Backpacking Arizona: From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands

by Bruce Grubbs

Overview

The world-famous Grand Canyon is only one of Arizona's spectacular natural features. Arizona encompasses over 90 wilderness areas, more than 15 national parks and monuments, and the largest national forest in the country. Expansive mesas, high peaks, and snaking canyons create a dynamic landscape and reflect a rich geologic and human history. Backpacking Arizona is the only guide devoted to overnight trips in the state. You'll discover the maze of side canyons and hidden grottos in the Grand Canyon's untrammeled backcountry, historic pioneer trails on the Mogollon Rim, the little-traveled Blue Range, and the legendary Superstition Mountains in the Sonoran Desert.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780899973241
Publisher:	Wilderness Press
Publication date:	09/22/2003
Series:	Backpacking
Pages:	254
Sales rank:	319,455
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bruce Grubbs is an avid hiker, mountain biker, paddler, and cross-country skier who has explored the American West for over 30 years and has written 14 outdoor guidebooks. Backpacking remains his first backcountry love, and he makes time for several lengthy trips each year. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Read an Excerpt

Paria Canyon

RATINGS Scenery: 10, Solitude: 3, Difficulty: 4

MILES 37.0

ELEVATION GAINS 0 (2000)

DAYS 4

SHUTTLE MILEAGE 72

MAPS West Clark Bench, Bridger Point, Wrather Arch, Water Pockets, Ferry Swale, Lees Ferry U.S.G.S.

SEASON April–June, Mid-September through October.

BEST April–May, October.

WATER The Paria River generally flows below Buckskin Canyon, but the water is silty and must be filtered. You’ll find several unnamed springs between miles 10 and 25.

PERMITS Required, and a reservation is recommended. Walk-in permits may be available, depending on demand, at the BLM Kanab Field Office or the Paria Information Station at the north trailhead, especially during the off-season (summer and winter).

RULES Campfires are not allowed and all toilet paper must be packed out.

CONTACT For information: Bureau of Land Management, 345 E. Riverside Dr. St. George, UT 84790, http://paria.az.blm.gov; for reservations: Arizona Strip Interpretive Association, 345 E. Riverside Dr., St. George, UT 84790, [phone], [e-mail]

HIGHLIGHTS Starting just north of the Arizona border in southern Utah, this classic hike takes you through one of the most spectacular sandstone canyons in North America. Surprisingly, the hiking is reasonably easy—it’s the only hike in this book with no elevation gain. A prime feature of this trip, the narrows of Paria Canyon, are 12 miles long, and average 20 to 30 feet wide and more than 500 feet deep. An optional side hike takes you into Buckskin Canyon, which is even narrower.

PROBLEMS Because Paria Canyon is popular, reservations are required for the limited number of permits available during the prime spring and fall seasons. A daily fee is charged for each person and each dog in the party. Although the Paria River is usually less than 1 foot deep, you’ll cross it hundreds of times. You will need a pair of river sandals or other amphibious footwear. Conventional leather hiking boots will be ruined by a trip through Paria Canyon. A hiking stick is useful for maintaining your footing in the silty river. Because a flash flood would be extremely dangerous in the narrows, and inconvenient elsewhere in the canyon, you must have a stable weather forecast before starting the trip. A storm in the Paria River’s headwaters, completely out of your sight or hearing, can easily send a flash flood through the narrows. Hike the canyon north to south, as presented here, so that your weather forecast is as current as possible for the passage through the narrows from roughly mile 4 to 16. Summer weather can be extremely hot, and during the late fall and winter, the Paria River runs too high and cold to wade. A shuttle is necessary, so contact the BLM for a current list of commercial shuttle operators.

HOW TO GET THERE To reach the starting point at White House Trailheadfrom Page, drive north 29 miles on U.S. 89 to the BLM ranger station and campground on the left (south) side of the highway. The end point of the trip at Lees Ferry on the Colorado River can be reached from Page by driving 23 miles south on U.S. 89 to Arizona 89A. Turn right (north), and continue 14 miles, across Navajo Bridge, and turn right (northeast) on the road to Lees Ferry, drive 5 miles and park in the west end of the long-term parking lot.

