The Grand Enchantment Trail ~ Part 7
Aravaipa Canyon was loaded with water and grand stands of sycamore, cottonwood, and ash trees. But it was with a return to the higher country in forest service land where we released the setting sun and found actual crystals on top of our campsite. Stacey had fun finding crystals with a headlamp.
Ascending a primitive trail up Laurel Canyon, we entered into pinyon pine habitat with many manzanita's blooming and where we followed many oaks to the flowing Holdout Creek.
The panorama was stunning.
We were in the midst of a Wonderland of Rocks in the Santa Teresa Wilderness.
It's as if a giant child had played with pebbles and deposited them all into neat little piles.
This wilderness is a hidden gem which could easily become a national monument. Shhhhh...don't tell anybody. Good thing nobody reads this blog.
The trail in this out of the way canyon soon turned vague and we were happy to follow blue tape tied to vegetation as well as cairns to show us the way to Black Rock Creek.
We apparently were catnip to the cats claw that was having fun scratching up our legs.
Blood was all too common of a sight on this Friday the 13th.
However, we were refreshed to take the plunge into a cold pool of water to reduce our core temperature.
The abundant late winter water eroded what tension we were hoarding in our bodies...sculpting us gently so we could flow gradually home to our inner inland sea.
Bushwhacking up Fisher Canyon, we soon navigated around Black Rock in the company of a thunderstorm.
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Tap Here for Part 8
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