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| Hiking | 12.00 Miles |
4,480 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.00 Miles | 13 Hrs 50 Mns | | 1.41 mph |
| 4,480 ft AEG | 5 Hrs 21 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | This hike had been on my plate for a couple years so when Angela invited me I jumped at the chance. Was really looking forward to finally finding out just how hard it was and what it had to offer. Knockout views just kept changing, the hoodoos both near and far, the ridgeline itself, Monument, Hog and Hieroglyphics Canyons, and then having fun naming the features of the interior Superstitions. This hike was amazing not only for the awesome views but also the challenges it presented. We followed xenduro's gps track and found the trail well marked by cairns, but at one point on the ridge we missed the cairns and got off route. We headed to the north of a wall of hoodoos and tried to find the route...then realized we needed to be to the south of this wall. Angela suggested we head back to the last cairn, and we did and discovered the correct route. Whew! It felt good to be back on track after bushwhacking on the wrong side.
We just kept plugging along, some bouldering, climbing, just interesting to find different sections of the trail and always the knockout views, always changing. At one point the cairns deadended into a cliff wall. Nothing to the right or the left. Wendy spotted cairns up above the slot wall, so she climbed up first. Yep, that is where the trail continues! ... At times I had some concern about how much ground we still had to cover, and what type of trail lay before us... Descending all the time, I wondered how it might have been to start from Carney. Easier than the Draw? Seemed like it would have been a whole lot of uphill hiking on this end! With the approaching darkness we were probably three miles from completing the hike, it became a little challenge to spot the cairns. Finally we made it to the saddle, this was a victory of sorts, it was dark but at least this was a trail I had traversed just eight days earlier. Angela made a call to Jack, and he graciously agreed to pick us up at Carney. Since I had never hiked in darkness before, this became something of a small adventure too. Progressing fairly slowly I did slip and fall backwards the one time, but broke the fall with my palm, only momentarily injured, but from there on, I crab-walked down on the trickier sections. Night hiking is some kind of weird stuff! Now on the old Carney Road we saw a flashlight(?) coming towards us. It was Jack to help us complete the last five minutes or so of our hike. Quite the trip. It was great to finally meet some fellow HAZers and enjoy an adventure I will not forget. |
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