Left to right: Neal Wring, Pete Williams, Wayne McKinney, Mary Hill, Barb Schaepe, Marilyn Reynolds, Dave Ausman (“Ausy”), Lynn Warren (photographer), Clare Bangs, and Dennis Zigmunt pausing for a cool selfie in West Clear Creek.
Lynn Warren
How do hikers escape triple-digit temperatures in the valley? Well, one popular way is to head for higher elevation so on July 18, a combination of ten “B” and “C” hikers headed for West Clear Creek, a few miles southeast of Camp Verde. The “B” hike was a relatively easy ten miles RT through scenic terrain and the highlight was fording the creek eight times (the “C” hikers did a shorter version). Although the hikers were confident of their skills and the water was not too deep, rocks on the bottom were slippery in places so most chose to protect cameras, phones and keys in waterproof bags (Zip-Locks work great), just in case. Even though there were a couple of slips, no one fell so this precaution was unnecessary and everyone enjoyed the break from valley heat. The club hikes extensively around the valley with occasional adventures such as this in other interesting areas; visit the club’s website at pchikers.org for more information and pictures.