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| Hiking | 8.70 Miles |
1,942 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.70 Miles | 5 Hrs 24 Mns | | 2.27 mph |
| 1,942 ft AEG | 1 Hour 34 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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[ show ]
| no partners | | Took a three day excursion to Payson to escape the heat in Tucson, at least that was my plan. Temps were still in the upper 90's by noon up there. I had 3 16 to 18 mile days planned but with the heat only did half that each day. I also planned hikes around Pine but the smoke in that area was pretty thick (especially on Wednesday) so went with plan B to hike the trails south of Payson. Don't you just love it when all your best made plans go up in smoke, But any day hiking is a good day
Arrived in Payson at 9:00 and headed right to the Gibson Peak Trail Head along Phoenix Road. This is an 8 mile hike and figured I could finish it in 3 to 4 hours with time to do another hike in the area before dark. Five and a half hours later I finished the hike in 97 degree temps. I was under the impression this was a trail, turns out a good portion is a bushwhack. I should of read Kingsnake's write-up a bit closer. Once on Gibson Ridge the trail is pretty much non existent. As off trail hiking goes it was fairly easy navigating, brush and cactus or other stickery stuff was not really an issue. The description of the route by Kingsnake is spot on. I read the description after the hike but I had the GPS route and just used it as guide. The route down the west side of Gibson Peak was easier than expected, I kind of followed the route I downloaded and picked the areas with the least brush. Made good time on the steep descent even though I was being cautious, not a good place to break a leg especially when no one knows where you're at. Vultures flying overhead probably had other hopes.
There are great views to the east of the granite Dells all along the ridge. Smoke from the Coldwater fire could be seen over the rim to the north. Views to the west of the Mazatzal Mountains were unobstructed. It would of been nice to of hiked the trails to the east in the Stewart Pocket area before doing this hike so I would of been more familiar with what I was looking at from the peak. After descending Gibson Peak the route follows a jeep trail back to the start point to complete the loop. Lots of ups and downs that got really old fast especially since it was 97 degrees out. I had to stop twice along this section to cool down, thankfully there was a real slight breeze. There was water in the two tanks along this section of the loop. I contemplated going in or at least filling my hat with water but the mud along the edge looked like it might make it a challenge getting to the water.
This is what I call a filler hike, one of those you do when you have a couple of hours to kill and want something more challenging than a nature trail. I think this would be a great little hike earlier in spring when the heat isn't an issue. |
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Route Editor
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