Red Rock River (Pine Creek with Snow Melt) - 3/23/23

Waterfall in Fern Canyon Creek

Flooded Pine Creek at Loop Crossing

Following the Burros at Base of Escarpment

Snow-Dusted Rainbow Wall

There's still alotawata out there! The Six with Sticks plus One went out for an innocent look-see and ended up doing a challenging exploratory in addition. The night before, there was ... more ... precipitation in the form of rain and snow on the Spring Mountains. This includes the Red Rock Canyon NCA. It was still Spring Break somewhere but the visiting rock climbers were stifled by the wet sandstone and we had the Pine Creek Trailhead off of the Scenic Loop almost to ourselves at 8am. Btw, the rock climbers were all at the Arizona Hot Springs soaking in the spa waters! Anyway, we started down the trail into Pine Creek Canyon. The scene before us (i.e. Mescalito, Rainbow Wall, etc.) was absolutely beautiful. Snow-dusted, clear and colorful.

Starting into Pine Creek Canyon

Mescalito Peak (Fern Canyon on R & South Fork Pine Creek Canyon on L)

Profile of Skull Rock (Dale's Trail)

Ralyn leads us on the Burro/Rock Climber Trail

We hiked quickly to start with since the air was chilly. About a half mile from the cars, we turned right onto Dale's Trail. Dale's Trail is a beautiful trail that leads through the desert just outside of the Rainbow Wilderness boundary paralleling the escarpment that rises uphill to the west. (You can't miss it!) Soon, we reached Skull Rock. (The old Skull Rock sign is about to be lost as it hangs from a string that someone quickly tied it up with as they passed by. I hope the original sign is rescued.) The trail continues down through a gulley then climbs a hill to the next ridge. There are several gulleys and ridges that flow and trail down from the bluffs above. We found the very vague trail that the rock climbers use to get to Eva's Tower on the left.

The Burros know the Way

Juvenile Burro with Mom Behind

The Rock Climber Trail continues at a Lower Level

Crossing to the Descent into Pine Creek Canyon

We turned and climbed up almost to the base of the towering cliffs following the small ridge trail. Nearing the top, we noticed heavy burro tracks leading to the left (south). We were wondering if there was a way to hike around the cliffs and reach Pine Creek Canyon. The burro trail was small but it appeared that the animals had recently stepped through the mud to show us the way. Ralyn was the first to spot the path and we followed her. After much undulating, the burros took a steep descent to the flatter desert below ... and, there they were! Four brown burros that included a juvenile were hiding among the rocks. We continued following the now cairned path of the rock climbers all the way over to a steep descent into Pine Creek Canyon.

View into Fern Canyon from Previous Descent

Fern Canyon Creek

Getting Photos, Cleaning Sticks and Marveling

Mike takes a rest above a Waterfall

We descended directly onto the Pine Creek Trail up canyon from the Wilson's old house. Glad to be back onto a worn trail, we hiked on into the Fern Canyon side of Mescalito Peak. Our desire to see some of that snow melt water flowing heavily from the peaks drew us into the canyon as far as we could go ... which wasn't very far. The trail took us down to the canyon creek and up a little bit further but crossing the water was pretty much impossible without a wet suit or really thick skin. (It was cold water!) I had left the house with neoprene socks on but found that hiking in those things is a nightmare! At any rate, not all of us were prepared to step into the cold liquid so our hike reframed from the swims that were offered. We all took several photos and videos. There was one waterfall that was especially photogenic. (See first photo and the photo to the right.) We returned to Pine Creek Canyon and turned right onto the Pine Creek Loop Trail. Soon, the trail was asking us to cross the flooded Pine Creek. Nope. Not without stepping into the cold water that rose between ankle and knee deep. We came for photos ... not for a swim. So, we turned around and returned to the canyon trail. Our next stop was the Arnight Trail crossing.

Flooded Arnight Trail Crossing (At least Ankle Deep!)

Rain/Snow Storm coming in over the La Madre Mountains

Picnic Table on the Fire Ecology Loop

Well-Marked Fire Ecology Loop

The water at Arnight Trail crossing was, perhaps the shallowest, but still higher than the tops of our shoes. After a stop at the Wilson House where we saw the view the family had in weather like this, we continued along the trail until a right turn onto the Fire Ecology Loop. One more look-see at the water showed us that the northernmost flow was shallow enough to cross easily but the main flow to the south was wide and calf deep. We took photos and noticed that some of the hikers in the area were getting across with cold wet feet! All of the crossings that we explored are usually either bone dry or just a trickle of water. It was exciting to see the heavy water flow. We had enjoyed our little weird exploratory day, and returned again to the main Pine Creek trail. All that was left was that ascent up the hill to the cars. What a fun day!

Stats: 5.2 miles; 1140' gain; 4.75 hours

Pine Creek Crossing at far end of Fire Ecology Loop

Pine Creek flowing toward Scenic Loop Crossing

Heading back to Cars