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| Hiking | 8.76 Miles |
2,194 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.76 Miles | 3 Hrs 1 Min | | 3.26 mph |
| 2,194 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was my second official hike back after my injury that refused to heal and sidelined me since June… [thank goodness for Stem Cell Therapy!]. Before logging double digit mileage, my PT wanted me to do one hike in the 7-9 mile range; and I wanted to do: a summit hike [or one with at least 2000' EC], something I'd never done before, AND preferably one that required under an hour of driving to reach the TH. I wasn't aware of anything that fit the bill; [so when I entered – summits patagonia az – into Google and tons came up about Red Mountain], I was pleasantly surprised. The drive to Patagonia is beautiful, and I'm surprised that many of my hiking buddies in the area, [who have summitted more mountains that I can name!], had either never heard of never done this beautiful hike.
As for stats, the hike is about 2,500' EC and RT distance, [according the information I pulled up online], ranges anywhere where from under 1 mile to 9 miles; [the wide variation being due to the fact that the hike follows a forest service road to the summit rather than a trail, so one could drive up as far as they wish [or are able to] – at least up to the locked gate about 1/2 mile from the summit – and then start the hike. Supposedly the road "gets rough" as one gains elevation; but I would've had no trouble getting my Forester right up to the gate if I chose.
In the event my injury had not completely healed, [and/or the distance was an underestimate], I decided to drive 9/10ths of a mile down the dirt road before parking to start the hike. If the reports were correct, [in that starting from where the forest service road and pavement meet is 9 miles RT], then from where I parked, the RT distance would put the hike at 7.2 miles. I figured if the distance was short and/or I was feeling good, then I could always walk the lower segment of the road or one of many other neighboring dirt roads for extra mileage.
The distance was actually overestimated by a full mile. From where I parked, it was only 3.1 miles to the summit; [so if I started from the beginning of the dirt road, it would've been 4 miles one-way or 8 miles RT]. The overestimated distance worked out perfectly though… wanting to log at least 7 miles, I ended up going down a second forest service road and then proceeded to bag [via bushwhacking and/or traversing unofficial routes] two additional peaks. It was a great day to say the least.
For those who fancy hiking to summits with lookout towers, this one was really neat. There were no 'closed' / 'not open to visitors' / etc. type of signs on the Red Mountain lookout tower, so I walked right up to the second floor for some even better summit views. |
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| God save the Prom Queen, cuz [reality check!] AEG's King...! |
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