The directions were very specific and described the unmaintained four-wheel-drive trail leading to Boy Scout Canyon as suitable for high-clearance vehicles. I really hate rocky trails! After bouncing over rocks for about three miles we found the unmarked trailhead and parked the vehicle.
At first the hike was down a wide dry wash, but after about a mile the canyon narrowed and we came to several pour-overs (dry waterfalls) that required some Class 3 climbing to get around. In the same area we found the jaw bone of a Desert Bighorn sheep, but the rest of the skull was missing. We also saw several West Coast Lady butterflies along the way.
The canyon kept getting taller and tighter until it opened up into a large sandy wash. Much to our surprise, there were vehicle tracks in the sand and a cable across the wash, indicating the start of Black Canyon Wilderness Area. Realizing that there must be another route into the canyon, we decided to check the topographical maps when we returned home. (It turned out that there is a "cherry stem" through Black Canyon Wilderness Area down to the cable.)
We continued following the wash until we came to a pour-over that was about 300 feet high that blocked our path. After back tracking and climbing out of the canyon we followed the ridge-line until we came to a Class IV drop. Since we did not have any ropes along, we decided to call it a day and return home.
I was a Boy Scout Explorer leader at the time, so I decided this would be a great Scout outing and decided to try the hike again in a few weeks. Only, this time we drove our four-wheel-drive vehicles down the dry wash to the cable before starting the hike. We also brought along some climbing ropes.
We first hiked down the dry-wash so that everyone could see the 300-foot pour-over, and then back-tracked so that we could get up on the ridge-line and bypass the pour-over.
Once on the ridge-line we started a series of Class III and IV drops until we arrived in the basin at the bottom of the 300-foot pour-over. (The notch noted in the last picture is the 300-foot pour-over. We also required the Scouts to have a safety belay line on the various climbs.)
Continuing down the canyon we encountered a series of Class III and Class IV drops. We also found a ram's horn at the bottom of one drop.
We finally came to the last drop that ended at a hot springs with some nice thermal pools. Since this was in the days before girls were allowed to be Boy Scouts, we stripped down and enjoyed soaking in the hot pools.
The end of a great hike!
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