Every year, our stake has an overnight hiking trip for the Laurels (16- to 18-year-old girls). I was a youth leader at church for more than three years, and while I'm not anymore, I'm still enthusiastic about anything to do with our youth group. So when one of the girls pulled out of the hike the week before, leaving an unused non-refundable deposit, I was invited to go in her place.This place is up near Cibecue, Arizona, a few miles north of Globe. As the highway goes northeast, heading toward the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest area, it winds around, descending through the Salt River Canyon. At the point where the road crosses the river, there's an inconspicuous dirt road that leads back toward the river's source. We camped near the mouth of the Salt River Canyon. This first picture was taken between 5 and 6 a.m. from where we camped. A short distance away is the trail head that took us through the canyon you can see in the picture. The creek flowing through the canyon is a tributary to this river. After breaking camp, we set off on a very memorable hike.
They told us to wear shoes that could get wet. I didn't know this meant we were actually hiking through water. The water temperature and warm weather were perfectly matched that day. I don't remember feeling too warm or chilly at any point, come to think of it. 
The picture above at left is a good depiction of the terrain we had to navigate. Sometimes we climbed over rocks or even a small length of dirt trail, but a lot of the time, we had to cross the river to find passable ground. It was a pretty level route, so it wasn't particularly strenuous, but the rocks were tricky sometimes, especially the ones under the water. I slipped and fell a few times. My friend Janae (in purple) offered to carry my backpack after that. I am in the green shirt.
The picture above at left is a good depiction of the terrain we had to navigate. Sometimes we climbed over rocks or even a small length of dirt trail, but a lot of the time, we had to cross the river to find passable ground. It was a pretty level route, so it wasn't particularly strenuous, but the rocks were tricky sometimes, especially the ones under the water. I slipped and fell a few times. My friend Janae (in purple) offered to carry my backpack after that. I am in the green shirt.This picture (below) was taken near the end of the "trail," if you could call it that. Some of us had picked up walking sticks along the way. You can see a couple of my friends on the right navigating the deepest water we found on the way in. 
At this point in the hike, we were greeted by the sight of a fifty-foot waterfall. There was no more riverbed to hike, so we all put on rock-climbing harnesses and prepared to ascend the cliff to go further up the canyon. I had never done any rock climbing. I think it would have been easier if my legs hadn't been so banged up from the hike in. I'd try it again given the opportunity, but I'll leave the more intense rock climbing lifestyles to those with the time, money, and life insurance policies to accommodate it.
On top of the cliff, there were more pools and waterfalls. We were up there for probably a couple of hours swimming, hiking, rock climbing, and even cliff diving for some, and then it was time to rappel down. Somewhere in the universe exist pictures of me doing the climbing and rappelling,
but I have yet to see them. So for proof that I did climb up the canyon wall, below is the same fifty-foot waterfall seen from the top.
On top of the cliff, I hiked around with a lady named Linda, who is a canyoneering expert. We went further up the canyon than I would have if I'd been left to my own devices. I'm not as fearless as she is. I'm glad I got to see what was up there.Rappelling was fun! At first. I thought it would go against some very basic instincts to step backwards off a cliff, but the rope was secure, the setting was magnificent, and it was a blast. I hit a snag when the rock face kind of disappeared (retreated), but eventually I made it down. We all splashed into the pool below the waterfall. This picture is of one of the girls, taking the same route as everyone else. It was awesome being so close to the waterfall, hanging by a rope off the cliff.
On the way out of the canyon, I stayed close to someone from our group with a keen sense of which routes were safest to take. Before we knew it, the hike was over and we were back on the road.I may get a chance to hike here again. If so, I will be much better prepared for the experience. It was certainly worth going.
