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| Hiking | 7.85 Miles |
2,194 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.85 Miles | | | |
| 2,194 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | I thought I might like to get in some fishing down south on the long weekend, and when I mentioned Patagonia to cindyl as a possibility, she immediately thought of the Red Mountain Lookout Tower as a destination. Then friends from Whetstone invited us to a campout, and when I mapped the camp coordinates it turned out the site was right across Harshaw Road from FR 4649, so that cinched it. We drove down this morning and visited in camp for a bit before gearing up and heading out.
We made our way up back and forth across the lower switchbacks until we reached the saddle east of the lower peak, where we could finally see our destination. Once we got on the north side of that lower peak, we were walking in a couple inches of old snow until we reached the next saddle and got back to a southern exposure. Along this part we passed an old reader board with the remains of what appeared to be postings of numerous mining claims. As we continued on, we saw a number of spur roads that went out to some old mine sites.
As we circled around the north side of the peak, we were back into some snow again for a ways, until we gained the ridge for the final walk up to the summit. We explored around a bit (in the old outhouse we discovered the lookout's diary from the 2007 fire season) and took in the views from the balcony of the Lookout Tower before settling down below out of the wind for a break before heading back down the way we came. When we reached camp (I love camping at the trailhead!) we got camp set and dinner made before dark, then settled in around the campfire for a nice evening with friends. |
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Route Editor
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