DESTINATION Tumacacori Mountains Highpoint 1 Photoset
2022-12-17 | |
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| Hiking | 9.54 Miles |
2,775 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.54 Miles | 7 Hrs 1 Min | | 1.60 mph |
| 2,775 ft AEG | 1 Hour 3 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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none
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| no partners | | This hike has been on my list so I decided to do it while I was down in Tucson.
I drove into Rock Corral Canyon on Santa Gertrudis Road, which at some point becomes FR 4145. It was no trouble for a 4WD vehicle to where I parked. An SUV could probably have made it to the FR 4145-FR 4145A junction, which was about 1/2 mile before my parking spot.
I walked the road for 2.6 miles, although it had ceased to become a "road" by that point. From there I had to make a steep, brushy ascent up to a ridgeline -- thankfully this bushwhack was only 0.3 miles. Once on the ridgeline I hiked through some grass and minor brush for 0.2 miles, and then picked up a use trail which I was able to follow for most of the remaining 1.75 miles to the summit. I don't know where the use trail came from, but it virtually eliminated bushwhacking while walking on the ridgeline.
Along the way I stopped at the Tumac Benchmark, and took a short break will enjoying the awesome views. Then I continued on to the range highpoint, which was about 0.75 miles from the Tumac Benchmark, and only about 100 feet higher than the benchmark.
The use trail did not go all the way to the highpoint, so there was a bit of bushwhacking for a short distance, but it wasn't bad. The views at the summit were awesome, so I hung out there for a bit. A geography teacher would have a field day up there!
I know that some people shorten the return by bushwhacking from the summit back to the TH, but I decided to return the way that I came to take advantage of the use trail and road rather than bushwhacking. The views along the ridgeline were nice which made the ridgeline hiking very enjoyable, especially since I didn't have to constantly dodge thorny vegetation.
This hike was better than expected, and I enjoyed being out there! |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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