The route is penciled in, it is just an estimate.
~ Says Rockin’ to Dan
April 16 – Phantom/Crystal Creek Loop
Shiva Saddle to Colorado River Crystal Rapids
With a very early start to beat the heat and maneuver off and through the layers once again of Shiva Saddle, we headed down 5 miles to our next water source, Dragon Spring. Five miles cross-country can be very slow (1 mile an hour) and hard work, so we did not want to take any chances. The night actually went well, cool with no wind and our little group remained in good spirits.
At first sight of Dragon Spring, we ALL promptly downed our last sips of water. A welcome sight indeed!
At the spring we all downed multiple liters of water, ate, regrouped, and planned for the rest of the day. It is a beautiful little area with plenty of water springing from the ground.
The afternoon was glorious. We walked in water down Dragon Canyon and then Crystal Creek leading to the Colorado River. Along the way we were greeted with thousands of frogs, many beaver dams, and small pools.
We are now camped at the Colorado River by Crystal Rapids. This will be our last source of water until the end of the day tomorrow. Right now I am a bit nervous about that. We are going up to the Tonto Level where it is exposed and hot, traveling to 94 mile Creek (that is dry) to the Colorado River again.
The night is hot, I am cleaned up, the rapids roar loudly, moon is shining bright and I can relax for a moment.
Hey darlin!! I love your posts. You are so inspiring!!! With love, grasshopper
Just a little correction … It was 94 mile creek that we were headed for after Crystal Rapids with the Colorado River as our next reliable water source !
All fixed. Thanks for the catch.
Wahoo!! – down to water and all’s well. Good for you all. Great photos and text as always.