Portal, AZ - Rodeo, NM

Hike For May 25:    Memorial Hike & Service For Bruce Thompson, At The
                                 Vista Point/Cathedral Vista.

Meet at the Silver Peak Trailhead at 8:00 am(AZ) 

Pat Owens      557-7722     rodeonm@vtc.net

Carol Simon    558-2433     casimon@vtc.net    

Jonathan Patt 558-0152      jonathanpatt@gmail.com   

Five hikers departed Portal and drove to US 191, taking it north to AZ 266, which we took over Stockton Pass and down to the Fort Grant prison. Accessing the Grant Creek area requires driving through the prison complex, then onto a rough dirt road beyond. After going up the road a ways, before it started to get particularly bad, we parked and started walking the road. Before long, we transitioned out of the desert scrub and under mixed tree cover, closely paralleling the nicely flowing Grant Creek and crossing it multiple times.

Upon reaching the end of the road, we took the right fork, following the pipeline that runs up the canyon to this point, to the Grant Creek Waterfall, which is about a third of a mile past the end of the road. A spot that was particularly tricky in the past, with a ladder or two and a traverse across slanted rock, has been replaced by a welded ladder and metal catwalk assembly to ascend and then cross a smaller waterfall just before getting to the main waterfall, a towering and spectacular sight. Several hikers brought fishing gear and started here as we had lunch, then continued fishing while the others went back down to the end of the road and followed the trail up the other fork. We met another group of hikers in here, who were looking for but had missed the turn for the waterfall, and after a brief chat we sent them in the right direction.

After a pleasant walk following the canyon bottom some more, we reached the first of many switchbacks and started climbing very steeply out of the canyon. Though we didn't make it to the top of the trail, which ultimately connects with the road on top of the Pinaleños, we got high enough to get some spectacular views of the canyon, the mountain above, and the valley out below. We turned back around 2, to rendezvous with those fishing below, and walked back out the road together. Those who went the full distance hiked over 9 miles round trip. We returned through Willcox and had dinner there before driving back to Portal.

Next Thursday, May 25, we will have a memorial hike and service for Bruce Thompson, who died last December, at the Vista Point/Cathedral Vista. Bruce was an avid hiker and active member of the Friends of Cave Creek Canyon, and if you knew Bruce and/or want to honor him, please join us. There will be an extended hike after the service for those who are interested, going off-trail up Madrone Canyon from the Vista Point area. Meet at the Silver Peak Trailhead at 8 AM (AZ) and we will go to the Vista Point from there.

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