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| Sunrise Peak from Golden Eagle TH, AZ | |
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| | Sunrise Peak from Golden Eagle TH, AZ | | | |
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Sunrise Peak from Golden Eagle TH, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.90 Miles |
3,264 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.90 Miles | 6 Hrs 20 Mns | | 2.80 mph |
| 3,264 ft AEG | 39 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I wanted to do a hike close to home that hopefully wouldn't have too many people on the trails, so I decide to head up to Sunrise Peak from the Golden Eagle TH in Fountain Hills. The first 0.6 miles of the hike are in the Golden Eagle subdivision, then you hit the Dixie Mine Trail in the McDowell Mountain Regional Park (MMRP).
From the Dixie Mine Trail, I took a left on the Sonoran Trail. After about 0.8 miles I entered the Fountain Hills Preserve (FHP) while still on the Sonoran Trail. From the Sonoran Trail, in sequence I went on the Promenade Trail, the Western Loop Trail, the Andrews-Kinsey Trail, the Sunrise Trail, and the Sunrise Peak Spur Trail to get to Sunrise Peak.
I did not see anyone on the hike until after about 5 miles until I go to the Andrews-Kinsey Trail, where I probably saw about 5 solo hikers. There were 5-6 people atop Sunrise Peak when I got there, but there were probably 10 people up there when I left.
On the way back I decided to hike up to Peak 3098 on the Western Loop Trail, and I also included the Lower Sonoran Trail on my return.
There was a little wildlife to be seen on the hike. Atop Sunrise Peak I saw a hummingbird being chased by some sort of flying beetle; I saw what I think was a western patch-nosed snake, but I couldn't get a pic of it so I am not 100% certain; another non-venomous snake dashed across the trail right in front of me and scared the crap out of me; and on the Lower Sonoran Trail I saw a really cool bird -- a phainopepla, which is a black bird with a relatively long tail and a tufted head.
This hike was a bit long, but there were lots of wildflowers to enjoy, which made the hike better than it otherwise would have been. As the weather warms up and the wildflower display goes away, this is not a hike that I will repeat. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
There was a very nice wildflower display on the entirety of the hike -- enjoy it while we can! |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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