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| Hiking | 5.64 Miles |
2,623 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.64 Miles | 2 Hrs 33 Mns | | 2.33 mph |
| 2,623 ft AEG | 8 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Today I had to go to Hatch, NM to make a Chile run. On several previous trips over and back I have eyed Cookes Peak and this time I decided to add it to the days journey. I left Phoenix a little after 7am in my Enterprise Rent-a-Van. Got to Hatch, loaded up on Chiles and then had lunch. Afterwards it was a 32 mile drive down the Hatch Highway to where I made my turn onto a very nice dirt road. The road number is A019 and is in-between Mile Marker 14 and 15.
This road heads west towards the Peak. After about 13 miles you get to a left turn and that is what is considered the 4WD road. I drove the van up the road about a mile and a half towards the trailhead. At this point I decided it would be best to just park it and start hiking. The total distance to the TH from the turn is 2.2 miles so I didn't have far to go.
Once at the trailhead I followed the faint trail which winds in and out of a ravine up the hill. After a good mile or more I lost the trail and just headed straight up a scree slope towards the eastern face of Cookes. Once at the base of the rock face I just started to scramble up the side taking the best route I could find. This went well except at one point some rock pulled away and almost took me with it.  Pretty sure that is the fastest my heart has beat all year long. Once I was back to a normal heart rate I continued up the side of the rock. Shortly thereafter I topped out and from there it was an easy walk up to the highpoint. The summit has a stack of rocks and an old register.
Seeing rain in the distance I didn't stay long. The route back down was easy peasy since I stayed on the actual trail the whole time.
I got a late start on this one today. Didn't get going until 3:44pm local time. It took an 1:23 to reach the summit and 1:10 to return. Back at the van I notice the remains of an old rock house. Great summit with killer views in all directions.
Maybe I will hit the Florida Mountains on my next trip? They always look cool to me. Very rough and jagged. |
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