Lion Camp Canyon

Lion Camp Canyon has one rappel into a fantastic slot - though the narrows are undeniably good, they are also unfortunately quite short. A permit is required to hike in this area from the San Carlos Apache tribe, the easiest way to acquire said permit for this area seems to be to simply stop off at a specific Circle K location in Globe, AZ and buy one. This makes the approach driving directions a little out of the way, but not much (adds about half an hour). From Phoenix, drive east on US60 through Superior and Globe, staying straight to continue onto US70, to shortly thereafter stop off at the last Circle K in Globe located on the left at 33.384142, -110.755893. After securing permits, continue east on US70, then turn right onto SR77 south towards Tucson. After 35.7 miles turn left onto an unsigned dirt road just after milepost 132. Some maps may call this Leadville St, and there is a road signed as Leadville St before the correct turn, but this only goes to a residence - do not turn on the road signed as Leadville. To add to the confusion, other maps call this road Kellys Camp Trail or simply "300", and it may or may not be signed as such - milepost 132 - that's the thing to look for. Drive on this dirt road (whatever it is) for 8.4 miles, ignoring the many minor branching roads along the way to turn left towards a large stand-alone rock outcrop called Eskiminzin Fort Rock on the map. This more minor road degrades more and more the farther it goes, but can be driven for a ways or you can choose to park at or near the rock and hike the rest of the way - continuing to drive might only get you another half a mile or so before the road becomes impassable - park where you see fit.

From Eskiminzin Fort Rock, continue hiking down the road to the north for about a mile to eventually reach an old ranch called Lion Camp at the edge of Ash Creek. Turn right to hike up along the banks of Ash Creek for about .25 mile to reach an obvious, large break in the cliffs through a drainage on your left (north). There are many ways up this brushy, rocky drainage, none of them that much better than the rest, get up to the top however you can. The main objective here is to locate an old road on top that will take you to Lion Camp Canyon; by sticking a bit to the left when hiking up the drainage you may find the road more quickly. Once the road is located, simply follow it as it travels easily northeast for about 2.5 miles before leaving the road to head east for a minor drainage that will take you up to a small saddle. The drainage you are looking for is a little tricky to describe, but it is important to go up in the correct place to put you above the correct canyon. As you are traveling north on the road, it is the first one not lined with rocky cliffs and the first one heading northeast instead of southeast. Once on the saddle above the correct drainage, head across to the east, then down the slope on the other side that will take you down into a minor upper fork of Lion Camp Canyon; follow this easy drainage down to the main canyon.

After some boulder hiking down canyon one minor section of narrows in encountered first that begins with a 10 foot stemming downclimb, then more stemming to avoid the water in the pools below. The canyon opens again briefly after this before reaching the technical section. The narrows drop suddenly and dramatically into a beautiful slot with a 60 foot, two-tiered rappel of 50, then 10 feet from a deadman anchor in a small pool above the drop. Heading down the slot there are several knee to waist deep pools to wade, chutes to downclimb and scenery to enjoy. Take your time here as it ends all to soon after turning a corner and the canyon opens up again to more boulder hiking. You can pack up your technical gear and wet suits here (if you chose to wear them) for the remainder of the hike down canyon. One more drop of about 15 feet into a cold, deep, mucky pool can be climbed around on canyon left, but otherwise the remainder of the hike is straightforward.