Maverick Hill Photoset • PrestonSands • 2008-04-16 • HikeArizona.COM

Maverick Hill, AZ

	2008-04-16
	23 by PrestonSands

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Maverick Hill

Tucson, AZ

Maverick Hill

Tucson, AZ

Hiking	7.50 Miles	1,420 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles	4 Hrs 30 Mns	1.67 mph
	1,420 ft AEG

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After picking up a topo map which showed trail 568 extending all the way to the top of Maverick Hill, I was anxious to go up there. The Big Lue Mountains had not disapointed me yet

I took a day off of work, put on my new Columbia boots, and drove up to Blackjack Campground. I was treated to beautiful skies, and warm, windy weather, plus I had the area all to myself (no surprise there, people just don't care to drive from big cities to B.F.E., where I live :lol:

). I enjoyed some nice hiking and almost continuous views from the ridgeline. The Mogollon Mountains (one of the coolest ranges ever) seemed so close! I made great time...until the trail dead ended a mile short of the peak. Continuing on, I eventually found what was left of the trail: jack squat! Seems to be typical of forest service trails, these days ](*,)

After a fair amount of effort, I arrived on top of Maverick Hill. So, was there going to be a register on top of the peak? Yes. Not on what was the true summit (according to the map, anyway), but a few hundred feet east. I became the 5th person to sign the log, being the first person since 1998. This is what I mean about living WAY out in eastern AZ! After that, I found a nice little viewpoint, and sat down to eat a quick lunch in the increasingly strong wind. After continuously finding and then losing the "trail" on the way up, I was able to follow it pretty well on the way down, mapping it as best as I could with my gps, and building cairns. I stopped to examine the unusual hedgehog cacti I had been seeing, and came to the conclusion that they were Echinocereus viridiflorus, probably subspecie Chloranthus. I didn't think they grew in Arizona (I 'm sure most people don't give a crap, but I love cacti!)
Made great time coming down. After a stop at Phillips Tank to examine a pool of water below the dam (orange and gooey, with a hint of black filth), I arrived back at my truck. I drove to the south end of the campground, and tried to find a way down to the bottom of Black Jack Canyon's upper box. The vegetation was dense, but I could see a ridge heading for the bottom. The only problem was that it looked like there were drop offs. "Okay, that's good enough for me. I don't feel like dying today", I thought. The edge of the canyon there is insanely steep! I returned to my truck, opened the ice chest, and kicked back on the tailgate, enjoying the cool wind and the view down Black Jack Canyon. I love this place!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Alligator Juniper Arizona White Oak Beehive Cactus Cane Cholla Chihuahua Pine Gambel Oak Green Flowered Hedgehog Mountain Mahogany Ponderosa Pine Silverleaf Oak Twoneedle pinyon

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dam - Rock

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"…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan

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