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| Hewitt Ridge Circumference, AZ | |
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| | Hewitt Ridge Circumference, AZ | | | |
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Hewitt Ridge Circumference, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.36 Miles |
1,949 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.36 Miles | 7 Hrs 11 Mns | | 2.15 mph |
| 1,949 ft AEG | 2 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| no partners | | I parked just off FS 172 a little north of Peacock Canyon. High-clearance vehicles can use an unofficial road in for 0.3 miles.
Peacock Canyon up to Millsite Canyon intrigued me more than anticipated. Rugged little canyon. The further you get in, the better it gets. A lot to admire.
Millsite Canyon
Returned to Quail Springs after 20 years and 5 months. The vicinity still seems like the perfect slice of Arizona.
Shade from Hewitt Ridge and a trickling creek. The trail is a road. Vegetation is intense in some areas. Vertical geology and healthy Saguaros galore had my full attention at times. Seemingly impossible, I got off track twice.
Hidden Valley SoMo & BSM are shallowly hidden. Lower to mid-Millsite is the exaggerated 3D version of a valley. Nobody below the parallel ridges is sneaking a peak into Millsite.
The nagging foot ligament was screaming from a senseless jump but I wanted to complete Millsite Canyon.
Having hiked the upper portion more than once I knew it was no picnic. There is a quick mile or two near the top, but it ends washed out to oblivion.
Three SxSs crawled by me, they were returning from the overlook above Whetrock Canyon. I knew that they would soon be descending FS192B. My hobbling pace missed the show, sections are swiss cheese with ball bearings up the yin-yang on steep grades if memory serves. No longer on topo maps now.
Changed the oven mitt pants to shorts, and started with a walking lunch on the 7.75 miles down FS172 back to square one.
Fauna
Several large bevies of quail, javelina scat, tarantula, and a desert tortoise. A plethora of songbirds in the early morning. One sounded like a bellowing steer. A solid mile of wasps hovering and wrestling but they didn't cause me trouble.
FS172
Early in the day on the drive-in, up out of Queen Creek, I squeezed by a couple of road maintenance trucks and front loaders. They were loading up on flatbed trailers as I was leaving, never saw a hint of work performed on FS172, perhaps they just pushed aside a boulder.
Synopsis
Millsite end-to-end has been on an imaginary to-do list since the 90s. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation None
I'd guess Dec 7th to late Dec for the cottonwoods and sycamores. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Intense parish goldeneye in isolated areas. Four O'Clock: light. Verbena: isolated. Skeleton of devil's claw. |
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Millsite Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Trickling to a gallon per minute for about a mile in the lower Canyon | | _____________________
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