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| Hiking | 13.44 Miles |
4,438 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.44 Miles | 6 Hrs 57 Mns | | 2.52 mph |
| 4,438 ft AEG | 1 Hour 37 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I was so surprised on my first visit here that I knew I had to come back. Upon returning, I forgot how much I like this park! With eyes set on the two peaks I had previously missed, we started with Aspen. This one is a winner. The trail is great to the Dean overlook, and then the unmaintained route to the summit is nice enough and easy to find. Below the peak is an A-Plus camping area with awesome views in all directions.
Next up was Hayden. We took the road which is super steep, but not that exciting. The park literature indicates that visitors should not disturb the equipment on the peak, and we didn't. Though we did observe it from a fairly close range.  I decided to hit the second hump on the peak while Kyle headed back down. On my return I found a short crossover to the Dinosaur Rock trail and decided to descend that way instead. Then I got to the Tipton Overlook junction, and it would just be dumb not to go out there too. Kyle would have to wait!
In retrospect, if doing this peak again I'd skip the road altogether. The upper part of Dinosaur Rock was awesome. A beautiful grove of aspen was the highlight. Tipton Overlook is worth the price of admission too. (That price being annoyingly flat switchbacks which I cut vertically on the way down  )
Next up, we decided there was no reason not to bag Hualapai too. While I had been there before, Kyle had not, and it's a fun one I didn't mind doing again. We took turns Lily-sitting since the summit is not dog friendly. Thousands upon thousands of ladybugs covered the peak, but I think it's past their season. They were pretty docile and even their color looked dull. I don't know anything about ladybugs but I was a little surprised to see them this late in the year.
We headed down and finished on the other side of the Potato Patch Loop. This northern slope is a different world of shade, grass, and trees. It's almost as if Kingman isn't... right over there.  |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
