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| Hiking | 8.32 Miles |
3,430 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.32 Miles | 6 Hrs 32 Mns | | 1.56 mph |
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| 3,430 ft AEG | 1 Hour 12 Mns Break | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | I randomly threw out Quartz as an option, and Joel hadn't been there before so it was decided. We took the southern access which was great. I'll never drive in from the north again!
The temperature was 68 as we started, and it was almost perfect. The afternoon sun on the west slopes can be a bit unrelenting, but there was a nice breeze from time to time. I definitely felt the results of my Malapais hike yesterday and the ascent was a bit slow.
Once on the summit, Joel got into photo mode. I decided to head over to Butterfly, where I hadn't been before. This is probably my favorite kind of hike!  It's easy scrambling, route-finding puzzles, outstanding views, and generally pleasant to traverse terrain without much prickly flora to fight through. I reached the summit 5 minutes past my turn around time  and quickly signed the register. Strangely, there were some names from as far back as 2004, but none of the HAZ folks I know have been and no names from the last decade.  I considered maybe there was another register, but I didn't find one. Huh.
I turned and headed back to Quartz, arriving on the summit about 5 minutes after sunset where I enjoyed a well-earned beer and tried some photography as darkness fell. The lights of the Phoenix valley from up here give such a great perspective on the impressive expanse of the metro area. You can see the glow of lights all the way from the White Tanks to the Superstitions.
The hike down was fantastic. This is a great headlamp trail! (If you're into hallucinogens you'll likely appreciate the nature rave from all the mica and quartz sparkling and reflecting all over the top of the mountain!) We slowly transitioned from wearing poofy coats, beanies and gloves on the summit back to shorts and short sleeved shirts as we descended, reaching the trailhead at 8:30 where it was a perfect 52 degrees.
It was just over an hour of driving to get back to Tempe. I might have to make this a more frequent night hike!
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| Meteorology | Meteorology Sunset |
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Route Editor
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