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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
1,482 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | 3 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.43 mph |
| 1,482 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | | My husband, Blake, and I made a last minute decision to hike to the top of Mount Peeley yesterday. The drive out was very pleasant and, in our opinion, would only require a 4-wheel drive vehicle (not necessarily high clearance). Of course, road conditions can vary from year to year and season to season, so we're just reporting what we experienced yesterday. The drive to the trailhead took us 1:45 from east Apache Junction. We downloaded Fritzski's gps route and followed it the whole way except for some bits here and there when we were off-trail. The trail is very easy to follow with excellent footing and no "scary" spots. In fact, we really enjoyed the ability to hike without having to watch our feet every step of the way or worry about cholla. If you don't have a gps unit, you'll know when to leave the Mazatzal Divide Trail (#23) when you see a gray-ish sign (on your left) with "Mazatzal Wildneress" on the top and "Tonto National Forest" on the bottom. Keep going on the trail and you'll shortly come to a large cairn on your left. There is also a small cairn a yard further down the trail on the right. This is where you turn left (south) to get to the top of Mount Peeley. There are occasional cairns and some trails, but there's not really any wrong way to get to the top - just find the path of least resistance (the most resistance being downed trees). If you don't really know you're on the top, keep going. It will be very obvious when you've reached the top. There is a Geo Survey benchmark and a wooden pole/bandana near the summit. There's also a Skippy PB jar with a summit log you can add to. We must have spotted 22 - 25 different wildflower species along the way and some very unusual rock/lichen (?) formations during the scramble to the top. Note that there is little-to-no shade on the trail. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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| Stephanie and Blake Barnard |
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Route Editor
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