Salome Wilderness Area: The Jug
Splash through a pink slot canyon in the Salome Wilderness Area on this fun canyoneering route.
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Want cool relief from the hot weather? Head for The Jug, a prime swimming hole in a major canyon that runs through the Salome Wilderness Area. Follow the Jug Trail as it switchbacks down a ridge south of Salome Mountain to meet Salome Creek at 2 miles. Find the large granite slab (you can’t miss it), then scramble down a 20-foot cliff to the water. This pink granite canyon (yes, pink!) forms a sinuous channel of intriguing shapes cut and polished by flowing water. Just above a rock formation that looks like a reclining woman is a near-perfect rectanglular pool about 7 feet deep, with a narrow spout that keeps the water moving and a flat slab that’s ideal for sunbathing. If it gets too hot, a nearby overhang provides shade.
Info: fs.fed.us/r3/tonto; swimholes.com/backpacker.htm
-Hike provided by Pancho Doll, author of the Day Trips With a Splash series (Running Water Publications). Map details by Kris Wagner and Rich Rudow.
Trail Facts
- Distance: 5.2
Waypoints
Enter Canyon
Location: 33.7743759, -111.1184235
Rappel
Location: 33.7682762, -111.1200714
Fence Crossing
Location: 33.7691689, -111.1206589
Exit Canyon
Location: 33.7669818, -111.1210022
Trailhead
Location: 33.7712555, -111.1356812
Junction
Location: 33.7683373, -111.1214294
This is where you will ascend out of the canyon and back onto the Jug Trail.
Road Fork
Location: 33.7715225, -111.1201401
Go right to enter the Jug on the normal route.