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April, 2014 - Day hike down Tuckup Trail to Shaman's Gallery |
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Trip number 49 - April, 2013 : Deer Creek & Thunder River
Trip number 50 - March, 2014 : Day hiking to the Four Sisters Natural Bridges in Grand Canyon
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I had originally planned another Clear Creek backpack with another attempt on Deva Temple for this year but I ended up having some issues with my lower back and the physical therapist I had been seeing advised against a trip which would involve carrying anything heavy on my back. So backpacking was right out and I started looking for some interesting day hikes I could do with just a small daypack.
I ended up doing some day hikes in the the Grand Canyon area as well as some others in and around Flagstaff and Sedona and some up in Utah.
These were all very nice day hikes but the trip out to the Tuckup Trail and down to see the Shaman's Gallery was the one I enjoyed the most. For a day hike this was pretty adventurous if for no other reason than getting to the trailhead. Luckily I had a Jeep Compass for the ride out there and would not be attempting it in just a regular auto. I regular auto would not make it. The Jeep Compass did fine but something with more ground clearance would definitely be better as the rode is pretty rough and just continues to get more rough the closer you get to the trailhead. When I arrived at the trailhead there was a Jeep Wrangler parked there that had a flat tire. It took me a day just to drive to the trailhead and I spent the night in the Jeep. I was up at day break for breakfast and started my hike around 7am. It had been a very chilly evening and was still cold in the morning so I was glad that I had the Jeep to keep me warm in the morning. It ended up warming up quickly once the sun came up and I had a beautiful day for the hike. I remember seeing lots of crinoid fossils at the top of the Tuckup Trail and there was lots of cactus and other flowers in bloom as well. It was a "picture perfect" day. It took me about three hours to get to the Shaman's Gallery but it would have been quicker if I had not walked right past it. The waypoint I had in my GPS was just a guess-timate and was off by a considerable amount. Once I realized I had gone too far I had to backtrack and just keep looking for it. The gallery itself was "picture perfect" as well and a real treat for me. I am sure it is telling some kind of story, probably one than one, but the artwork that has gone into it is simply incredible. I spent about 20 minutes there enjoying the site and taking lots of photos before starting the hike back out. The hike back out only took about 2 hours and I was back at the trailhead around 1230. From there I drove back out to the main road and since I was in the area I decided to drive out to the Toroweap overlook of the Colorado River as well. That was another very "adventurous" drive. I had my lunch there, took lots more photos and then start the long, grueling drive back to a paved highway. The full trip report is here. |
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Next >> Trip number 52 - March/April, 2015 - Deva Temple Backpacking Trip
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