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Hiking Aravaipa Canyon

Posted on February 27, 2020February 27, 2022 by rondungan

Eddie thought we were crazy. He thought that all that wading on a cold day would end in disaster once the sun went down, but we didn’t listen. The canyon was calling.   

The forecast called for colder and getting colder, clear to partly hypothermic at night. It was December, and someone, I think it was Jason, had a permit for Aravaipa Canyon.  

Desert hikes can be grim, stoic death marches, but hiking in Aravaipa Canyon is like taking your inner child out for a walk. You splash through water under a canopy of trees, and the desert, warm, hostile, unforgiving, seems far away.  

Aravaipa Creek is one of the few remaining perennial streams in southern Arizona.

We found a place to camp, dropped packs and started to explore.

Dropping packs normally like is a shot of adrenaline – you cover ground quickly and chew up miles, and that’s what we did, at, first. We worked our way upstream, came to a junction of two canyons and started up one of them.

The canyon pinched in, cutting off progress. A series of water holes and smooth gray rock, where we laid down in the sun. Life was good.

That lazy feeling

Then a general feeling of apathy and sloth settled in. It was as if we had stumbled into a real-life version of the Odyssey and had entered the land of the Lotus Eaters. As if a bug or a virus had thrown us off our game.

We called it Aravitus.

When we finally peeled ourselves from the rock, it was time to shamble on back to camp. We built a fire and stayed warm in the cold December night. Eddie was so wrong.

The nitty gritty:

Access: There are two access points, east and west, and a permit is required for both. The east requires a high-clearance vehicle and is a 5 or 6-hour drive from Phoenix. Aravaipa has plenty of water, but it should be treated. No pets. Strong hikers can chew up the whole canyon in 8 to 10 hours, the Bureau of Land Management reports. That’s probably accurate, but exploring side canyons can take time, and Aravitis can slow you down considerably.

Details: blm.gov/visit/aravaipa-canyon-wilderness

Best time to go: early spring, late fall. Winter backpackers should carry extra clothes and place their sleeping bag in a dry bag. Just in case.    

USGS maps: Booger Canyon, Brandenburg Mountain.

Disclaimer: Please read. Have fun.

Stories

The opening piece of our water series, in which we try to look past the bathtub ring of Lake Powell. In this story, I follow a single drop of water on its journey to your tap.

Oak Creek. / Ron Dungan

https://kjzz.org/content/1792236/better-understand-arizonas-water-supply-we-retrace-its-origins

https://kjzz.org/content/1831459/while-covid-19-raged-archival-history-research-was-pushed-back-burner

The next time you're in the Marble Canyon and wonder if you can snag a permit to Coyote Buttes, you might be surprised to find that the answer is yes. No line. No early wake up call. / Ron Dungan

https://kjzz.org/content/1822075/blm-expands-use-reservation-app-coyote-buttes-south-area-permits

Apache trout. / USFWS
https://kjzz.org/content/1813132/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-recommend-delisting-endangered-apache-trout

My story for Here and Now.

A volunteer at the dog races. / Ron Dungan

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/01/17/arizona-dog-sledders-climate

A meadow along Canyon Creek, Tonto National Forest. / Ron Dungan
https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1629386/western-fires-burn-forest-management-easier-said-done
Shop Beer Company / Ron Dungan
https://kjzz.org/content/1631717/arizona-craft-beer-finds-its-way-during-pandemic
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge / Ron Dungan
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/best-reads/2015/04/17/edward-abbey-last-act-defiance/25930091/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/fashion/weddings/rebecca-mackinnon-bennett-freeman-marriage.html?ref=oembed
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. / Ron Dungan

https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/story/us-mexico-border-history/510833001/

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