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| Hiking | 7.61 Miles |
2,481 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.61 Miles | 6 Hrs 13 Mns | | 1.65 mph |
| 2,481 ft AEG | 1 Hour 36 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After a few hours of morning rain, I decided to get out and enjoy the rare weather and explore a new area of the Kofa Mountains. I made a loop from camp up past Cereus tank and then over into Tunnel Mine Canyon before passing by the old mining camp and following a largely intact iron pipe from the trough up to the mine tunnel. From there I continued to the saddle above. The ridgeline traverse was fantastic. The views were phenomenal, and a well-used sheep trail made travel quick and easy.
Eventually I made it to the first peak that I wouldn't want to attempt to climb and decided against making the traverse around it's base, though it would certainly be possible. I could have then proceeded to the base of 4170, but having seen it from a closer viewpoint, I knew that summiting it would be out of the question, so I turned back and headed down a bit before making a very tiring and treacherous traverse across the slope toward the saddle between 4170 and 3728 south of it. From there I descended the drainage to the west before turning south across the expansive valley called Tunnel Mine Canyon. This is some of the most beautiful, pristine desert I have ever seen, surrounded by jagged peaks.
The cloudiness made photography very challenging all day, so I didn't really get to capture how awesome this area is. After Signal and Ten Ewe the day before, and a solid off-trail effort so far, I was getting pretty tired and needed to find the easiest route over the next ridge to get back to Kofa Queen where the truck was parked. The climb was about as much as I was in the mood for and I was excited to reach the saddle! From there it was an easy hike down to the valley where I explored the local geology a bit before settling down with a well-earned beverage!
Always a great day in the Kofas  |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Cereus Tank |
76-100% full |
76-100% full |
| | | Nicely developed tinaja with a good pool of water. | | _____________________
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