When Johnny and his coworker planned a hike to Wet Beaver Creek this weekend, I was nervous for three reasons: 1) It's a long hike for me, 2) It's an even longer hike for Winslow's little legs and would be the longest we'd taken him on by over two miles, and 3) Winslow isn't great with big dogs and we would be joined by two. Roundtrip the hike to and from Wet Beaver Creek is 6.5 miles. Johnny and I have done much longer before (18 miles was our longest day on the Camino de Santiago) but it's been awhile and I didn't want to feel like I was slowing the guys or dogs down (who are all presumably much more in shape than myself). This fall, we did about 4 miles in the Inner Basin with Winslow and he did great but I didn't know what to expect from him on something longer than that. More concerning than the distance for me though, was how Winslow would react to the two big Rhodesian Ridgebacks that would be joining us on the hike. For a long time we thought Winslow just didn't like bigger dogs but have come to realize, he's actually terrified of them! On the 40 minute ride out to the trailhead, he hid his head in my lap while the big dogs, Daisy and Zeus, chilled on the car floor. Just as we were about to park, Zeus decided the easiest way to make friends with Winslow was to sit on him (all 120 lbs!) and for the most part after Zeus broke the ice, the dogs did pretty well. With my fears about Winslow and the big dogs somewhat relieved, we faced my 6.5 miles of fears head on. The trail is pretty mild and only gets moderately difficult in the last mile or so stretch of uphill switchbacks before you reach the creek. We were lucky that the weather was in our favor, hiding the sun from our exposed backs for the most part. The first 3.25 miles didn't seem too bad and when we caught our first glimpse of the creek flowing over dark, round rocks sandwiched between the towering red rock walls, the first half of the hike slipped quickly from our memories. Usually a popular place for college students on the weekend, again the subpar weather played in our favor. At times, it felt like we had stretches of the creek all to ourselves. Even when we didn't, the college students and weekend hikers who were around were friendly and made the dogs feel like rockstars. Although we didn't jump in for a swim, it's easy to see why this place is a popular weekend oasis. There's plenty of prime cliff jumping spots but also places to wade in or even just sun yourself for the less adventurous. Leaving the creek was hard to do. As Johnny told me this morning, it feels as if you could wander in either direction along the creek for hours stumbling upon countless swimming holes, small waterfalls, and perfect, picturesque places to sun and snack. We hope to go back on an off weekend (homecoming or off season?) or a weekday and enjoy a dip in the clear bluish green waters (which oddly enough look black in our pictures from yesterday). The hike out wasn't fun but was tolerable. We're a little sore today but it's hard to care with the memories of this sweet place, filled with the scent of prickly pear, and the excitement of future plans to return.
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Sometimes, with so much to do in our little corner of the world, we forget to explore our own backyard. Despite having lived in Flagstaff for almost 10 months, this little mountain town still feels so new to us and we've yet to explore so many places. Grander adventures, like Page or the Grand Canyon or Sedona or a million other amazing southwest gems, often call us to pack up the car and head out of town any chance we get, but yesterday, we decided to keeps things closer to home. Originally, our plan was to check out Paradise Falls (also know as Sycamore Falls) and the Sycamore Canyon Rim Trail but due to some lovely and much welcomed rain, we decided to avoid the forest roads and any possibility of getting our car stuck in the mud or worse, ruining anything we've recently had repaired (we now have AC again!) so we opted for a last minute, unplanned, plan b: Picture Canyon. Believe it or not, this stunner is just over a mile from the Flagstaff Mall & Marketplace. Recently acquired by the city for preservation, Picture Canyon exceeded all our expectations. In fact, we were blown away by this place and had to keep reminding ourselves that this was indeed Flagstaff (although at one point, I think Johnny had himself convinced he was back in Montana for a brief moment). Once you get past the water treatment center and Purina plant smell (thankfully this only detectable during the first few minutes of the hike), it seems as if surely this picturesque canyon must be a part of a state park and if not, must be tucked away from the reach of visiting tourists and students. In reality it's just off the beaten path (i.e. Route 66) and, therefore, a complete shock to us when we arrived to find the parking lot sitting empty. We followed the Arizona Trail along the Rio de Flag, pausing to admire a barren tree as well as some scat (definitely some deer, elk, and possibly bear in the area) before we emerged from the pine lined trail at the end of the canyon to see a small, colorful bridge hovering above a particularly beautiful section of the river. We spent a good deal of time near the bridge simply watching the water slowly drift by and taking pictures. We were even joined by a mallard and a stunning blue bird which we've yet to identify (time to break out our Arizona birding books #nerdstatus). From the bridge, the trail loops up the other side of the canyon, this time offering sweeping views of the expanse, uninterrupted by trees. Pictures do not do the canyon, the river, or the tiny, scattered waterfalls justice. This place truly is worth a thousand words. We stopped at one of the first lookouts to absorb our surroundings and have a quick snack. Winslow seemed equally as impressed as we were by the view as he laid down while we snacked and simply gazed ahead to the craggy canyon. We ventured on ahead after our brief stop to refuel and were amazed that we had yet see the most incredible part. Around the bend, out of sight from where we enjoyed our snack, hid a larger waterfall at the start of the canyon. Again we took some time to simply watch and listen to the tumbling water as it made its way down all the way to the peaceful red bridge. Winslow, obviously so overwhelmed by the beauty in our own backyard, enjoyed a belly rub as the sun peeked out for a few brief moments at the final vantage point of Picture Canyon. Yesterday's hike truly made me appreciate the beauty of where we live. Flagstaff is great, yes in part because the Grand Canyon is a short hour drive and because Sedona is just around Oak Creek Canyon's bend, but also because Flagstaff itself is stunning. Time after time since moving here I've heard stories about people who were "just passing through" and never left or eventually came back to make this place their home and I completely understand why. There's of course the San Fransisco peaks and fragrance of the ponderosas in the air but there's also places like Picture Canyon which all add up to create a goldmine for people who enjoy the outdoors and the beauty that can be found in nature - even nature just down the street from the local shopping mall.
Picture Canyon will definitely be on our short list of local hikes to return to and share with friends and family who come to visit. We also managed to miss out on the petroglyphs in the area so we're sure to return sooner than later. |
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