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| Hiking | 6.90 Miles |
1,370 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.90 Miles | 4 Hrs 15 Mns | | 1.62 mph |
| 1,370 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This is a really cool hike. I started at the Spear S Ranch TH off of New River Rd. Take the Maricopa Trail east towards CCRA. After a hundred yards or so you will have to follow a dirt road. At the fork in the road by the transformer go right and then in a quarter mile look right for the single track. Take that and turn left at the sign for the Maricopa Trail. from there you will need to pay attention for the shorter junction/turnoff to the peak. I gave some info in the pictures I posted and I will give more detailed instructions in my offical hike description (to be posted later). My total mileage for this hike was 6.9 miles but the shorter, more direct route should be more like 6.6.
I found spurs for two other trails to the north alond the ridgeline to the east of Apache Peak. I'm willing to bet a dollar that those spurs loop around the unnamed lower peak to the east of Apache Peak. these trails have official Cave Creek plastic markers along them and also have signs that they are official trails (like the bench that was built next to the trail at one point).
My route ended up taking a trail up to the eastern ridgeline that's further east than the shortest route from the Spear S TH. I found the two trail junctions to the north and the one that links you back to the Maricopa Trail. On my way back I took the shorter route to the Maricopa Trail.
Just below the peak the trail fades away. long before that it gets very faint, more so the farther you get from the Maricopa Trail. I ended up just rock climbing my way to the top after I abandonded trying to find the faint trail. It was kind of fun, but still dicey in spots with the loose volcanic black rock. On my way back down I was able to better spot cairns from above, but the trail is still very steep with loose rock and dirt in spots.
The trail register in a mailbox at the top was very interesting. It dates back to 2006 and has entries from one to several pages. One entry recorded that they took an 8 year old and others 12 and 13 year olds. One entry was just the date, the names of a couple and the words "HAD SEX"  . On my way up I saw a hawk-like bird but it was far away once I got to the top. then on my way back to the TH at a lower elevation I could see it hovering around the peak again. 
Temps were not bad at all for June, but it was early in the day, as planned. Looking forward to checking out more trails there and posting the data and descriptions as no maps are currently posted on the Cave Creek website, although they do acknowledge a preserve area there with trails planned. |
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