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| Hiking | 21.35 Miles |
3,069 AEG |
| | Hiking | 21.35 Miles | 6 Hrs 38 Mns | | 3.22 mph |
| 3,069 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I'm not really sure where to place this post but Cave Creek Trail #4 accounted for a good portion of it. I started out the day with a plan to hike the big Cave Creek/Cottonwood Loop similar to what Mt98dew did recently. I made a stop at the Scottsdale restaurant on my way up and took some time to re-mount the stolen TV I recovered. I made a locking system that should slow them next time. Anyway this took a bit longer than expected and I didn't get to the trailhead until a after 10AM. While the 24.5 mile loop would still be doable in daylight it would be pushing it if anything went wrong. On top of that the weather seemed a bit suspect. With this in mind I just decided to head out with no destination planned. I didn't want to get too far from the Spur Cross Trailhead in the event that it started to rain.
I made my way up the Spur Cross Trail to the junction with the Cave Creek Trail. At this point I continued on what would be FS48. I took it all the way to where it basically ends at the Creek. From here I followed Cave Creek up and thought about taking it to where the trail (CC #4) would eventually cross it. I wasn't sure how far that would be so I turned back at .75 of a mile.
From there I took the trail behind the corral up and over towards Skull Mesa. This is an obscure connector trail that isn't maintained. I have been on it before but not sure when that was (maybe with Amy and Laura). Anyway it connects into the Cave Creek #4 Trail. I thought about looping back here but the day was still young. I continued on North.
Then I saw the zig zags off in the distance going up the side of the mountain ahead. Each time I have hiked through here I wonder if that is a road or a trail. The spot I am speaking of is the mountain that is about 4 miles away from the Seven Springs TH. It is adjacent to the Cave Creek Trail. I decided there would be no more wonder. Today I would head straight up the side of the mountain to the switchbacks and see what they were. About halfway up the hill I reached the target. It was an old mining road that is now very overgrown and washed out in places. I took it up the hill. There are old mining spots along the way. The road makes it almost all the way to the summit.
I would later discover this is Cramm Mountain. I went ahead and hiked up to the peak. There is a survey marker there and a pyramid of rocks but I didn't see a register. I headed down the side of the steep hill and saw an old track from a bulldozer. Pretty cool. Once down on the Cave Creek Trail again I decided I had better turn back. I took this all the way to the Spur Cross Trail.
About three miles from the Car it started to rain on me. Looks like I turned around just in time. This will be my last hike of 2012! It has been quite a year!
Happy New Year Everyone! |
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