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| Hiking | 13.00 Miles |
1,900 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.00 Miles | 8 Hrs 5 Mns | | 2.48 mph |
| 1,900 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 50 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Before I left on this adventure, I reread the first chapter of The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs. He describes the Cabeza Prieta in fascinating and very personal detail. It was excellent preparation for this walk. In addition, I registered for my Barry Goldwater Range Permit, and checked in the night before.
It is a long drive across the Barry Goldwater in the dark. Although the road is usually excellent, at times 4WD was of great help in the sand. I am including a hand mapped GPS route of the drive that I followed on the way in. It is accurate. My recorded track of the drive failed.
I departed the car at the wilderness boundary at 7:45 AM. Travel on the road is very quick. The road is extensively driven by border patrol agents. While it detracts from the wilderness experience, it makes the route in exceptionally easy to follow.
There is evidence of lots of wildlife. I never got close enough to see what the flocks of birds were, but they startled me repeatedly when they would all fly up together. Lots of bird tracks, coyote tracks, and javelina tracks in the road. I was unsuccessful in stalking a javelina that crossed my path. Higher up, especially in the canyon to the peak, there are lots of bighorn droppings. This refuge is primarily to protect the population of bighorn.
Leaving the wash, I had a little trouble finding the right canyon to climb up. Sloppy navigation on my part. The correct canyon is an easy walk/scramble. It is like a rugged stairway. Not overgrown and not many tall waterfalls that must be gotten around.
My turnaround time arrived before I reached the summit. I was about 500’ and more or less an hour short of it. It was too bad, but the canyon is quite beautiful and worth the climb. The round trip is nearly 14 miles, as it turns out, right at the limit of a one-day journey for me. The climb down is not difficult, but you do have to watch out for large rocks that shift under your weight. Mostly it was a straightforward walk alternately following sheep paths and the rugged stairway.
Once down on the bajada, I followed a beeline shown in the official route, and then followed the CBP jeep tracks all the way back to my car. A gentle breeze mitigated the unseasonable 80°+ temps in the flats. I would rate this hike higher, but the 5-mile approach is tedious, while the climb is beautiful. |
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