DESCRIPTION As you hike south from the White House Trailhead, the Paria River runs through an open valley, but within a couple of miles the canyon walls begin to close in, soon rising 200 feet above the Paria River bed. The narrows begin at about mile 4, where the canyon walls narrow to 20 to 50 feet. Paria Canyon is now over 400 feet deep. From here to about mile 12, there is no escape from rising water in the event of a flood, and no place to camp. As you continue, the narrows become progressively deeper and more impressive. The Navajo sandstone walls curve overhead, blocking out most of the sky. Little vegetation grows in the narrows because floods regularly scour the riverbed. At mile 7.2, Buckskin Canyon enters from the right through a narrow slot. You also cross the state line back into Arizona at this point, a fact that seems pretty irrelevant deep within the canyons. The Paria River is sometimes dry from the trailhead to Buckskin Canyon, but it usually flows downstream of this point. Buckskin Canyon offers an optional side hike. Another 3 miles of hiking leads out of the narrows, which ends gradually as the canyon grows steadily deeper and wider. The first sign that the character of the canyon is changing is the appearance of Fremont cottonwood trees on alluvial terraces on the insides of bends. Watch for the first springs along the canyon walls. Although it still should be treated, the spring water is cleaner and certainly tastes better than the Paria River water. These terraces offer reasonable campsites safely above possible flood waters. As you continue downstream, the canyon increases in depth and width. More sunlight finds its way to the bottom of the canyon, allowing cottonwoods and other vegetation to flourish. Watch for several rincons perched above the riverbed. Rincons are old canyon meanders that have been cut off from the main canyon. In a rincon, the now-abandoned river channel curves around a central sandstone butte. A particularly accessible rincon is located just above Judd Hollow, at mile 17.7. Judd Hollow marks a place where early ranchers attempted to pump water from the Paria River to the dry plateau above, in order to water their cattle. A few artifacts remain from this failed endeavor. At mile 20 Wrather Canyon, a major side canyon, enters from the right. The canyon itself is a huge opening in the right wall of Paria Canyon, but the actual bed of the canyon enters the Paria through a narrow slot. Wrather Canyon offers an optional side hike. After Wrather Canyon, Paria Canyon continues to grows wider, and the constant meanders decrease as the Paria River wanders generally east. At mile 28, the canyon widens significantly, and the Paria River enters an open valley that leads down to Lees Ferry and the Colorado River. Below Water Pockets Canyon, an unmaintained trail offers an alternate route. As you near Lees Ferry you’ll pass the ruins of the historic Lonely Dell Ranch, operated by John D. Lee and his wife. She supposedly exclaimed, “Oh, what a lonely dell!” when she first set eyes on her new home. Lee operated a ferry across the Colorado River just upstream from the mouth of the Paria River until the late 1920’s, when Navajo Bridge replaced it. Even today, Colorado River crossings are far apart—the next bridged crossings upstream are at Page, 17 miles upstream, and Narrow Canyon, 200 miles above Lees Ferry. Downstream, the next bridged crossing is at Hoover Dam, 300 miles away. At mile 34, the obscure Dominguez Pass Trail climbs 2 miles and 1600 feet to the east rim of the Canyon. Although it offers fine views of lower Paria Canyon, this trail is not often hiked because most backpackers have their sights set on Lees Ferry and a shower by this time.

Table of Contents

SAFETY NOTICE

FEATURED TRIPS OVERVIEW MAP

MAP LEGEND

FEATURED TRIPS SUMMARY CHART

INTRODUCTION *
• *How to use this guide

GENERAL TIPS ON BACKPACKING IN ARIZONA
*
• *Water and Heat *
• *Mountains and Snow *
• *The Mexican Monsoon *
• *Rattlesnakes, Scorpions, and Other Critters *
• *Cactus and Other *
• *Interesting Plants *
• *Permits and Regulations *
• *Hunting Seasons

WILD AREAS OF ARIZONA
*
• *Colorado Plateau
*
• *Slickrock Canyons *
• *Grand canyon

*
• *Rim Country
*
• *Mogollon Rim *
• *White Mountains *
• *Central Mountains *
• *Mazatzal Mountains *
• *Superstition Mountains

*
• *Sky Islands
*
• *Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains *
• *Galiuro Mountains *
• *Chiricahua Mountains *
• *Santa Rita Mountains

FEATURED TRIPS

COLORADO PLATEAU
*
• *Slickrock Canyons
*
• *Paria Canyon *
• *Rainbow Bridge

*
• *Grand Canyon
*
• *South Bass Trail to Hermit Trail *
• *Tanner Trail to Kaibab Trail *
• *Kanab Canyon Loop *
• *Powell Plateau Loop *
• *Nankoweap-Bright Angel Loop

RIM COUNTRY
*
• *Mogollon Rim
*
• *Sycamore Canyon *
• *Historic Cabin Loop

*
• *White Mountains
*
• *Mount Baldy Loop *
• *KP-Grants Creek Loop *
• *Strayhorse Loop *
• *WS Mountain Loop

*
• *Central Mountains and Mazatzal Mountains
*
• *Wet Bottom Loop *
• *Midnight Mesa Loop *
• *Deadman Creek Loop *
• *Y Bar-Rock Creek Loop

*
• *Superstition Mountains
*
• *La Barge-Boulder Canyon Loop *
• *Red Tanks Divide Loop *
• *Fish Creek Loop *
• *Campaign Creek Loop *
• *Deer Creek-Y Bar Loop

SKY ISLANDS
*
• *Galiuro Mountains
*
• *Holdout Spring Loop

*
• *Chiricahua Mountains
*
• *Chiricahua Crest

*
• *Santa Rita Mountains
*
• *Santa Rita Crest 213

OTHER BACKPACKING TRIPS

OVERVIEW MAP
*
• *Keet Seel *
• *Boucher Trail to Bright Angel Trail *
• *Highline Trail *
• *Apache Railroad Trail *
• *Sabino-Lemmon Rock Loop *
• *Rincon Crest Loop *
• *Cave Creek Loop

INDEX