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| Hiking | 10.12 Miles |
4,542 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.12 Miles | 5 Hrs 22 Mns | | 2.23 mph |
| 4,542 ft AEG | 50 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I've knocked off most of the 'big gun' peaks in the Santa Ritas: Mt. Wrightson, Mt. Ian, 88 Mac, Mt. Hopkins… rounding out the 'fab five' in terms of tallest Santa Rita peaks, [at least according to the 2012 SAHC Peak List], is Josephine Peak, which I had yet to pay a visit to. Last December, I heard some intimidating reports of hardcore hiking acquaintances get 'brushed out' or 'cliffed out' while attempting this peak. It was intimidating [back then] but at the same very appealing if you know what I mean.
This summer after first bagging Mt. Hopkins, I decided to head down from the Agua Caliente Trail and bag Mt. Wrightson via the upper Super Trail, since it was one of the few trails relatively near the Madera Canyon Trailhead that I hadn't done. En route to Wrightson, I came upon a saddle and a smaller metal sign that said, "Riley Saddle" [and underneath that], "Josephine Peak  " [the arrow pointing in the direction of the peak]. A small overgrown route leading toward the peak was visible for all but a few feet before becoming enveloped in brush. I was VERY tempted to go after peak that day but, [trying to work on my weakness (distance!) and get in 18-20 miles before the sun went down], I decided that Josephine Peak would have to sit on my bucket list a little while longer.
Today, I finally knocked it off. The weather / conditions could not have been more perfect. Originally I was planning to go after another peak near Tubac; but short on time after having overslept and not wanting to deal with any drama trying find trailheads or cliffing out on one of these remote peaks whose names don't even come up on HAZ, I decided Josephine Peak, [which looked to be a pretty straight shot from Riley Saddle], would be a better choice. Not to mention, the Santa Ritas are like my 'backyard mountains' and I can get to the TH blindfolded. And at over 7,000', the temps would not be high enough to worry about snakes. In fact, over 90% of the terrain I covered from the Madera Canyon TH to Josephine Peak are still covered in snow; definitely more than I bargained for but luckily not enough to make the adventure unpleasant. It was actually very beautiful and my knees were definitely less beat up with the added cushion.
Ironically, the most drama filled part of the adventure was picking up the wrong trail once I hit Josephine Saddle. I decided to do for time up Old Baldy to Josephine Saddle, [which I've been using for almost 3 years now to gauge how good [or bad] of shape I'm in]. Without ever exerting 'race pace' or even 'interval pace' effort, I clocked in at 48:10; not too bad from what I've been told. Still in 'haul pumpkin' mode, I proceeded to barge down what I thought was the upper Super Trail [after all, I've only been by J-Saddle a gazillion times…].
A few minutes later when I passed by McBeth Springs and the trail started to lose elevation, it occurred that I had accidentally hopped on the Temporal Gulch Trail instead of the upper Super Trail back a J-Saddle. Not wanting to waste time backtracking, I consulted the topo on Route Scout and quickly identify an 'exit spot'… let's just say, all of the elevation I'd lost on the Temporal Gulch Trail, [plus that which I should've gained had I taken the Super Trail] was almost instantly regained!
After my off-trail elevator ride from Temporal Gulch to the upper Super Trail, the rest of the way was pretty much smooth sailing, which I've detailed in the Description. The only other notable thing: after bagging the peak and returning down the upper Super Trail, I came across a rock outcropping on the side of the trail with literally 20-30 lizards in sight at once! I've seen this kind of thing before along various trails / various parts of the Santa Ritas but prior to this, the most I've ever counted at once was 15-20; this time was 25-30, [and at a time of year that I least expected to see them]. It was an interesting site to say the least! |
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| God save the Prom Queen, cuz [reality check!] AEG's King...! |
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