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Saturday was back to Bell Trail. Totally fun, again. This time we went to the weir. We got to see two USGS guys measuring the level & flow. Snow melt in Flagstaff means that this creek (the Wet Beaver Creek - haha, I know) was really flowing hard. Even Dry Beaver Creek, usually, yes, dry, was full of fast water this weekend. You could see evidence of recent flows about 6 feet higher though. Nature is dramatic out here, that is certain. This trail makes us really consider getting our bikes into shape, because the cool parts start 2 miles in. Quick ride out, lock your bikes up, and then you're fresh for some further exploring.
Then in the afternoon, I drove up the canyon (Oak Creek Canyon for those following along) to check out two amazing brand-new rim waterfalls. A few days ago, they were so awesome! I've never seen waterfalls in those places before, two different waterfalls exploding off the Mogollon Rim, shooting white water down in a cascade. Snow melt from the plateau! I finally had my camera with me on Saturday, but alas, no longer photo-worthy. Just one of those fleeting, amazing things. You can be sure that the next time it snows and then gets warmer, I'll keep my eye to the rim, on the lookout for ephemeral waterfalls.
Today I hiked on my own along Fay Canyon Trail. Super popular and well-traveled, and, as B & I have found with other super-popular hikes, it's popular for a reason. It's completely awesome. (Plus there's a parking lot, always a bonus for people traveling by vehicle, which is most people.) It's a relatively short & easy hike, too, so good for taking visitors.
Because the canyon is relatively narrow and inset, it is so quiet. Not from other hikers, but from any type of other human-habitation noise - no sound of cars, air conditioners, roads, motors. Nice.
I scrambled up to the Fay Canyon Arch. Scrambling up was strenuous, and getting down was extremely tricky (why is it always worse going down?), but I think it's one of those things I just had to do at least once. And on the way up, I heard the beautiful beautiful song of the canyon wren. And even saw the tiny wren who was singing! (Ooo! Here's what the canyon wren sounds like, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It seemed clearer and lighter when I heard it. Or maybe my speakers are just turned up too much.)
At the end of the canyon, you can climb up for views back over red rock country - Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock are in the distance, framed by the golden-red walls of the canyon. Completely awesome. A great place for stopping & sitting. Not stopping would be a sacrilege, I think.
Future ideas:
* Bring B to Fay Canyon & explore more in the back branches of the canyon.
* More hikes off of Dry Creek Road.
* Any forest roads in other spots along the creek?
* Any forest roads out by the church of the red rocks?
Then in the afternoon, I drove up the canyon (Oak Creek Canyon for those following along) to check out two amazing brand-new rim waterfalls. A few days ago, they were so awesome! I've never seen waterfalls in those places before, two different waterfalls exploding off the Mogollon Rim, shooting white water down in a cascade. Snow melt from the plateau! I finally had my camera with me on Saturday, but alas, no longer photo-worthy. Just one of those fleeting, amazing things. You can be sure that the next time it snows and then gets warmer, I'll keep my eye to the rim, on the lookout for ephemeral waterfalls.
Today I hiked on my own along Fay Canyon Trail. Super popular and well-traveled, and, as B & I have found with other super-popular hikes, it's popular for a reason. It's completely awesome. (Plus there's a parking lot, always a bonus for people traveling by vehicle, which is most people.) It's a relatively short & easy hike, too, so good for taking visitors.
Because the canyon is relatively narrow and inset, it is so quiet. Not from other hikers, but from any type of other human-habitation noise - no sound of cars, air conditioners, roads, motors. Nice.
I scrambled up to the Fay Canyon Arch. Scrambling up was strenuous, and getting down was extremely tricky (why is it always worse going down?), but I think it's one of those things I just had to do at least once. And on the way up, I heard the beautiful beautiful song of the canyon wren. And even saw the tiny wren who was singing! (Ooo! Here's what the canyon wren sounds like, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It seemed clearer and lighter when I heard it. Or maybe my speakers are just turned up too much.)
At the end of the canyon, you can climb up for views back over red rock country - Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock are in the distance, framed by the golden-red walls of the canyon. Completely awesome. A great place for stopping & sitting. Not stopping would be a sacrilege, I think.
Future ideas:
* Bring B to Fay Canyon & explore more in the back branches of the canyon.
* More hikes off of Dry Creek Road.
* Any forest roads in other spots along the creek?
* Any forest roads out by the church of the red rocks?
