Terrace Canyon - 11/12/20

Terrace Canyon to Bridge Mountain

Hiking & Scrambling between the Walls

First Pool

Hiking through Pine Creek Canyon

It had been a few years since I hiked and scrambled into Terrace Canyon and up to the terraces. Today was a great opportunity to go with our small AtBF pod, follow the best Terrace Canyon leader, Mike, and slowly make our way up through each considerable scramble with care and attention by everyone involved. Not only were those stars aligned but it was also a gorgeous day with lingering fall colors, plus there wasn't an over abundance of water pooled up in the canyons to create impossible obstacles. 👍We reached the Pine Creek Trailhead off of the Scenic Loop of Red Rock Canyon NCA around 7:45am. All the trailheads along the loop were near to empty until we reached Pine Creek! There, it was filling up fast with rock climbers!

A Visit at the Wilson Homestead

The 6.5 to 7 mile hike begins by dropping down into Pine Creek Canyon. Follow the main trail down past the old Wilson Homestead to the junction triangle and veer to the left.

Starting up the South Fork of Pine Creek Canyon

This trail will take you through some brush and winds down into the South Fork of Pine Creek wash. There is a lot of beautiful color here.

Mike washes his Hiking Stick at First Pool

Blue Pool

We took a trail up the hill toward the base of the front of Mescalito Peak (Little Redhead). This trail winds along entering the South Fork and will drop you into the wash at different points. It is best to go up as far as you can before you head into the wash. There is somewhat of a trail throughout the wash hike and scramble. Always look for it anyway! There also may be a few cairns ... if you look for them. But, do remember that there are many obstacles providing a multitude of opportunities for serious class 2 to 3 scrambling. (Hey! If I can do it ....) Many of the obstacles are not intuitive. It is always best to be shown the ropes (so to speak) by someone who knows the drill. ... Like Mike! He was very impressive in his knowledge of the route and scrambles.

In the Canyons

Although I find it very difficult to see the canyon forks for the trees, there is a good rule of thumb for the "directions." Starting with the left turn into the South Fork of Pine Creek Canyon, there are three left turns and one right turn. Good luck with that!

Boulder Hopping

As an aside, there were two fun rock climbing dudes that were following us in the beginning looking for "a brown rock with scratches on it." Hmm. Yep. They were in the wrong canyon; looking for Juniper Canyon. Of course! 😐

Striking Sandstone Colors

View Down Canyon

Some of the more interesting scrambles start with a climb up next to a tree root on the right side of the canyon. Another that was impossible for me without a lot of help was also on the right side of the canyon where I had to brace myself with my feet on one wall while scooting up onto the steeply slanted rock behind me. There were many times when you were required to leap from the top of one rock to the top of another. Then there were several times you have to take the step of faith on a steeply slanted rock hoping that your shoe soles were all the manufacturers said they were! One large boulder had to be climbed as you prayed! See the photos to the left and below. There were certain obstacles that you will never forget and this is one of them!

Up, we go!

Moving on, we passed the remains of a dead baby deer. It was very sad and we didn't want to talk about it. But, it looked like he had fallen about ten feet from the boulder above.

Tunnel of Wonder

There was also the spine remaining from another animal. See the pic six photos above. It may have been either a deer or a small bighorn. Circle of life. 😞

Hiking up Walls

Entering Terrace Canyon

One obstacle can be avoided by a walk around on the left side of the canyon as I did. But, I remember the obstacle as one that I was previously able to lift my ballerina leg up onto the rock sideways and scoot over until I was sitting on the huge boulder. (I might be able to still do it!) One of the final really challenging obstacles cannot be avoided but it could be accomplished by either sitting or crawling. Nevertheless, we were all able to sidle by a large boulder while standing on about 6 to 8 inches of free space below. See photos of this obstacle in the collage six photos below. It is my nemesis but we all managed with flying colors! (Luckily, we didn't have to actually fly!) 

Terrace Canyon

The final left canyon fork turn was marked with a huge cairn for a long time. But, we could tell that the canyon geology has been somewhat rearranged due to flooding and the huge cairn was gone.

Pool among the Terraces

When we arrived for the "huge" cairn, it was simply two rocks! We fixed that by adding another five rocks! It should be built up a lot more so, if you pass by, add a rock or two to the stack.

View down the Terraces

Climbing the Terraces

At last, we arrived at the bottom of Terrace Canyon proper! We had seen a couple of iced-over puddles before but there were a few small snow patches on the terraces. No water was running down the terraces that we could notice but there were a few pools. I took several photos on my way up to the top behind the others. I reached a snow covered rock that someone had written on, "Mike's Canyon." I thought it was our Mike until he set me straight during break. It wasn't him ... just kismet! We enjoyed our break with an incredible view then took our group photo when we started down. (Ask Rita about the strange bug she sat next to!) No bighorn (alive) sightings all day. Only Bridge Mountain and the Mescalito Ridge could be seen rising above the down canyon view.

Fearsome Foursome

Mike pointed out the junctions for Juniper Peak and Gunsight Notch Peak. They are found in the last left fork canyon on the left side.

Enjoying the Challenge

During this section, be careful to stay connected to the canyon wall on the right so that you do not head up into the wrong canyon and end up on Gunsight Notch or Juniper Peaks! Hmm.

Starting Down

Sit and Slide

As we methodically headed down canyon, we were tiring. It was important to keep our concentration. Most of the huge obstacles could be negotiated easily by sitting and sliding. ... Or, by simply walking down the rocks with those shoe soles! Although speed was not an issue today, we managed to end up with pretty good time; maybe because of the small group. Back across my nemesis. Back through the small sandy rock fall area. Back down the steep rock. Back down the impossible climbs that were now easy descents. The tree root descent turned out to be one of the more difficult descents! Finally, we saw a couple of human beings and a canine! And, finally, we entered into the South Fork wash. Our next turn would be the left trail out of the wash.

A Veritable Freeway

We found a well worn trail climbing the hill below the base of Mescalito and followed it over the hill to drop back into the wash. This section of the wash is very colorful! See four photos below.

What goes up must come down!

Finding the trail to take us back to the main Pine Creek Trail was, perhaps, the most difficult navigation of the day! Found it!!

Rita expertly demonstrates a difficult spot!

Back at the Base of Mescalito Peak

Back on the main Pine Creek Canyon Trail, we passed several recreational hikers. Everyone had a mask so I lifted my buff up over my nose. There were rock climbers on the walls in different locations. But, we only knew that because we could hear them! We quickly hiked back past the Wilson home then up that long hill to the cars. Long day but we were all very happy with our beautiful hike. We'll be sore! A shout out to Ralyn! This was her first Terrace Canyon endeavor! She is a great scrambler as is Rita and Mike. Me? Eh. 😳😅

Stats: 6.8 miles; 1350' gain; 6.5 hours

Beautiful Wash below Mescalito

Hiking Out as Sun gets low on Horizon

Climbing the Hill below the Trailhead