Has Anyone Been Here?

[Mark D]

Has anyone been here? (Orange color is mine.)



Was it worth the hike? Do you have any pictures? It looks very interesting on the map—300 foot deep canyon. Was it a difficult hike? Looks to be about 3 miles from the road (as the crow flies.)

[BigBendHiker]

Where in the park is this?


BBH

[01ACRViper]

that is about as vague as it gets :o

[okiehiker]

This spot is a canyon on the east side of Dagger Flat.  There are no pour-offs and no water.  It is an enjoyable hike.  There are hoodoos and other interesting rock formations.  These pics are from Dec. 28, 2004.  The first two are of a small slot on the west side of Dagger Flat, the next three are in the canyon Mark D. is asking about.  Next is a map of the portion of Dagger Flat where both slots are located.

I hope this helps.  











Interesting rocks dot the floor of the canyon



Hoodoo-like pinnacles along the canyon walls



Dagger Flat is a tedious hike, less level than the map appears, and overgrown in places.  The giant dagger yucca are indeed amazing.

[BigBendHiker]

Thanks, Okiehiker!


BBH

[woodrow]

Is there water in Dagger Tank ??

[SHANEA]

Oh, I thought this was a game  :lol:  to try to locate it w/o any real clues.  Figured I'd leave that to RichardM and he'd figure out a way to Google Earth it.  Put in 3248 as the elevation at/near BIBE and it would dig it up for him.  He must be tooooo busy chasing the 2 year old around the house.  Hey RichardM, haven't seen any more cute terrible two year old pics lately.  :idea:

[presidio]

Very nice hike. Here's a track log and a few photos

[okiehiker]

It is possible that any of the tanks might have water this year as it has been so wet.  But I would still say it is unlikely.  You will however, find lots of sticky pokey overgrown stuff in the area.  It is best to hike at least 100 yards clear of it.

[Mark D]

I figured anyone who was there would recognize the map, and folks who enjoy looking at maps, like me, would dig out their topos and hunt for it.

Thanks, Okiehiker, for the pictures. They whet my appetite even more. Did you hike in from the end of the Dagger Flat Road? Did you stay overnight or dayhike?

[presidio]

I figured anyone who was there would recognize the map, and folks who enjoy looking at maps, like me, would dig out their topos and hunt for it.

But of course. For those that have been there you'll notice my map slice is missing a piece of edge info that would make it nearly instantly recognizable as to location.

[okiehiker]

Day 1
Dayhike of Emory Peak in the AM, got permit at Panther Junction and headed to Persimmon Gap.  We started at Persimmon Gap Entrance Station and hiked down to Nine Point Draw near Dog Canyon, camping there.  
Day 2
Dayhiked through Dog Canyon, backpacked through Devils Den and across Dagger Flat to Dagger Tank.  I did a dayhike through the canyon you were asking about to the east, then we backpacked through the slot to the west, camping half a mile above the face where everyone was climbing.
Day 3
Followed the drainage southwest and then a cross-country route intersecting the Dagger Flat road a couple of miles SW of the end of the auto route.  We continued on to camp about half a mile from Muskhog Spring.
Day 4
Muskhog Spring to Banta Shut-in.  The area above the Shut-in is great, but we always camp below it.
Day 5
Layover Day, Dayhike Roys Peak, Telephone Canyon
Day 6
West up Estufa Canyon then across the flat to Dugout Wells.

[mountaindocdanny]

I agree with the others. It is a great hike through that canyon. The route I did was a little bit different from the others. I did a 3 day loop heading east through Dog Canyon, circled south along the flank of the mountains and entered the canyon from the east side towards heading to Dagger Flat and then exited through Devil's Den. It 's been 7 years since I was through there, but I only recall one tank that might hold some water. I did come across a very large bear track in the canyon. Enjoy.

[Mark D]

That sounds like a hike that I would like to do. So you walked all the way up the canyon floor to the top? Was any climbing involved?

On the Dog Canyon - unnamed canyon (maybe we should give it a name) - Devil's Den circuit, how was the route finding? Are you mainly following obvious landmarks on the horizon? Did you "cliff-out" anywhere and have to backtrack?

When you guys do these multi-day hikes, how much water are you carrying, or are you caching it ahead of time? I can't imagine carrying more than 2 gallons (17 lbs.), which would limit me to just overnight. (I like to drink a lot of water.)

[jimbob]

Another way into the east canyon and Dagger Flats in general is from the south at the end of Dagger Flat Road where the Sierra Del Caballos Muertos is just beginning to peter out.  Cross a low saddle and go down a short, steep sided canyon (treking poles help) and you are in.  After that you can mostly hike washes.  Okie Hiker is right on regarding Dagger Flats.  What looks fairly level on a topo map with a 40 foot contour interval is much less so in reality.  It’s amazing how much more “contour” actually exists. It can also be brushy in places.  

Visually it’s wonderful area nonetheless.  The east canyon is really pretty and might hold water in tinajas if there has been any significant rain.



View from south end of Dagger Flat looking NE: