Its cold and I’m sick so here’s a short TR.
We made our way slowly down Secret Canyon after a lazy start. Straight-forward kind of place with a couple raps that lead to the hot springs and the river. Very cool ending.
Blew up the rafts and paddled down to AZ hot springs. At this point there is some current in the river so its pretty fun and easy. AZ hot springs were kinda crowded with college kids, but us old timers (early 30’s) waited them out and had the springs to ourselves. Camped in that zone. Got some surprise rain at midnight with nothing in the forecast. Good ol’ space blanket to the rescue.
Next day paddled down to Bighorn Canyon. Climbed up till we were out of slot. One tricky upclimb in there, but it can be assisted. Really cool place. At this point the river is more like a lake with little to no current. Packrafts aren’t so efficient so it was kind of a workout. We stopped at Cranes Nest Wash and camped.
Next morning Sunny and I headed up the wash to do Ringpin while our lovely ladies paddled down stream to soak up the sun. Ringpin was my favorite of this area so far. Again very straight-forward but super pretty. The girls got to Ringpin beach just as we were exiting the slot. Perfect! The paddle down to Willow Beach was again a workout but probably the most scenic stretch of canyon with an interesting water gauging station.
Pretty cool zone to hit in winter. Its real low elevation down there so its pretty reasonable temperature wise. We used 20 degree bags and were plenty warm. Anyway, another alternative to to Death Valley and the VRG for those seeking comfortable temps for winter canyons.
Bill
cute boats