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| Hiking | 4.53 Miles |
2,400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.53 Miles | 4 Hrs 31 Mns | | 1.29 mph |
| 2,400 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Another trip down south, another great time spent in the AZ desert. With weekend weather cooling off again it was time to hit this area up before the heat comes in and makes it not as enjoyable. Off from the valley before the sun was up I was making good time on the less traveled highways to get to this area. About 15 miles west of Gila Bend the sunrise came, and I went over a hill and the Mohawk Mountain range was in sight. The early morning light on them and the surrounding mountains really told me I was in for a good day.
I get to mile marker 48 and was able to cross the highway there and go through the gate to start the sandy road traverse to where I wanted to park. I called in my permit, tried to get my things together there so I wouldn't waste time at the trailhead (meaning where I park for the day)and got going towards the mountain. Just looking up at this range was pretty breath taking, for a range that tops out just over 2700' she looks like a massive girl that should be double that number. I find my opening in the mountain I wanted to traverse, find the rock path with faint tire marks on it and get myself as close to the mountain as I can.
The hike starts and I enter the wash that is virtually the golden road up this mountain to the saddle. I was hoping to see some pools of water but no such luck, she was pretty dry even with recent rain in the area. The rock formation leading up this mountain is pretty spectacular, she is pretty solid on the lower half and then as you go up she becomes a bit crumbly which could damper your day if you decide to make a good scramble in certain sections that look tempting.
I made great time getting up and was on the saddle in just over an hour. From here the views are incredible, you get your first look at the SE range and I was just in awe with the rugged country and peaks in front of me now. I look up at the summit traverse and also start to drool, I know right away this is going to be fun. She quickly becomes exposed and you can really have some fun on this short ridge traverse to the summit as long as you check the holds in the rock because half of it wants to come out at the simplest touch. I come up over a jagged rock and see the towers on the summit a hundred feet away. I was almost disappointed that the traverse was over and I was on the summit already. But the views from up to will satisfy almost anyone who goes up there.
The wind was whipping pretty good on top so I got my jacket on, pulled out my lunch and summit brew and tried to avoid the wind by dropping down below the solar panels taking in the views to the south and looking over at future treks. While enjoying my brew, I looked over at peak 2551' just to the NE of Mohawk and had planned on getting up her today as well. With the 700' drop and my still sore big toe from last weekends hike it didn't look as appealing to me anymore. So while looking over at the Mohawk Dunes just to the west I had a better idea of getting down and then checking out a section in the dunes and do some soothing barefoot hiking.
As I get everything together on the summit and plan to start heading down I see a helicopter nearby coming close to the mountain. So I did what anyone would do, I went over to the summit helipad and stuck my thumb out trying to get a ride down. They didn't come close enough to see me so I had to hike down. Again I made good time going down and with the dunes in front of me the entire time I couldn't wait to check them out. I got back to the Jeep, downed some nice cold Gatorade and drove on over as close as I could get to the dunes.
Had to do about a 25 minute hike across the sandy desert floor, sinking in the ground to my ankles several times before actually reaching the dune hills. Once I reached the hills it was time to take my shoes off and go barefoot in the sand. WOW, what a great feeling, it brought back memories of a few weeks ago when I was actually walking on sandy beaches. I took in the views, enjoyed the nice cool sand between my toes which made me forget about my sore big toe and turning black toenail. I laid down against my pack looking back at Mohawk and the hike I had just done and couldn't have asked for anything more in life. With the light breeze setting off a cooling effect in the sun I was able to take a nice 20 minute nap in the sand. After looking at the time I knew it was time to end to peaceful day and head back home.
On the way out I was stopped by border patrol just doing their routine checking of who was in the area and why. Again I got a weird look on someones face when I told them I was out here hiking. He let me be on my way and it was off to Dateland for a nice cold shake and replenishing fresh dates for the rest of the drive back home.
Another beautiful isolated hike in southern AZ, cannot beat that. |
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