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| Hiking | 8.00 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 8.00 Miles | 6 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.23 mph |
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| no partners | | Leviathan, Wilderness and Solitude Domes are massive. Having climbed two of the three, we opted to investigate the third, Solitude Dome. We followed a nice path to a series of pools and bushwhacked the remaining miles to the toe of the largest dome, Leviathan. At times it is hard to imagine we were hiking in Arizona due to the dense foliage, large canopies, strange vines and chorus of toads. The base of Leviathan is impressive and we quickly located the start of the intimidating route, The North Face 5.10R. We opted to contour the western base to avoid the ever increasing wall of oak, madrone, pine, cacti and grapevines. The western flank must be home to a huge population of bats because we found ourselves in awe of the mounds of guano we ended up walking through. The squeaks of the flying mammals serenading from above reminded us we were only visitors to this unique area.
The grapevines were equally impressive as the guano mounds. Tarzan would be at home swinging from the trees that had been engulfed by the almost rope-like branches the vines use to grow. Near neck deep, the hiking began to feel constricting at times but also comforting since they offer a hand-line on the increasing steepness of the slope. With some fancy footwork and careful down climbing we were able to access the base of Solitude Dome. Hopefully another day will yield a trip up the 700 foot granite face to its lofty summit.
Time has a unique way of clouding memory. Having been out here many years prior, I had forgotten the difficulty of moving through steep, tangled terrain. The potential for some disastrous tumbles are high near the base of Solitude.
Birds observed included: Rufous-winged Sparrow, Western Wood Pewee, Lucy's Warbler, Mexican Jay, Scott's Oriole, Western Tanager, Bell's Vireo, White-winged Dove, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cardinal, Lesser Goldfinch and as a bonus a Crested Caracara along the Tom Mix Highway!! We also saw one Gila Monster and thousands of tadpoles. |
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