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| Hiking | 8.00 Miles |
1,150 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.00 Miles | | | |
| 1,150 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I have been thinking about doing this hike for a while. I could not convince any of my hiking buds to come along, so I opted for a solo adventure in the Goldfields.
This hike was awesome! Looking at other triplogs, everyone seemed to start up near Sunrise Arch and then work their way over to Gateway Canyon. I decided to do it in reverse and make my way up to the top via Gateway Canyon.
The water level is still high, so I parked at the Phon D Sutton/Blue Point T/H and started walking towards the cliffs. I have done the Sunrise Arch hike from there before, so I know it's about 3 miles along the river before you "hang a right" and start going up. I thought I would look for a "short cut", so I stayed higher up along the path. If you ever follow my gps for this hike, you will be cursing me, as I took a torturous route to get to the Gateway Canyon trail.
Once on the actual trail, it is easy to follow and well cairned. This hike was very fun. Not too steep and quite scenic. Once up top, I moved to the left and started looking for target #1 - the Delicate Arch. That one was easy to find, right off the saddle, near the top. It was so cool to finally get up to see this cool little arch. The terrain up top is a mixture of slopes and ridges. No trail up there, of course, but easy to navigate.
I worked my way over to a few of the cliffs and went out as far as I dared. The views of the river valley below were awesome. Once I got in some nice views, I started looking for target #2 - the Precarious Arch. This one was not to hard to find either. It's right behind the tallest peak on that ridge. I had to go through Downtown Chollaville to get there, but it was not too bad of a hike up. The Precarious Arch is certainly that - it looks like it's barely holding on. I could see cracks on the rocks all over. It looks like this one will succumb to gravity in the near future. Glad I got to see it.
After that, I made my way over to the tallest of the cliffs that overlooks the water users parking area. The views up there were amazing. The entire Lower Salt Valley was before me, as were great views of the cliffs and Saguaro Lake and Four Peaks!
Once all the sightseeing was done, I knew what had to be done next. The only thing between me and my final target - the Sunrise Arch, was the little old chute going down. Maybe I misread or perhaps the map looked so flat when I was planning this hike, but the steepness and rough trail down this chute caught me by surprise. This was Browns' Peak level steep. Oh well, I had no choice and I made it down. For anyone considering going up or down this one, stay towards the cliff on the left (going up) or on the right (going down). It was a steep one for sure.
Target #3 was there before me. This is the only arch out of the three that I have visited before. It is awesome, as usual. I had a little snack break and relaxed a bit in the shadows of the arch. Then, down I went to the river and towards the death march in the sand back to the trail head.
I will definitely head back up to the top of these cliffs. I will also definitely wait until the river is low enough to walk across. 10.5 miles is a good distance, but about 6 of them were along the river. No offense to the river, but it's flat and boring compared to the wonderland in the cliffs. |
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"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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