Aravaipa, AZ

We have wanted to go to the ARAVAIPA Canyon Wilderness for some time, but the weather had not been so pleasant with rain and cold temperatures.  AND these dirt roads that lead to the wilderness areas are primitive and not regularly maintained.  So…it’s “drive at your own risk”.  Today the temps are going to be in the 70’s, no rain and not much wind.  Today is the day.

The Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness is about 60 miles southwest of Safford; through Thatcher and Pima, then on a dirt road for 41 miles – some parts of the road  fairly smooth and other parts… not so much.  So it’s about a 30/mph road; on our right we see sand and sagebrush, ironically there were not cactus in this area.  On our left – sand and sagebrush.  We climbed our way up to 3500′ coming over a pass, then dropping down again into the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness.

The Aravaipa Canyon is a 19,410 acres wilderness area. It forms the northwest border of the Galiuro Mountain range.  It is administered by the BLM.  The wilderness includes the 11-mile long Aravaipa Canyon, the surrounding tablelands and nine side canyons.

The Nature Conservancy’s Aravaipa Canyon Preserve protects 7,000 acres of private land and is contiguous with the BLM wilderness area.  Pedestrian access to the preserve is allowed only with prior authorization from the Preserve staff.

There is a campground about 5 miles outside of Aravaipa, with no electricity – but there is water. I checked with the equivalent to a ‘camp-host’ and he said we would have 5 stream-crossings, but underneath was a gravel bed so it would be safe to cross, “you do have 4×4, right?”  The 5 creek-crossings the host spoke of were beyond the 6 stream-crossings to get to the boundary of the wilderness.  We choose to stop short, cause the road was narrowing and the bushes were encroaching on Gypsy’s sides.  After finding a wide spot in the road, leaving Gypsy and Patti in the shade, I took off to finish the stream-crossings with my camera.

The first steam to be forged on foot was above my ankles, so I decided to remove my shoes and socks and walk across the stream barefoot.  My last memory of being barefoot in a wilderness stream was Boulder, CO, so I braced for the icy-cold water to numb my feet. To my surprise… the water was cool but not icy-cold!  It was actually pleasant and a delightful surprise!

The stream in this canyon is a perennial stream and the vegetation makes that very evident.

Most of the streams were  low enough that I could skip/jump across on the rocks residing just above the stream.  I heard this beautiful bird singing, but couldn’t locate it for about 4 minutes

The walk up the path was mellow, yet the path was actually a road for ATV’s.  I was told there used to be a hiking path, but the monsoons kept washing it out, so now they no longer bother to up-keep the trail.

At one point in my hike, by the stream, was what looked like a bat haven. Moisture and ‘salts’ were seeping out of the porous limestone rock

Traveling into the canyon we passed through private lands in and amongst the preserve. The Salazar family built their own church, I guess it beats the 2-hour drive to town on Sunday morning. The church was made of adobe and quite well maintained.  Over the years the church was upgraded to the electrical age.  Who couldn’t find peace in this natural environment!

After a bit of hiking, I came to Turkey Creek and the 4×4 ATV path wound in and around the stream, criss-crossing every 15-20′, or so it seemed.  I was able to hop-scotch across the rocks to avoid taking off my shoes and socks.  I have to find my water socks for stream-crossings…

After an enjoyable hike and amazingly no wet shoes, I returned to the truck where Patti and I enjoyed a wonderful picnic, right by the stream.  Wonderful day full of sun and adventure.  Just across the stream we saw these amazingly unique tree formations.

 

On our way out we saw this rock formation and couldn’t resist one last picture…

Well, it’s time to head home…  Beautiful canyon… Thank you Mother Nature!