Thursday, October 20, 2011

Oak Creek Canyon - 10/20/11

There were twelve hikers today on a six mile jaunt into Oak Creek Canyon leaving from the Highway 159 Oak Creek trailhead. It was a beautiful morning to hike through the desert towards Potato Knoll passing an old campsite area, that is no longer used, along the way.

We passed by the trailhead for the hike up to the top of Potato Knoll and continued around between the knoll and Wilson Peak. Heading into the large canyon between Wilson and Rainbow Peaks, the trail began to climb steeply until we reached an easy point to merge into the bouldered wash.

The boulder scrambling in the Oak Creek wash was what we came for and up we went. Hopping boulders, climbing sandstone, lowering ourselves down through a rabbit hole; we each stopped at a point of our choosing and took a break in the shade of the canyon. Eventually, we re- gathered and began our trip back down the wash.

For the return trip, we circled around Potato Knoll on the other side. This trail crossed the creek a few times with a small to medium flow of water at one crossing. Oak Creek is interesting because it flows underground at different points then resurfaces later. Autumn colors showed along the creek but we didn't see any wildlife.


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