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| Miner's Needle / Fremont Saddle Loop, AZ | |
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| | Miner's Needle / Fremont Saddle Loop, AZ | | | |
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Miner's Needle / Fremont Saddle Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 13.00 Miles |
2,764 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.00 Miles | | | |
| 2,764 ft AEG | | | | |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | The possibility of a really pleasant day in the Supes was calling-- mid 90's and hopes of cloud cover and afternoon rains. I decided I would give myself some options in case the weather was different than hoped. I headed up the Dutchman early with clear skies and the temps started rising quick. It was toasty as I hit the intersection with Whiskey.
I had originally hoped to take Whiskey over to Red Tanks and make a decision at LaBarge Spring about how I would continue-- the big loop around Bluff Spring Mtn or head back to the trailhead. It was only 9am and getting hot so I decided to cut it short and continue on the Dutchman and take the shorter way back.
Soon a breeze kicked in and temps dropped again. Maybe I could extend the day comfortably. I considered taking off on the Terrapin and doing the loop around Weavers. The problem would be that I didn't have enough water. I had expected to grab some at LaBarge so I didn't bring a lot with me. I decided if there was water at the Bluff/Terrapin intersection as their often it, I would do the loop. Unfortunately there was not.
I continued on Bluff and thought about taking the Cave Trail up to Fremont Saddle. I actually had never done it before so this would be a good opportunity. There's almost always water by the "Peralta" graffiti so I'd be set. That would be my plan. I filled up on water and since I didn't have a track on my gps, I hoped I could find one of the access points for the Cave Trail.
Looking at my track now, I realize that I didn't find the more popular access point-- but I found one. I headed up and of course the temps rose again. I followed cairns off and on. They would disappear for long stretches and then all of the sudden I'd find a giant one in the middle of nowhere. I figured I just had to take the ridge all the way and make my way around some obstacles. I think I stayed on the north east side of the rocks when I should have crossed over early. Eventually it became very obvious that my route sucked so I made a series of climbs I should have never done alone and I dropped down onto what appeared to be a well traveled route. After a bit, I lost that too  but looked below me and I was right above the Peralta Trail. It was hot so I said screw it and took that to Fremont Saddle since I was pretty much there anyways.
Surprisingly no one else was up there on a Saturday afternoon. I took a rest, chugged some water, and headed back down. Grey clouds started coming in and I hoped to get rained on but it never happened. |
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