Hidden Gems of Nature is just that, hidden, unfamiliar, beautiful locations in nature. They are not majestic, beautiful locations we are all familiar with (i.e. Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc.). Instead they are small surprises of unique beauty or contrasting landscape to the surrounding area.
Designed for those who love to explore, we will only give you general directions and let you discover these hidden gems. We will not reveal the exact location. That is too easy. Join me on a guided discovery or challenge yourself to your own adventure as you discover the Hidden Gems of Nature.
I have been here before if you look on a digital map you can see about 500 feet down from where you parked is a class 2 gully that makes for a much easier entrance and exit right next to where you park
I was at the hidden gem that starts with white. I spent the night there . People get shuttered in there by guides with four wheel drive vehicles. I had no problem getting there in my Ford f250 four wheel drive with high clearance. Im hoping to get to coyote south area in september. When i was at the biggest gem you showed , I thought how fun young kids would have climbing the odd looking boulders. The young boys with you confirmed that thought. LOL. Thank you for sharing...
Glad you enjoyed it. That is the heaviest traveled road so it is the best road…by far. The other gems are much smaller, but plentiful. Hope you are able to get a permit
I would say the road out to this is risky. There are a few spots in the beginning half of the road that are very sketchy unless you have moderate clearance. Mt SUV that has ~8.4 inches of clearance scrapes every time, no matter what angle I take. As great as this hidden gem is, I would be cautious if you don't have 9.5+ inches of clearance.
That was a very interesting hike you enjoyed in the Supes. Looks like you started at Tortilla Flat. Thanks for your videos! BTW, did you ever figure out what that mushy red thing was in that hidden slot canyon video at the end ?
Glad you enjoyed the video. The red thing is some sort of fungus. there were a couple of people in the comments section that figured out the type of fungus, but I can't remember the name of the fungus
YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE BUT SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN IS ACTUALLY A SERIES OF MOUNTAIN RANGES. IN THAT GENERAL AREA, MANY PEOPLE HAVE GONE MISSING, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. I LISTENED TO ONE COMMENTATOR WHO KNEW OF IT HISTORY AND IS AN ACCOMPLISHED EXPLORER, STATED HE WOULD NEVER EXPLORE THAT AREA ALONE. SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN IS ABOUT THREE MILES FROM THAT CANYON.
I enjoyed watching your video. I was at Chiricahua NM with my wife and son in 2004. We really enjoyed our visit there. From there we went to Apache Pass.
I've been there twice; it is one of the few places that I can say there isn't a single section of trail that does not have a great view, or interesting things to see. A great National Monument!
Nice video , When you guys walked out , You came out on house rock road. To the main and busiest trail head parking lot. I love that road and all there is to see along it. From route 89 down to 89A . I was at that parking lot when i hiked the wave last july . I also went in that slot canyon and there was a differant ladder there then. Love that area . Going back this summer or fall again. Thanks for the great camera work.
@@HiddenGemsofNature After four years of trying . The last year i put in for june ,july .and august. Thats when i got drawn. People are not wanting to deal with the heat. I have lived in phoenix for the last 50 years , and worked outside , So thought i was up to it. Went in at sunrise and was out by 1;00 pm. No problem , i loved it.
I really love your videos. I feel like a lot of hikers in arizona stick to the basic well-known trails and neglect hidden gems like this. A few years ago, I had hiked the major mountains in phoenix 10s of times. Then I explored the superstitions and bradshaws with a friend, changed my view of hiking completely. Its about the adventure, not the summit
What a fantastic place! Luckily I am only 7 hours from it. I could also go to Zion in 6 and a half. I might prefer the solitude of this wonder instead? I will wait for the seasons that aren't summer.
The nearly 10-mile long Big Loop hike (including Inspiration Point) covers most of the Monument. There is not an extensive trail system here, but still, a very worthy destination when in southern Arizona.
