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| Hiking | 5.60 Miles |
2,014 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.60 Miles | | | |
| 2,014 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Our last visit to Browns Peak was in 2012, when our crew included my 8 and 9 year old youngest kids. That visit, we only went about 1/2 way up the chute before we pulled the plug on reaching the summit as a group, given the exposure factor.
My kids (especially my now 13-yo son) have been wanting to go back since, saying "we're big enough now" to conquer the chute!
So, with only one more Saturday before the latest soccer season puts a kink in the family hiking plans, we headed up for another try!
Per HAZ recommendations, we took the El Oso road approach from the Tonto Basin side. It was twice the miles, but only 15 minutes more driving time. I will never take the 19-mile, bone-jarring, Beeline-highway approach again. El Oso all the way. We encountered no other cars on the way up and the road, though windy and steep at points, is well maintained and accessible.
Arrived at the TH just before 9 a.m. There were already several cars in the parking area. Encountered more than one group of scouts going up/down, and the trail in general was much busier than our last visit 2012.
I brought a some rope and basic climbing gear just in case for the chute. Didn't end up using it. In my estimation, there are really only two spots that are "tricky," and neither one of them had any good anchoring points near by. So, it was just easier to just scramble up/down with me spotting in strategic locations.
Actually, the one piece of gear that probably would have come in handy but we didn't bring were climbing helmets. Given the traffic in the chute and the loose scree, we had the experience more than once of a fist-sized rock being dislodged and go barreling down the chute. Seriously, that is the biggest danger on this hike in my view.
Thankfully, everyone made it to the top unscathed. The views were fabulous! After lunch and photos, we made our way back down. Took a quick break at a large juniper about 1/2 mi. from the TH to do some tree-climbing :-).
Wanted to visit Big Daddy's Pizza in Tonto Basin, as recommended, but we were on a time schedule, so will have to hit it up next time around.
All in all, a great way to spend part of our Easter weekend! |
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Route Editor
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