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| Hiking | 12.00 Miles |
2,100 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.00 Miles | 7 Hrs | | 2.18 mph |
| 2,100 ft AEG | 1 Hour 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | You can see Cabeza Prieta Peak for miles when you are around this area because of her noticeable black top, and once you notice her the urge will be there to get up this rugged peak. So for Mike, Scott, and I we set out from the south off the Camino and started our five mile approach to get to this peak. Right before we left Border Patrol pulled up to us to see what we were doing and then wished us a good hike. He couldn't talk long, he said they had a bust going on to the east of us so we were happy to not be in the area of that.
Traversing the desert floor and starting to be surrounded by other peaks in the range we noticed some movement up on the hills and long and behold we were able to see three bighorn sheep. They stopped for a minute to pose for a picture and then got bored with us and continued on up their mountain. On we go closer to the peak and across a nice piece of desert not many get to see. Careful not the step on the many ordinances we came across we finally arrived at the base and picked our way up the closest ridge and felt it would be fine for the day. After a rugged hike the day before and the long approach today Mike wasn't feeling up for the final push the summit and decided to wait for Scott and I to go up and get back down around the 1700' mark. He had a great place to chill on the ridge with both sunlight and shade and a good vantage point to watch us go up the peak.
Earlier Scott and I both didn't think she was going to provide us with too much spice, but that certainly was not the case and we were in for a spicy, exposed surprise. Up a steep and loose scree section we arrived at some sharp ruffles on the ridge that at first looked good but quickly turned into a heart pumping rush. Scott went left while I stayed right, I quickly climbed up something that wasn't going to work and getting back down proved to be a bit difficult and slow going as the thought of being cliffed out on this peak wasn't settling well in my mind. Scott found himself on a knife ridge doing the butt scoot with some extreme drop-offs on both sides of him. Finally down from my bad spot I worked my way to the east a little bit and was able to find the gentle ridge leading to the top.
The rush was going on top and the views were even better, this might be the best range in AZ I've been in? We drank our summit brews, enjoyed the views for a minute and then worked our way back down to Mike taking the better way down and avoiding any exposed parts. Once we got back to Mike he was basking in the sun which down here got up to the mid 70's and felt warmer in the sun after hiking a bit. Got to love the desert in January. Back down the mountain and on to our five mile hike on out. The Jeep was still there which we all loved seeing so once we got our things together we drove on down the Camino to Christmas Pass. Pretty good day. |
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