Lee Canyon Narrows (Easy) - 5/21/24

Lee Canyon Narrows from Above

Hiking into the Upper Narrows

View back up Lee Canyon Wash

Upper Lee Canyon Narrows

Coming out of my cold virus stupor, I joined Mike and Ralyn to make my return to the Spring Mountains. My foot, although not completely back to normal, felt good enough for a short 2.5 mile walk out of Sawmill Trailhead. The fresh cold morning air was a gift to my lungs as we exited the trailhead parking lot and crossed Lee Canyon Road. The dirt road across the pavement is called Champion Road, a primitive camping area which is sometimes difficult to drive with anything but HCVs. We hiked down the hill to intersect with Lee Canyon Wash and turned to the left, downhill. Immediately, the wash appeared much wider and flatter as the gravel spread over twice as much of the canyon floor. It appeared that a vehicle had driven much of the way down the rocks. It was easy hiking. We reached the upper narrows and admired the high walls. Although not particularly "narrow," this section is glamorous with a few small windows up at the top. Next, we passed the wash car. It seemed a bit deeper than before. And, we noticed the trail car up to the left. It was also a little deeper indicating that the water from Hilary had breached the normal path of the drainage and flowed atop the flat area toward the canyon embankment.

The wash car is buried a little deeper.

Heading into the Lower Narrows

There is a little more space under the obstacle rock.

The trail car is also a little deeper.

Past that, we came to the lower narrows. The gravel here was definitely lower than before as you could tell by the water line on the left side. But, at the crest of the big drop into the real narrows, things appeared much the same except for a dangerous hole in the ground on the right side. Be careful there. Below, there was a new tree obstacle at the bottom but the space underneath Obstacle Rock is larger ... for now. We opted not to go up and around to inspect the lower portion and began our return on the trail. At one point, the trail runs into a small cliff into the wash. Go around to the right, here. We stopped at the trail car and at the chrome bumper car for photos and saw a kangaroo rat wiggle into his hole in the bank. Cute! The bushes need clipping on the trail up to the old road and we climbed up to cross Lee Canyon Road again. Passing some corralled horses back at Sawmill TH, we found the Yellow Trail and circled around to our trailhead. It was very nice to be back with friends. Short hike but very refreshing! My foot, eh!

Stats: 2.5 miles; 450' gain; 1.5 hours

View down Lee Canyon

View up Lee Canyon and Mummy's Nose

Yellow Trail sign at left turn Junction