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| Jinx Benchmark Southern Maricopas, AZ | |
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| | Jinx Benchmark Southern Maricopas, AZ | | | |
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Jinx Benchmark Southern Maricopas, AZ
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| Hiking | 9.52 Miles |
1,920 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.52 Miles | 4 Hrs 32 Mns | | 2.66 mph |
| 1,920 ft AEG | 57 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | With the warm weather approaching fast it was time to head on out to one of my favorite spots in the state, the Maricopa Mountains. Having only done a few sections in the Southern range that would be the destination for this trip. Many rugged peaks down here that I have yet to step foot on so of course that had to change.
After looking over the map of the area, I set the goal of hitting two peaks; 2676' and The Jinx BM. So many beautiful peaks, an isolated desert, no trails are just a few reasons this happens to be one of my favorite spots to hike. Knowing that, I knew I would be alone again today just the way I like it, well actually I was hoping to see some wildlife as the area I was in was around a water reservoir, but no such luck.
The approach in from the I-8 was nice and sandy, and went in further than I expected since I know how the BLM is at closing off the roads rather quickly. I got to where you could go no further and started from there. It was over 3 miles from the Jinx BM, but I wanted to go up peak 2676' first. So a short desert floor traverse started here and it didn't take long to find out I was in for some great saguaro sightings today. As the area is littered with them, I immediately spotted perhaps the biggest saguaro I have ever seen and felt somewhat intimidated by this massive beast. Admiring the beauty it provided, I snapped a few shots of her and continued on over the the SE ridge of peak 2676' to head on up. Nothing too harsh here, just a straight forward ridge that gains quickly and before you know it you are on the summit. A couple pictures of me, a look over the summit log, and a look at what would be the traverse for the day on over to the Jinx and I was on my way rather quickly.
After getting down the NE ridge and on my way over to the Jinx, I spotted a hawk circling above most likely looking for breakfast. I tried to get a good shot of him, but I didn't have the patience and he didn't seem to want to pose for me so off I went. This desert floor traverse today was pretty smooth compared to the last few I have seemingly done. The elevation gain/loss wasn't bad and the route was pretty easy to follow to get on over to the best approach to head on up the Jinx.
I passed by the game water cache and had hopes of seeing something or fresh signs of something but not today. I walked through a nice sandy wash for a few minutes before coming to the start of the ridge ascent to get on up the Jinx. Again the ridge was nice, nothing too rocky or loose and it just went so quickly and smooth I was tempted to add more to my hike today as I knew I was going to be done way ahead of my planned time.
Once on top of the Jinx, I enjoyed a nice Blackout Stout and Black Forest gummy worms and soaked in the great views this peak has to offer. Four Peaks could be seen in the distance, Table Top, Maricopa Peak, Woolsey, and several of the Maricopa Mountain peaks. I felt so fortunate to be able to enjoy such views in such a peaceful setting.
As I got ready to head on down and back to the Jeep I readied myself for the warm sun and scree surf I actually looked forward to. On the way out I seemed to spot several saguaros with awkward forms, it really did appear to be a hotspot for bizarre forms of cacti. I got down quickly and made my way on out enjoying the warm sun and dodging some nasty looking cholla fields. Cannot wait to come back out to this area, perhaps a full moon hike here would make for a nice summer night. |
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