Highwater - Verde River Loop
26.8 mi2,587 ft
3,068 ft
2,185 ft
Using Red Creek to access two remote trails along the Verde River to form a loop. Involves wading across the Verde River at least twice.
Photos
Dim morning light on the horizon
Walking along Red Creek
Isolated pockets of color along the creek
Desert clashing with riparian environment
Fantastic sign above the Verde River
Looking back over Red Creek Rapids
Picking up the Verde River Trail on the east bank
Table Mountain, with Squaw Butte poking out in the distance
Easy following the trail with these cairns
Big views on Wet Bottom Mesa
Sign for Highwater Junction
Looking down at the distant white bluffs
Dry tributary of Canyon Creek
Next to those white bluffs
Narrow trail in a lush desert mesa
A molting gila monster along the way
Remote, untrod hills in the east
Piecing together an old, forgotten connector
Red hills rising high above the Verde River
Reeds clustered thick around the river
Trying to re-orientate after the crossing
A steep, though well-defined, climb up the other side
Big saguaro along the trail
A typical tiny cairn along the trail
Long shadows on Table Mountain and Wet Bottom Mesa
Nightmare cholla
End of the Verde River Trail
One of many scenic drops along the creek
Finally back at the Jeep, missed sunset by half hour
Along the way
Creek 3
- Red Creek
- Red Creek Rapids
- Canyon Creek
Shoreline 1
- Verde River Trail Crossing
Mountain 2
- Wet Bottom Mesa
- White Bluffs
Junction 2
- Highwater / Wet Bottom Trail Junction
- Wet Bottom / Verde River Trail Junction
Gate 2
- Mazatzal Wilderness boundary gate
- Gate on Verde River Trail