set up camp. Duane and I dropped our overnight packs there and continued eastward up the main canyon until we came to Deer Creek Canyon and headed up that about a mile until we came to "Hell Hole" which is a natural window in the rock. A little bit further up the side canyon we came to a spring. We turned around at this point due to us running out of daylight. We made it back to camp just as light was fading. We figured we probably hiked 9.5-10 miles extra in about 4 hours so we were moving along pretty good with just our day packs. We were glad to be back at camp where John had a fire waiting for us. It was pretty cold that night, we think it got down into the high 30s. I was sleeping in a hammock and should have brought a warmer sleeping bag with me. The next morning we decided to explore Horse Camp Canyon so we dropped our packs at the mouth and hiked up about 1/2 miles until it became too steep/loose to continue. There were many sculpted, deep pools of water and some dry waterfalls that looked like they would be great to play around in when the spring rains come along. From there we hiked back the way we came to the car.
We started from the parking lot at the West end off Arivaipa Rd. The first quarter mile or so is an unremarkable trail put in by the Nature Convervancy which owns the land there until you get to the BLM land about a mile upstream from the trailhead. Because it is wilderness area there are no trails but there are many social paths that wind in and out of the creek which gives you a chance to dry your shoes out for a little while. We hiked in about 5 miles until we came to Horse Camp Canyon where there were some nice camp sites. We picked the one directly across from the side canyon and set up camp. Duane and I dropped our overnight packs there and continued eastward up the main canyon until we came to Deer Creek Canyon and headed up that about a mile until we came to "Hell Hole" which is a natural window in the rock. A little bit further up the side canyon we came to a spring. We turned around at this point due to us running out of daylight. We made it back to camp just as light was fading. We figured we probably hiked 9.5-10 miles extra in about 4 hours so we were moving along pretty good with just our day packs. We were glad to be back at camp where John had a fire waiting for us. It was pretty cold that night, we think it got down into the high 30s. I was sleeping in a hammock and should have brought a warmer sleeping bag with me. The next morning we decided to explore Horse Camp Canyon so we dropped our packs at the mouth and hiked up about 1/2 miles until it became too steep/loose to continue. There were many sculpted, deep pools of water and some dry waterfalls that looked like they would be great to play around in when the spring rains come along. From there we hiked back the way we came to the car.
Tips:
- Your shoes will be wet the whole time, just deal with it. Bring a dry pair of socks for wearing at the end of the day. Tevas are fine but wear socks too. I got some bad raw spots on my feet until I figured this out myself.
- Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to explore some of the side canyons. Each one is unique.
- A topo map and/or GPS with topo map loaded are very helpful if you plan on exploring a particular side canyon because it is easy to pass them by if you are not paying attention.
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