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| Hiking | 7.80 Miles |
1,700 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.80 Miles | 4 Hrs 57 Mns | | 2.13 mph |
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| 1,700 ft AEG | 1 Hour 17 Mns Break | | |
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| no partners | | Tracie, my intrepid hiking partner, decided to make our first ever hike up to the summit of Escudilla Mountain. At one time this was supposedly one of the most scenic hikes in Arizona, but sadly the Wallow Fire of 2011 devasted this area. At the lower elevations of the hike, the aspens are coming back, and their leaves would no doubt look nice in the fall. However, many of the ponderosa pine forests that burned will probably take decades to come back.
There were a fair number of fallen trees that you have to deal with on this hike on your way to the Fire Tower that is atop Escudilla; however, it is no worse than going up the West Baldy trail. However, if you want to go the summit of Escudilla from the fire tower, it is a real slog dealing with all of the deadfall.
On the way up the mountain, we saw 7 elk in a field. On the way back down we saw 5 animals running in a field, but they were far away and I could not tell if they were deer or elk.
It was cool to hike up to the summit of Arizona's 3rd highest mountain, but with all of the fire damage this is not a hike that I will often do, at least not for a few years. |
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| I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of starvation. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
