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| Hiking | 11.70 Miles |
4,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.70 Miles | 9 Hrs | | 1.67 mph |
| 4,000 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | 19 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I'm a sucker! Mike floated the crazy idea of climbing Dacite Cliff then going to the base of Weavers from there and then back through Bark's Canyon! And I bought it! Why would I do that?? Cuz I'm a sucker... :)
After our last hike watching base jumpers above Dons Camp, we decided there had to be a way up above the Dacite Mine. We started from Lost Goldmine and left the trail early where it first starts to parallel the fence. We aimed at a big rock and the most obvious approach and found a faint trail! After some minor scrambles we were up on top and exploring the cliff area and getting blown around by a strong wind. It is more extensive than it appears from below but we weren't able to locate the base jumpers take-off spot, so we'll have to go back another time!
From the cliffs we headed up and over 3818 again then set off for Fremont via the surfboard. I was surprised that we found a cairned route off the east side of the ridge between the Roost and 3818. Soon we were having a snack at Fremont and then off to the base of Weavers.
We dropped off Perlata to cross the wash at a large cairn a few minutes beyond Pinion Camp. The route up to the base is pretty worn and obvious. I mentioned to Mike that climbers go up through the crack so we decided to go check it out. Awesome!! Just being up in between the spires was cool enough that I can't imagine climbing all the way to the top! Maybe some day!
As we were enjoying the spot and I was refilling my camelbak, looking like a kid in a candy store Mike starts giving me the shhh signal! He had spotted four Big Horn sheep on a cliff below us! We could have stayed there all day watching them. What a beautiful sight!
Eventually we had to go so we headed for the other side of the needle and went down along a game trail until we found the Crosscut Trail. We headed back towards Peralta but quickly went off-trail and up through a thickly overgrown boulder drainage trying to find a way over to Bark's Canyon. Once we couldn't go any further we bailed out and headed down to Terrapin Trail>Bluff Springs Trail for our return.
If the Ridgeline hike was the toughest I've done, this one is second toughest! We covered a similar distance but with off-trail stuff to add to the difficulty but a bit less AEG than the ridgeline. A good days work, great company and fun the whole way! Explored new places, saw some fantastic wildlife and pushed myself physically and mentally. Looks like I didn't learn my lesson about being a sucker! Thanks Mike, that was a great day!!  |
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