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| Hiking | 4.40 Miles |
1,909 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.40 Miles | 2 Hrs 54 Mns | | 1.56 mph |
| 1,909 ft AEG | 5 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | After too-short a hike yesterday I sought something a bit longer yet still close-to-home. While this one was close-to-home, I got a late start (too much Route Manager planning) and it took 45 minutes for the 6 mile off-road drive from Butcher Jones to the TH. It included a half-dozen nasty STEEP ascents and descents along the way. While the ascents were scary, they were nothing like a few descents when the rear end wanted to reach the bottom before the front... and of course the only solution is USE-MORE-THROTTLE!
Once at my designated trailhead I ascended immediately, roughly along my old track to the AZ National Guard Mascot until reaching the first ridge when I turned right with the intention of exploring the 'peninsula' across from Bagley Flat.
As I was halfway up to the second ridge I spotted a group of four bighorn sheep. They appeared ready to skedaddle so I wasted little time in getting my camera out for a few quick photos and hopefully a video as they moved off. But my luck of course, they didn't move. So I took a roundabout path in hopes of getting closer but was foiled when they shot up and over the ridge. I raced up to see where they went only to see a steep cliff-like slope on the other side. No way I would follow that way.
Oh well, I'll continue my southeasterly exploration and maybe I'll spot them again later. And 10 minutes later I did, so I took another detour for hopefully some better video opportunities. A few more photos and some poor (too long a zoom) videos and again as I closed in they scampered away, this time never to be seen again.
I continued over another ridge, and another and another... man, it didn't look like this much terrain to cover on the map. I figured eventually I'd reach the end of the line at the Salt River, but I got side-tracked by too many places of interest and decided to begin my return trip via a long north-then-west arc back to the Jeep.
After one of my AZNG mascot hikes I knew the northern slope on the last ridge was very steep, so I extended my arc north a bit earlier where the topo lines looked a bit farther apart. They were, and the slope was moderate, until the last 40 feet down to the wash.
That just meant I spent more time trying, failing and back-tracking a few times until deciding I could handle a 20-foot slide-descent and went for it. For the most part the walk in the wash back to the Jeep was good, the exception being a few areas where I had to clip my way through the cat-claw, or scramble up on side or the other to avoid the worst.
Back to the Jeep it was heading back over the same ups-and-downs, only in the opposite direction. It's surprising the difference in point-of-view when comparing an ascent and descent on the same slope. For me, I'd rather ascend than descend.
For a three hour hike and being barely 15 miles from home (direct line) I spent well over an hour more driving time than hiking. Since Tracey has never been out that way she wants to explore out there on Saturday, so I might have to figure out a less-scary, albeit longer route. Either that or start hiking closer to Butcher Jones.
Video posted:
Bighorn Sheep Encounters |
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