Devil's Canyon - 5 Pools

[jmzblond]

I am a little tired after my outing today w/ several other hikers into Devil's Canyon to the 5 Pools, so I don't have a lot to say at the moment. Hopefully someone else will step up and create the actual trip report. In the meantime, here is the link to the photos I took. It was, once again, an excellent excursion w/ terrific people; George (Azhiker96), Joe, Heather, and Tim. However, I'm not sure which was more insane, the 4x4 drive in and out to/from the T/H, or the hike itself!!

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/jmzblond/lst?.dir=/Devil%27s+Canyon+-+5+Pools&.view=t
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Blond, James Blond... double "O", uh oh!!

"The romantic lifestyle of goats leaves a lot of time for digesting books" Charlotte La Chevre, (taken from "Conversations With A Goat" by Robert Shekter)

[evenstar]

AWESOME
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John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902

[azhiker96]

Great pictures Jaime! Great hike too. I know I'll probably forget or leave out too much but here's my trip description.
I met Joe and Jmzblond at the appointed meeting spot at 3:30am. Tim and Heather showed up a short bit later in Tim's big white disel 4X4. Joe and Jmzblond loaded into my Jeep and we headed off in convoy before the leaving time of 4am. The driving was smooth to the turnoff for Magma Mine Road. We followed that paved road for 1.5 miles to a rusty steel gate on the left side of the road. This dirt road quickly became a rocky, bumpy, 4X4 road. This road leads to Hackberry canyon, our trailhead for the day. I was glad the sky was lightening as we started on this road. I would hate to drive it in the dark.
Hackberry canyon is popular with climbers and I'm told they have competitions here every March. We headed down the drainage to Devils Canyon. Once we reached Devil's canyon we entered another world. We were hidden from the sky by a dense canopy of diciduous trees; huge Sycamores and others. There were wild grapevines, spots of poison ivy, and a lightly flowing creek.
As we headed downstream, springs would appear from the canyon wall to feed the growing creek. There were many pools with clear water and sometimes a small sand beach. (Note to self: I must come back for an overnighter!) The fauna was well represented by red dragonflies, small lizards, pollywogs with 0, 2, and 4 legs, and a multitude of birds.
There were numerous small climbs and descents as we headed towards our destination. As the pools got larger we noticed small fish, some up to 6 inches in length. They tended to scatter on our approach but later, one tried to nibble on Jmzblond's toes.
There are good solid bolt anchors set at the rappel points. There were also some death traps ( old ropes ) which someone had left behind. We tied our own anchors and ropes to the bolts and used knotted ropes to decend and ascend from the pools. The pools are deep and cool. It was refreshing after the hike in.
Jmzblond declined to climb down into the pools with us, opting instead to imitate a mountain goat by climbing the canyon walls and pass us at pool 4. Her pictures of us were taken from a rock outcropping on the edge of pool 4, about 70 feet above the water. With a great hike already at that point, we decided to take a lunch break and head back, leaving pool 5 for a future trip.
The hike out was uneventful. The drive out was tough. The roughest part of the road was now an uphill section. I had to take 2 tries at a couple of places. Tim also had to take several tries and finally conquered one rock by beating it with the pumpkin of his front axel. I was glad to see nothing oily dripping from either vehicle after we finished that rough road.
Overall, this is a great hike and it is combined with a challenging 4X4 trail.

[jmzblond]

I'm feeling better and rested today, so here is my trip report...

Location/Directions: Devil's Canyon is located east off Hwy 60 between Superior and Globe in the Tonto National Forest. Take Magma Mine Road (but ONLY if you have a very reliable 4x4 vehicle w/ high clearance and good tires!!) south which is also the turn off for Oak Flat Campground. This road is paved, but don't be fooled. Approx. 1.5 miles from the turnoff is an unmarked dirt road with a closed metal gate on your lefthand side. Turn here, and please close the gate behind you as there are free-range cattle and horses in this area. Follow this road for just under 2.0 miles. The road (and I use that term very loosely!!) becomes very washed out and extremely rocky. This is not for the faint-at-heart. Make your way to an old corral area w/ a windmill in the bottom of a canyon. Near the windmill you will want to take the road that turns east down Hackberry Canyon for a short distance til it ends. This is where the "real" fun begins... the hike.

