I rarely remember my age (turning 49 soon). Or the fact that I’m not in as good of shape as I was in my younger days (I’m working on that one). So when I have the chance to bounce from rock to rock, scramble up to an interesting viewpoint or climb around in general, I’m entirely enthusiastic. Possibly too much so? Never! Sadly, I’m reminded of the aforementioned annoyances when I can’t quite move like my brain still thinks I should be able to. Not to mention how sore I feel at home once my energy has waned and the excitement has worn off.
What does this have to do with anything?
Everything and nothing at all.
Everything because Arizona is full of rocks to play on. I believe most of our hiking while we’re here will involve doing so to some degree. Nothing at all because though my age and fitness level are facts that will affect future expeditions, they are probably boring to most readers.
Our first hike in this desert paradise was The Crack in the Mountain Trail aka “SARA’s Crack”. SARA stands for Special Activities Recreation Area, it is not named after a woman. That would be weird.
The crack is a slot canyon and the trail is only about 3 miles round trip so we planned to increased the distance by continuing on to Balance Rock by the lake then follow a different trail for the return trip, totaling over five miles. Our easy hikes by the time we left Utah averaged four miles so this seemed appropriate.
Arizona hiking is not like what we were doing in our part of Utah.
Ogden’s extensive trail system was either relatively flat, had slight yet consistent inclines / declines, or steep inclines leading to relatively flat paths or again, mild ups and downs. The trails are usually hard packed dirt allowing for easy walking.
Oh Arizona. Our trail of choice that day was mostly in a wash (which are everywhere around here) except for the slot canyon section. The washes have a loose gravel base creating an exercise level somewhere between walking on dirt and walking on sand. There were offshoot pathways all over the place but we wanted to make it to the canyon so we stayed in / near the wash until we had passed it.
Oh. My. Gawd.
While the slot canyon is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the hike, traversing the general gorges is awe inspiring. The steep, pitted, red walls. The fallen rocks lining the pathway, waiting to be climbed. Arches and dark spots enticing one to see if a cavern is nearby. They’re fabulous.
Soon, we were at the mouth of my first slot canyon and I can not wait to find more. It made the workout of getting there worth it. The walls of the canyon are incredibly high and narrow (but not too narrow, I refuse to go anywhere that requires me to squeeze through), blocking most of the sunshine. It began with a short slide, only a couple of feet tall. Part way through is a second slide, this one about seven feet with a knotted climbing rope to one side. Afterwards, a ladder is judiciously placed to help one safely climb over a small boulder blocking the route which immediately requires one to land on and cross a metal plank.
It’s a small playground for adults.
Stepping back into the sun, we continued our journey. This was not quite so much fun. Again, and mostly due to a lack of choice, we were trudging along through the wash until a forest of greenery pushed us up a rocky hill. Within moments we had a beautiful view of Lake Havasu.
I would like to take a moment to say this. I may have only encountered a limited number of plants native to this region but I feel quite certain they are all decidedly bent on scratching, poking and otherwise attempting to cut to shreds anyone foolish enough to brush against them.
Back to the hike.
This area of Arizona truly is a stunning place. Azure blue water, red craggy rocks topped with a cerulean sky. We admired the view as we rested while eating our lunch on one of the hills overlooking the water.
Too soon it was time to make the looonngggg trek back to our jeep. I still find it hard to believe that the first part of the trail had such a level of descent as to justify the amount uphill on our return. At least this section was hard packed and only slightly rocky.
Admittedly, I had reached tired before we were even at the halfway mark. This probably affected my judgement regarding the difficulty of the trail but I don’t believe it did so by much. While the majority felt like we were in a constant state of incline, both gentle and dramatic, there were a number of small downhills intermixed which did nothing to improve the upward climb.
Eventually though, we did find our way back. My knee was screaming at me. I’ve had to wear a brace since we started the bench portion of the Centennial trail. Those lengthy steep uphills conversely requiring lengthy steep downhills were more than my knee was going to take quietly. Someday this will pass…but I’ve seen the trails here (and I’m excited to explore them), it may not be anytime soon.
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