Route Editor
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The falcons won the challenge of the fastest summit! by Mike_W  The Falcon Benchmark is a high point in the Tortolita mountains in the Tucson area. The peak is fairly remote, and there is no official trail. Cattle often roam this area which may make part of the ascent easier. The hike is all open country and a light bushwhack. 2 miles of the hike is in a wide sandy wash that's easy to hike. The drive is basically 7 miles of paved road from Missile Base road, and then a little over 10 miles of dirt / 4x4 road. The drive requires a 4x4 vehicle because the last 4 miles especially, are quite rough. Hike From the parking area mentioned below, hike south. Within the first few minutes, you should see a cattle tank and a corral. You may also encounter some cattle in this area. After you see the cattle tank, continue South for another 500 feet. You should see a fairly wide sandy wash. Follow this wash for a total of about 1 mile. This will be roughly where you will want to exit the wash. After another 1/3 of a mile, you should see a barbed wire fence. I didn't see any private property signs, and I believe this fence is only used to keep cattle from going too far away. Carefully slide under this fence in an area that looks passable. Once across the fence, you should be roughly halfway to the high ridge line. Keep ascending until you are on the ridgeline. Once there, you will continue south and east until you reach the high point. You may see some evidence of cattle grazing here which should make the bushwhack easier. There also seems to be an animal trail on the top of the ridge. Perhaps deer have made this trail over the years. At the end of the ridge, you should see a survey marker that is raised above the ground. There's also a rock pile with a registry inside. Return the same way you came or for a longer more difficult adventure, you could loop around heading west and north to summit the Tortilla Benchmark. Check out the Official Route and Triplog. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
