In Phoenix for a conference, I was keen to tag on a day or two to do something fun. I had a busy few weeks with very little time off. Insomnia Canyon was top of my list being something new but the latest canyon report I could find was from July and mentioned severe log jams and damage to the bolts for the 320ft rappel- not particularly appealing. Fossil Creek seemed like an easy option I thought Jimmy would also enjoy and I was interested in seeing the upper 5 miles of the blue waters and its spring source. I had previously packrafted from the halfway waterfall to the bridge at the bottom; the verdict was it was extremely pretty but mostly scratchy unglamorous packrafting. Thunderstorms descended on Phoenix the day before and seemed to follow us as we drove to the Fossil Creek turnoff. It was a beautiful drive with dramatic clouds, bursts of rain, bolts of lightning, double rainbows, and golden setting sunlight illuminating cloudbottoms. I dropped off my car in a neighborhood nearby and [in hindsight regrettably absentmindedly] packed in sloppy haste my gear into Jimmy's car. I felt a little unease, like I was forgetting something.
A few minutes later we were at the dirt turnoff to Fossil Creek. Gated! One of the signs beyond mentioned the road closed in poor weather and we figured this must be the case. We looked around a bit. The road was a little tacky but seemed ok just here. We were about to leave in defeat, at least for the night, but then saw a faint headlight down the road working its way towards us. We decided we might as well wait 5 minutes and see if they had the gate key or further insight. It was some young kids in a muddy Jeep, equally surprised as us to be on the wrong side of a locked gate. They thought the road seemed ok for an all-wheel drive vehicle. After a brief chat I noticed a side gate that wasn't locked and was able to let them out, but not before I managed to awkwardly slip between the bars of a cattle guard. Embarrassing. We drove down the washboarded road, initially quite solid but then gradually turning to slide-y peanut butter. Tire treads filled, we boated our way down the road. I could tell Jimmy was gripped with adrenaline and concentration trying to apply the right acceleration and steering to keep us on the road. I felt bad- here I thought I had planned a relaxation camping trip. The drive went on for literal hours with some harrowing moments.
Eventually we made it to Childs, nerves a little raw but relieved. It was quiet. Flashes of lightning still illuminated the southern horizon. It was also late and we were both exhausted but I rallied Jimmy to see if we could hike the mile to camp at Verde Hot Springs. As we hiked the completely opaque and slow moving Verde River was hard to gauge its flood stage. I knew we would have no idea whether it was flooded or crossable until we reached the hot springs. Happily it was crossable with care (low thighs) and we had the hot springs to ourselves! We had a couple relaxing beers in the main pool room, enjoying the intricately collaged walls, the comfortable air temperature, and the last bits of lightning. Particularly cool was the glow-in-the-dark paint which illuminated key drawings and writings. My last visit was only in daylight so it was neat to have this little discovery, pass my headlamp along the walls, and see what messages were revealed. We stayed up longer than I thought we would (past midnight) then unrolled mats and sleeping bags right in front on the concrete deck. I slept exceptionally well.
The morning found me with familiar sights but new to Jimmy. We took our time with another morning soak (giving time for the sun to dry the road a bit seemed intelligent) before packing up, crossing the river, and hiking back to the car.
The road was much much improved and we drove with confidence (plus daylight!) to the roadend parking lot. Amazingly we had this special place to ourselves. We followed the waterfall trail the one mile along Fossil Creek to the 20ft waterfall where I started my packraft on my last visit. This time we hiked onward along an initially good trail that faded after about a half mile. We took our time crossing a deep portion of the creek with packs over our heads and then off-trailed up the ridge to gain the Flume Trail. Happily the vegetation was quite open and the route a good choice. We both marveled at the abrupt transition from a lush Hawaiian style jungle to southwest desert.
I was thankful that the passing storm meant perfect hiking temperatures. The Flume Trail contoured high (and dry) above the creek, occasionally giving us glimpses of emerald green swimming holes below. I also passed time admiring the enormous landslides and as we made it further, the largest travertine deposit I have ever seen above the creek's source- it was nearly a square kilometer in area and had 300 ft high cliffs.
We made good time getting to the old dam site, had a snack, and explored. I quickly found out the pool at the base of the falls was unfortunately too shallow for a full jump but the crystal clarity and abundant fish made up for it. I found a short cave at the back right of the falls that had green light filtering up through the water. The most unique feature of the falls is that about a third of the flow diverts to a breached pothole room, the "punchbowl." I took several attempts to progressively get through from the pool, probing through the bubbles a little further each time before fully committing. It was a neat little dive-through.
I had spotted a particularly deep pool with a dark overhang just below so that was next up. I jumped, swam to the edge of a small fall, and could see the deep pool and overhang looked promising. Jimmy joined and we swam in together. Inside was a stunning travertine cave with golden walls and emerald waters (frontispiece). It was really quite spectacular and a great surprise, the scenic standout of Fossil Creek for me. The mouth of the cave had a fantastically textured 15ft overhang with an equally deep pool beneath. We took turns torturing our fingertips with some deep water soloing. We both managed to top out and then jump back in. Very satisfying!
We gathered our stuff and hiked on the short distance to check out the spring source. It was apparently a number of springs, only a few obviously bubbling up from the streambed. Not overly picturesque or dramatic but interesting nonetheless. We walked the Flume Trail the full 4.5 mi back to the start, detouring just before the parking lot to the nice double falls pool for some more cliff jumping. We escaped the road without incident despite a strange interaction with a local.
And that is where I wished the story ended and I could call it a successful day. My car keys were nowhere to be found. Not at the car, not at the cattle guard, not in Jimmy's car or in any of my stuff. Unfortunately this derailed Jimmy's plans slightly so I bought him dinner and then we camped at the Clear Creek Campground. Fortunately another rainfree night. We drove into a coffee shop in the morning and it took until about 9:30a until I was able to hatch a plan. A locksmith seemed convinced he could get me on the road but wouldn't be free until 3p. Oh well. Jimmy dropped me off at my car and drove on for some epic good Sedona mountain biking. I spent hours at the side of a pond near my car, waiting. I was thankful for the grass and shade and cool weather but it certainly wasn't Walden Pond or the most inviting neighborhood. More complications with the locksmith but a nice and capable enough guy, he was eventually able to get me back on the road by 4p. I drove on home, destined for a midnight arrival into southern California, but the sunset clouds almost made it alright. So I managed to kill another day. Thanks to Jimmy for a great little add-on trip.