Description: This was a great challenging hike. There is no actual trail or trailhead. Its just you and nature. Good knowledge of the area, maps, GPS, endurance, and insanity are all assets for this trek. We bushwhacked, bouldered, canyoneered, tripped, stumbled, rock climbed, and rappelled our way to the 5 pools!!
A short distance from the vehicles, about 0.4 miles, we encountered our first taste of what this hike had in store for us... a 40 foot rock wall that was fairly easy to make our way down as it had ledges we could maneuver upon. Continuing along the bottom of the drainage for about the same distance from here is where Devil's Canyon actually begins. We followed the canyon south to the right. From here, it gets tough. We all got to fine tune our route-finding skills. The canyon itself is pretty easy to follow, its just the obstacles like large pools of water, thick vegetation which includes mass thickets of poison ivy, and lots of bouldering that make this hike more strenuous than others. There is a lot of creek bed crossing, rock hopping and climbing, and at times, canyoneering along the walls to get around. The distance from the the time you enter Devil's Canyon to the First Pool is approximately only 1.3 miles, but it seems and feels more like 3.0!!! Technical rock climbing/rappelling equipment is need for this next section. George and Joe brought ropes, clips, etc. I don't know the jargon, so George is gonna have to help me out on this section.
The drop from the ledge to the First Pool is only around 12 feet, but it took me about 30minutes to talk myself into attempting it. But I'm happy to report that I did it!! Several times in fact as I took the opportunity to practice using the rope going up and down. But this is as far as I got. I didnt swim the First Pool to get to the Second... I didn't swim the Second Pool, or as Joe, George, Heather, and Tim called it, "the Slime Pit". And, NO... I didnt rappel or jump the 15 foot drop to the Third Pool. Nor did I ever even come close to the 65 foot rappel to the Fourth Pool. I climbed, scrambled, spidermanned (new term), and canyoneered my way around the canyon wall following my partners along taking pictures from above!!
After we were all exhausted and hungry, we took a long, well earned lunch break atop the ledge of the First Pool. There is a small water hole and some shade there. We marvelled at the wildlife of 3-5" fish, bright yellow birds, falcons, dragonflies, butterflies, and bees. It was a beautiful day and perfect spot to rest. After about 30-40 minutes, it was time to pack up and trek back out the way we came. We took several mini breaks on the way out as the sun was now shining into the canyon and the temperature was slowing rising. The thick concentration of trees helped, offering much desired shade at times, and there was an occasional cool breeze also. It took all of us working together to find the right canyon to the left to get us back to the vehicles. There is a tall, 4-rock cairn that marks the entrance to the right canyon, but you have to know where to look for it to spot it. We did pass it at first, but it didnt take long for us to retrace our steps. We were all happy to see that 40 foot rock wall. From there, it was just a zig-zag up and a short quarter mile back to the trucks!!
We did make it back on the road w/ a little trouble. We had a section that took several approaches before we could conquer the rocks and get the trucks up the hill. The drive in and out is about as easy as the hike... maybe harder!! Our reward... Dairy Queen in Superior!! Woohoo
_________________
Blond, James Blond... double "O", uh oh!!

"The romantic lifestyle of goats leaves a lot of time for digesting books" Charlotte La Chevre, (taken from "Conversations With A Goat" by Robert Shekter)

[Arizonaheat]

Nice trip reports and photo's.

I'm jealous to say the least. Just my type of hike, maybe next time work won't get in the way of joining you.

Glad you all had a good time
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Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.

[jmzblond]

I know, I missed you yesterday!! Next time... I still have more fears to conquer on this one!!
_________________
Blond, James Blond... double "O", uh oh!!

"The romantic lifestyle of goats leaves a lot of time for digesting books" Charlotte La Chevre, (taken from "Conversations With A Goat" by Robert Shekter)

[azhiker96]

We used a climbing rope that Joe had knotted to decend and ascend the falls. For a future hike, instead of figure 8 knots I'd recommend using butterfly knots to space loops about 1 foot apart. Loops would have been a lot easier to hold when the rope and our hands were wet. Be sure to take your own webbing to tie into the anchor bolts. It's a great destination, I'd love to spend a long weekend back in there.

[Hikngrl]

I wanna play! (insert a little whine here) It sounds like you guys had a great time on this one! Oh my gosh... I dream of days like this!
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~~~Diane~~~

I want to shine!

[cactuscat]