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| Hiking | 6.30 Miles |
2,200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.30 Miles | 5 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.18 mph |
| 2,200 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Near the top of my list for over a year, with the time and weather just right it was time to git'er done!
It was a rough drive on FR1900 once I left FR172 but nothing the Cherokee couldn’t handle with ease. Within a few hundred yards of the TH the old Jeep road becomes quite serious, fit more for rock crawlers, and even walking on it can be a rough proposition. 1.5 miles of that I turned off onto an ATV trail and followed it until it’s conclusion near Eagle Spring. The first part of the trail is reasonably easy to follow but it quickly fades when a combination of GPS track and rare cairn sightings kept me on track.
At the beginning of the thick and thorny stuff I wanted to go up the right side where it appears more open, but a sheer wall on the north side of the drainage prevented going up that way. So I crossed over to the left (west) side of the drainage and continued just out of the brush until I was adjacent to Eagle Spring. Remembering just how bad it was going through there in December 2012 I figured I’d stay on the left.
So I began to steadily climb up the slope on the left as I continued up toward the saddle. Farther up there are taller dry falls and some steep drops so I continued climbing higher to the left until I was above the start of the drainage where I crossed to the right and up to the saddle. Just below the saddle I looked across an open area just below the ridge and thought, hmmm, that looks like a nice route over toward the summit… if, and only if it doesn’t end at a steep wall. Not wanted to chance a lot of extra work if it didn’t pan out, I decided just to follow the route the USGS folks did when they first placed the benchmark in 1938, which was along and sometimes slightly below the north side of the ridge. Once I hit the top of the ridge it was pretty easy going although still a steady climb.
Once I was on the first high point of the ridge I realized what I had surmised earlier, that the most prominent part of the mountain from the start of the hike was not, in fact, the summit. So now, not being able to see any part obviously taller than the rest, I just continued on. As I started what would be the last steep part of the climb I cold not tell from the GPS if it was over the top of the slope I was on or the next one to the right. But with another drainage in between I kept to the left. Although it didn’t take me up and over to the summit, as I would find out later, this slightly longer route would be the better route.
When I finally got high enough I knew where the summit would be I cut across a conveniently located saddle followed by a quick cruise to the summit. Both Reference Mark #1 and Fraser Benchmark disks were quite visible, and it only took a few minutes to locate Reference Mark #2 next to a bush to the north. After the requisite summit panorama photos and videos I took the time to soak in the awesome surrounding views, especially the southern Superstitions.
Ok, time to head back down... I tried a slightly more direct route from the summit toward the upper part of the ridge but quickly found out it was a bad decision. Although it had more vegetation, with the open grassy areas it appeared to be a smoother route, but the myriads of loose rocks were just hiding, waiting for the opportunity to roll an ankle. In hindsight it's too bad I didn't just as quickly decide to bail on it and take the same route as my ascent.
Back on the ridge it was just a matter of following it to the saddle then back down the same route. But oh NO, I can't possibly do that! I've just got to try the other side of the drainage... maybe, just maybe I can find a better route? Uhhh, well here's a hint... you tried it in 2012, why would it be any different now? Are you obtuse? (with credit to Shawshank Redemption)
Guess I am because I tried it once more and it came up wanting... my blood. But being very careful I lost no blood on this day. (Now tomorrow... well as I will find out, the blood will flow... whoops, that's an unauthorized preview of coming attractions.)
But back to this hike... I thoroughly enjoyed it, I highly recommend it and will be back soon for more exploring.
Photos: Overall I took 108 photos so it took some weeding to get it down to the manageable 40 I'm posting here on HAZ.
The full set is here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/album.php?id=666
Wow, check out the end of that link... album ID #666. Must be the devil  made me do it? 
Videos: Summit video is here:
http://youtu.be/aT2YF10QrZo
The 2 hours of filming while I was climbing... well that will be a while. Good thing I'm retired or I'd never get any of this done.
GPS routes: I posted my climb route and the driving route from Hewitt Station Road but I did not post my descent, as I wouldn't recommend it. I hope to post an alternate GPS route based on FS Topo, Satellite and visual observations during this hike. |
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