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| Hiking | 1.38 Miles |
639 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.38 Miles | 1 Hour 10 Mns | | 1.56 mph |
| 639 ft AEG | 17 Mns Break | 5 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Saturday we climbed this one from the east more or less in the same manner as Eric, Hank and Angela took December 2011, taking over three hours to get to the summit and almost a full six hours for the whole hike. Once at the summit as we looked down to the west it looked so be so much easier if we could get close with a vehicle. Then after that hike we drove around to the west and found a saddle just over half a mile from the summit so I planned on returning soon to try the western approach.
Well, soon came only three days later. Knowing this should take much less time than our previous climb, I started off the day climbing Peak 6040 of the Apache Peaks not far east of Rockinstraw. By shortly after 2 pm I had completed that climb and was at the saddle west of Rockinstraw and ready to roll.
Wow! This one was quick! Even dawdling a bit on the way I made it to the summit in under 25 minutes. It helped that there were some well-beaten paths leading the way. With that in mind along with the number of large groups who signed the summit log, I have a feeling the western approach is the most used.
NOTE: While a car could reach the TH for an eastern approach to Rockinstraw, unless you want to hike a long way you would need a high-clearance 4x4 to reach the saddle TH I used.
One more note about the TH, be careful of the red ants! While I was putting my stuff in the car after the hike one managed to climb up my leg and when I leaned over I suppose the pressure of my pants on it must have thought it was being attacked and it bit me behind the left shin. 
Oh yes, I made sure he and a number of his cohorts paid for the attack on me. 
For the first day-and-a-half it felt like a large needle was stuck well into the muscle, slowly receding to a dull ache. And although there never was any mark where it bit me, two days later I still have a 2" diameter 'hard spot' in the muscle.
Again I frittered away some time at the summit, first to sign the log we didn't see on Saturday, and second to get a closer look at the name on the cross at the summit. It appears to me the letter scrawled out read JOHN MONARREY. I've done a little research but so far have found nothing to confirm it.
I caught up on posting photos on HAZ earlier today but with the system forcing me to add them to the 5/26 Rockinstraw I posted this morning I'll wait until tomorrow so they will be separated. For now at least the full set of 35 photos is here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/album.php?id=126 |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