I have heard stories about them, but now I see why the Indians cherished them so much. They are unique and a natural fortress too. It's amazing how many balanced rocks are still there also. ❤
Ohweee I bet there were some great rocks in that wash that mountain is full of mines there is tons of amethyst corsocola great rocks out there! Nice trip thx!
Not the only way. If you would have went a very short distance more down the road, there is a small masonry enclosure on the West side of the road. Across the road from here you can easily scale down the rock face into the canyon with very little issue. So much less treacherous of a down climb vs. where you all went down. Did you go through the extremely narrow "cave" (actually a rock fall)? The end of this hike was through the concrete culvert, and up to the road. Oddly enough the walk back up the road to my car was way more strenuous (for me at least) than the hike in the canyon.
I shot a whitetail deer years ago back in the wilderness area, while gutting the buck, I heard voices and walked maybe 30-40 years I looked over the edge and saw the bridge on fish creek hill road and people had stopped there and were talking! And I thought I was miles from any people.
The arizona rivers are running good this spring. That looked like a whole lot of fun. The water in march would be to cold for this old man. Great excperiance for the boys , good for you chaperoning.
Hiked up when i was seventy years old. Just amazing and some times scary sections. My hats off to the folks that imbedded all the cables and steel so that we can make the hike all the way to the peak. Good job doing the hike with camera gear and getting all that great footage.. It was fun going thru it again with you and your son. Im sure you enjoyed the wild fowers this year.
Wow! That's incredible at age 70. My son, Noah and I were making similar comments about the steel cables. We were very grateful, because there is no way we could do the hike without the cables. It made for a very exciting hike.
Appears to be part of what was called "The Little Grand Canyon" Used to be a turnout just Mi. 16 on the right. You can see where the old railings were torched off and a little of blacktop too. You can see it if you look. Quite a drop!
Love your videos! Where you go down from the car…is this the exit from the slot canyon from your other video? I was exploring by fish creek overlook today and had a little time after to explore how to get down to the slot (Saving the slot hike for another day) but I’m just not sure where the exit is. I also pulled over where you did in this video just to look over the edges. It looks like the only spot for an exit but I’m not sure.
Yes, this is the exit from one of the other videos. My brother-in-law, Ted was able to exit on the other side of the culvert. You can try that, but I wasn't tall enough or long enough to exit where he did.
There is another cave a short distance from that mine. It goes quite deep into the other side of that same mountain. If interested contact the Central Arizona Grotto for information. Thanks for sharing as always! We love how you keep everyone’s “ pause” game on point!
I’ve been in the mine but was short on time and I thought I need to come back because I’m sure there’s more to explore. Is the cave on the same side of the canyon as the mine?
@@Colby168 I can’t say exactly, but like I said, it does lead into the same mountain. The entrance is pretty well hidden and a crappy trail kinda leading to it. Contact the Grotto, they are a fantastic resource and quite often would have members meet you there and take you through it. There are caves and mines all over the Superstitions and surrounding areas. Been exploring them since the 70s and still making new discoveries. Be safe and have fun!
Always classy videos but please remember that a mine shaft is vertical and an adit is horizontal. If you walk in the mine, you're entering the adit and not the shaft.
Hi, I'm planning on running this in late March this year, as a day trip. What would be your prediction on what cfs it might be at that time? Would I have to do much paddling to make the entire run in 12 hours?
If your CFS is flowing at 300 or more, you should be able to do the 22 miles in less than 12 hours; However, I would check with the BLM ranger station in Safford. There is typically a ranger in that office that is a specialist on the river and could probably give you the most current information.
@@dustman96 The more I thought about all the runs I have done on the Gila Box, you should be able to do it in 12 hours or less at any flow over 90 if you are somewhat experienced, but check with the BLM ranger on current conditions. I plan to run it the end of March as well. Maybe I'll see you on the river. Have a great time.
Thanks again. I have a decent amount of experience.Im thinking ill just paddle at a moderate pace the first couple hours so i can chill for the rest of the trip. Ill get in touch with them though. Hope to see you out there. Enjoy!