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| Black and New River Mesas, AZ | |
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| | Black and New River Mesas, AZ | | | |
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Black and New River Mesas, AZ
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| Hiking | 12.06 Miles |
3,449 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.06 Miles | 8 Hrs 8 Mns | | 1.76 mph |
| 3,449 ft AEG | 1 Hour 16 Mns Break | 14 LBS Pack | | |
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| Partners |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | It's been awhile, so off to Spur Cross. It'd been almost 10 years to the day that I last hiked this with @Tortoise_Hiker.
Remembering the rocky conditions, I pondered my choices for footwear. The worn out Salomon's, the new but lighter Asics, or new, heavier, but more sturdy Adidas. The Adidas were the correct choice.
47 degrees o start with a calm wind. I was shocked to be only the 4th car in the lot at 7:30ish. Spur Cross -> Tortuga -> Elephant Mountain Trail. Not much has changed here. Easy to follow and hike roads turning to trails.
Once off of Elephant Mountain Trail the trail gets thinner and thinner to the Black Mesa summit. There are cairns most of the way, but the tall grass covers up both the Rock Cairns and the plain ole' hidden rocks. I call them volcanic grapefruit. Those are the ones that play havoc on your ankles.
Up top on Black Mesa, I made my way over to New River Mesa to check it out. On the east rim I found the set of glymphs with various ancient vandalism carved into them, as well as a grinding slick.
I made my way south across Black Mesa, kicking up a white tail. The plan was to exit down south ridgeline towards Sugarloaf Mountain. Part way down I got cliffed out and pondered my choices. Going farther to the west looks like it MIGHT have worked out, but being solo (and an old fart) I opted for the downclimb farther to the East. It was still a steep, slippery and slow off trail down climb.
I ultimately hopped into a canyon/wash that ran into the Elephant Mountain Trail.
I was a little warm at the end of the day with full sun and no breeze. I think I'm done with Black Mesa for another 10 years. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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