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| Hiking | 5.90 Miles |
2,782 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.90 Miles | 7 Hrs 23 Mns | | 1.73 mph |
| 2,782 ft AEG | 3 Hrs 58 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I did this hike on the second of two days hiking in the Yuma area. This one was my 40th AZ P2K peak, and it is definitely the toughest of the bunch -- in fact, Sheep Mountain is in an entirely different league from the others.
I followed the directions in the guide to get to where I parked. I could have driven another 1,000 feet or so and parked next to an old mine shaft, but I was at a good place to pullout and park, so that is what I did. Here is a link to a driving track from the Naked Dates farm and store to my parking spot: [ Route Editor ] I drove in 2WD so a 4WD drive vehicle is not necessary, but you'd want some decent clearance and some decent tires.
The first 2+ miles of the hike are mostly rock hopping and boulder hopping through a wash that climbs until you reach a saddle after gaining about 1,500 feet. Along the way we saw some military ordnance laying on the ground and some wildlife watering tanks. There was water in the tank, so the water system is working.
Once at the saddle the climbing begins in earnest. We first went mostly east until we got to a false summit. Then we made a near 90 degree turn and headed mostly south to the Sheep Mountain summit. There are no cairns or anything along the climb, so you'll need some good route finding skills. A GPS track is helpful, but you'll still be relying on your eyes. You could get into some dangerous climbs if you aren't careful; but if you choose your route wisely there isn't anything worse than class 3 climbing. If you have a fear of heights don't even think of doing this one.
At the summit I saw the benchmark, one reference mark, and a height of light. That is the 3rd height of light that I saw in January -- the other 2 were at Apache Peaks and at Klothos Temple.
I thought that this was a tough rock hop, boulder hop, and rock scramble/climb. It is a very nice summit to bag though. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
There were a few chuparosa with some blooms in the wash -- a couple of hummingbirds seemed to like the chuparosa. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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