Tonto Creek Narrows Exploration

Today, my friend Sarah and I drove on a mission to find a swimming hole in the Tonto Creek whose picture we found in a book. We had some vague directions, but when we turned off the highway into a weird little podunk town in the desert, I gotta say I was skeptical there was going to be any water at all. We started down a dirt road, which turned into a little path, and suddenly we hit a little creek which led to a much bigger river. Following the river for a ways, we were not prepared for what we were going to find. There is so much beauty hidden in this state that it makes me wonder about what else we have yet to discover. The "swimming hole" was more like a deep canyon, sometimes with a slot like feeling full of deep clear blue water and a million place to climb, jump, explore, camp, and just lie on a rock.

Pictures don't lie, even those taken with a crappy camera which refuses to focus. I am already planning my return trip when the summer takes a turn for the hotter and I need to get away and this time I plan to bring my camping gear. This little mecca of H20 is only 1 hr and 20 minutes from the front door. That is AMAZING!

The trail head was hot and dry, no water in sight.

This was the first canyon area, known as the Narrows.

Looking back towards the Narrows.

Upriver there was some funky pyschadelic green moss.

The water is green with moss but somehow very clean.

Sarah swims the rapids further upstream.

Sometimes we had to rock climb steep walls to get over a deep rapid area.

Sometimes we were just able to wade up the (frigid) stream.

Seriously, training in these conditions is OH SO HARD...

And the best thing is that the knee did awesome out there, no issues even though most of the day was spent rock scrambling in wet shoes on wet rocks. We went about a mile upstream I would guess although we were on the move for around four glorious hours. Don't tell me you aren't a little jealous...