Monday, May 16, 2011

Fletcher Canyon - 5/16/11


Around fifteen hikers came out for Fletcher Canyon in the Spring Mountain NRA today. It was a chilly morning but the wind was at a minimum and the exertion in the 7000 foot elevation range warmed us up quickly. As we delved into the forest of pine and juniper, we relaxed into a nice easy pace with Rosie strongly in the lead for her first time.

The sound of rushing water reached us even before we saw the wash to the side of the trail. There was a lot of water coming down from the canyon. Soon we began crisscrossing the stream which ran about a foot deep in some places. We saw only one patch of snow which resided next to one of the canyon walls as we entered the slot area. Some of the stream crossings were necessary to avoid brush that had crossed the path over the snowy winter.



Making our way up the water filled slot canyon was the highlight of the morning. Several steps had to be made in about two inch deep flows. Small waterfalls were everywhere but soon, we found ourselves at the Obstacle Rock area. A large waterfall flowed to the right of Obstacle Rock but after further inspection, we found that there was no water falling through the rabbit hole. After coming over this ten foot fall, the water swirled down through the trough and shot out the end with about a two to three foot span.



We sat here to take our break and delightedly watched the water all around us. A few hikers explored the rabbit hole area but no one really wanted to climb up and get wet for the hike back. After starting back through the slot, we met up with two more hikers from the club who had missed the meeting at the casino because of morning traffic. They continued up to Obstacle Rock and we made our way back down through the water.

The hike was fun and exciting. The weather was beautiful. And, Rosie did a great job arranging for all the water coming down off of the mountain!... Well, okay, she didn't arrange for it but we did enjoy it!




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