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| Hiking | 4.14 Miles |
1,913 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.14 Miles | 4 Hrs 11 Mns | | 1.69 mph |
| 1,913 ft AEG | 1 Hour 44 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | On Sunday, we had planned to bag Polaris, followed by Kofa Butte. But Polaris was a whole lot of work, and after bagging peaks off-trail for four straight days, I was completely done and there would be no attempt at Kofa. That is left for another day, but looks really cool.
We started from our camp and walked over to the Antares Mine and explored there (see triplog and photos here: http://hikearizona.com/photoset=28991
I didn't realize there was an old handmade trail to the High Henry Mine that makes for a solid route for most of the ascent. And since we started from the mine, we didn't find the route until after spending a good amount of energy blazing a new path off trail straight up a rocky ridge.
Bob found the old route, and led us to the old tent site below the High Henry Mine. From there, the ascent is strictly off-trail and features steep talus slopes covered with cholla. The going was slow for me as Bob pushed ahead. We stayed high, climbing straight up the fall-line until reaching the cliffs above, and then traversing to the left along the base of the cliff to the saddle. From there the ascent to the peak is open and easy.
On the return, we stayed in the drainage which would prove to be a better option going up. But you can't descend the whole way, and at some point must traverse back to the talus for the best descent. If I were to do it again, I would climb the talus and traverse to the drainage rather than going to the base of the cliff higher up.
We spent some time on the peak, and I saw a black-tailed rattlesnake ... the first of the year for me ... that quickly took refuge under a rock. There was a mysterious barking, screaming, or yelling noise -- perhaps a wild animal being attacked. Very loud noises. After scanning the terrain with my binoculars unsuccessfully finding the source of the noises, we heard what was obviously human speech, and determined that we had heard hounds on a lion hunt on the mountain below us. We never heard a shot, so the assumption is that the lion got away.
On the descent, we followed the old route as it switchbacks back and forth down the mountain. It has been many years since it was used, and the cut in the mountain seems to have made a perfect spot for Palo Verdes to take root. So it was pretty common to have to deviate off the actual cut to get around the trees. Nonetheless, it was easy to follow, and I wished we had taken the route on the way up. I might have still had the energy to hit Kofa Butte after?
Short video of the whole Kofa trip here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/G_WlccBDAAc |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
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