| | -
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
9 |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 11.30 Miles |
2,361 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.30 Miles | 5 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.97 mph |
| 2,361 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | This turned to be a really nice hike that I think is underrated as a peak bagger hike. The views at the top are really phenomenal. It was actually pretty hot considering our elevation. Even around the 6500' mark, we were at 95 degrees.
On our way up, we lost the trail a little bit and got sidetracked on FR2747. We got about a half mile out of our way before we realized this, so we just bushwhacked up to the trail, which was thankfully very easy.
The lookout tower at the top has to be the shortest lookout tower I've ever seen. We could hear a regular radio in addition to the CB radio inside since the windows were open. We called out to see if anyone could hear to ask if it was ok to go up. No one responded. Finally, Alex went halfway up the staircase (which was enough for his head to be visible to the guy inside) and asked if it was ok to go up. Then he came back down. Is it ok to go in? He said no. After we made our way back over to the road, the lookout came out on the platform/patio and said that some mandate from Homeland Security came down that said no one other than employees are allowed inside towers now. He was a rather older guy and had an oxygen tank with him. we talked to him a little, asking him if we could see or identify Aztec peak, and how long he worked as a lookout. Soon after he started to tell a story about some guy who killed his wife at Workman's Creek Falls in 1989, and soon thereafter he started giving his take on the OJ Simpson trial (the first one). Ok, time for lunch.
The shortness of the lookout tower provided some welcome shade from the platform. We had lunch in the shade, but had to fight off the 9000 ladybugs that were crawling everywhere. The lookout in the tower informed us that the ladybugs all came from Phoenix. Alex asked him if they were all on vacation, which created one of those awkward silences borne of multiple misunderstandings.
On our way down, we decided to take FR2770 over to SR288, which turned out to be a good choice. this "forest road" is really no different than Trail #55, which also seems to be a former jeep road. (oh yeah, the firetower lookout guy said that last year someone drove a jeep up Trail #55 all the way to the fire tower.) Anyway, FR2770 is pretty much another trail, and it goes past quite a few defunct mines, or mining prospects. The one looked definitely like a mine shaft that was closed off, and it had some kind of loading platform or bridge. the second one we saw was more of a huge gash carved into the rock which was obviously manmade and not by erosion. there was no sign of a normal stream pattern going thru this, and tailings were all over the place. Eventually we saw some spur road off of 2770 that looked like it might go up to more digging. but it was already after 1pm and pretty hot, so we just moved on.
we considered for a bit to take the stream bed off of FR2770 to Trail 55, but the stream bed was pretty choked with vegetation and very rocky. so instead, we bushwhacked from 2770 to 288, which was straight up a hillside, the last 20' of which was almost vertical.
The last mile or so we hiked 288 back to the trailhead and called it a day. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
