My fiancee and I are planning a trip to southern AZ with our 6 year old. We are looking for an escape to warmer climates to escape the onset of winter here in Flagstaff. Neither of us has travelled much in the area and we would love some trails or areas that might be nice. Zion is like a second home to us. Our six year old has done Keyhole(at 6), Orderville(at 5), the Narrows(at 4) and the Salome Jug(at 6). We were looking for trails a little bit adventourous and fun or simply so beautiful they should not be missed. We are planning to spend a couple days there. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Thankyou,
Shawn
rich_rudow
I’ll add to Tom’s thoughts. The Superstition Mountains East of Phoenix are a great place to hike with solitude and fair weather, but the nights can still dip below freezing. There are some technical canyons to descend there too detailed in Todd Martin’s book. I’ve hiked many trails and routes out there and you can ping me offline for further ideas if the Superstitions are far enough South for your taste. Many routes and trails are detailed on Todd’s website too.
BTW – it’s not ‘South’of Flag, but I really like Marble Canyon in the Winter. The hiking is excellent, there are many technical slots, and the weather is usually not too bad (compared to Flag). Lows in the high 20’s and highs in the 50’s are the norm.
Rich
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “truenature9” wrote:
> My fiancee and I are planning a trip to southern AZ with our 6 year old. > We are looking for an escape to warmer climates to escape the onset of > winter here in Flagstaff. Neither of us has travelled much in the area > and we would love some trails or areas that might be nice. Zion is > like a second home to us. Our six year old has done Keyhole(at 6), > Orderville(at 5), the Narrows(at 4) and the Salome Jug(at 6). We were > looking for trails a little bit adventourous and fun or simply so > beautiful they should not be missed. We are planning to spend a couple > days there. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Thankyou,
Shawn >
tj_wetherell
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “truenature9” wrote: > My fiancee and I are planning a trip to southern AZ with our 6 year old. We are looking for an escape to warmer climates to escape the onset of winter here in Flagstaff.
Shawn, Canyoneering in the south (of phoenix) isn’t going to be much warmer than staying on the Rim, and the (best) routes are loooong and require car shuttles. But, I’d think that Aravaipa Canyon N.E. of Tucson could be good (http://tinyurl.com/ycmn4oc), then maybe a day on Mt. Lemmon (hiking, or climbing low in Milagrosa Canyon), then head on down to Cochise Stronghold, good hiking, great rock climbing, ok bouldering, then head over to Chiricahua Nat’l Mon (http://tinyurl.com/ybgh64b) for excellent hiking in incredible rock formations. The Chiricahuas can also be very cold. Of the places mentioned I would expect Cochise to be the warmest, but do not be deceived, it can be quite chilly.
-tom(w)
tj_wetherell
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “truenature9” wrote: > My fiancee and I are planning a trip to southern AZ with our 6 year old. We are looking for an escape to warmer climates to escape the onset of winter here in Flagstaff.
Shawn, Canyoneering in the south (of phoenix) isn’t going to be much warmer than staying on the Rim, and the (best) routes are loooong and require car shuttles. But, I’d think that Aravaipa Canyon N.E. of Tucson could be good (http://tinyurl.com/ycmn4oc), then maybe a day on Mt. Lemmon (hiking, or climbing low in Milagrosa Canyon), then head on down to Cochise Stronghold, good hiking, great rock climbing, ok bouldering, then head over to Chiricahua Nat’l Mon (http://tinyurl.com/ybgh64b) for excellent hiking in incredible rock formations. The Chiricahuas can also be very cold. Of the places mentioned I would expect Cochise to be the warmest, but do not be deceived, it can be quite chilly.
-tom(w)