Участник:Biomonsilrus
Explore a fantastic Canyoneering Journey
When it comes to wild and rugged wilderness beauty, from its desert bottom floor to its mountain top summits, your Arizona exceeds every one of them! Famous for its extremely hot temperatures, only in Arizona is it possible to escape the temperature on a summer day and explore among its many remote wilderness canyons purely available by 4 wheel drive and get "non-technical" canyoneering; boulder hopping, wading and swimming through cool and refreshing natural pools making for an adventurous and extraordinary day's retreat which is simply unsurpassed!
West Clear Creek is described by the U.S Forest Service as "one of the very most rugged and remote canyons in northern Arizona". A stunningly beautiful wilderness canyon, West Clear Creek offers many deep natural pools in the middle of colorful, narrow rock walls which can be guaranteed to cool you off with a hot summer's day. However, most exciting coming from all, known simply to locals for several years, along with the reward for your day's canyoneering adventure over the pools of West Clear Creek, you may be amazed to learn Arizona's garden of paradise, the Hanging Gardens!
So if you're hunting for a retreat plus a good way to escape heat, and you're up for any rough and wild dirt wilderness adventure along with a challenging, yet truly extraordinary canyoneering journey to Arizona's hidden garden of paradise, then I highly recommend checking the Hanging Gardens Hike, from the beautiful West Clear Creek Wilderness, Strawberry, Arizona!
Getting started ahead of time a weekend morning in early August, I drove in the market to a meetup location on Phoenix's far northeast side where I joined the fellow members and friends of the TLC Hiking Club, an area hiking & outdoors adventure club led by Eric Kinneman. After everyone had arrived along with preparation to the long day and strenuous journey that has been in front of us, we received a briefing including last minute safety and advisories then excitedly hopped into our vehicles and were ready to set out for your adventure we'd all been long anticipating, the Hanging Gardens of West Clear Creek!
Heading north on Highway 87, we made our distance to town of Payson by about 7 am, then continued heading north on 87 beyond Payson until arriving 2.5 miles beyond the intersection of Highway 260. After quickly stopping to regroup the whole members, we got back in our vehicles again along with Eric Kinneman inside the lead, we turned directly on Forest Road 144, and got prepared for what was forewarned to become very rough and wild 4 wheel drive adventure! Which was indeed too!
After turning directly on all dirt road, FR 144, and stopping once more to regroup, we slowly began heading our way east. Upon reaching the end of FR 144, we continued start by making a left onto FR 149, a left again on FR142 a directly on FR 142A. One at a time, we very slowly and punctiliously made our way along this extremely rough road and wild terrain, winding around forest trees and brush, or higher and over large rocks and boulders. Be advised, all of these dirt forest roads are incredibly rough and rugged and need using a good 4 wheel drive vehicle, not only an HCV because a results of the present rain storms that have come with the area, as you go along we encountered some very deep and completely gutted out, muddy pools! Thankfully though, everyone caused it to be through okay without getting their vehicles stuck, but wow, how much an incredible off-road adventure it absolutely was to date!
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