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| Hiking | 4.94 Miles |
1,869 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.94 Miles | 5 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.10 mph |
| 1,869 ft AEG | 1 Hour 1 Min Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I decided to take advantage of a cool day and hike up to a low elevation peak in the desert west of Phoenix, near Tonopah: Burnt Mountain (elevation of 2,917 feet and prominence of 1,397 feet).
The mountain got its name from a fire back in the pioneer days that burned all of the grass and brush in the area. From a distance it looks burnt due to all of the black basalt rocks that are on the slopes of the mountain.
Like many hikes that I do, I spend much more time figuring out how to get to the trailhead than I spend on planning the hike itself. My hours of research paid off as I was able to get to a good starting point for the hike.
The theme of this hike is "basalt", as there are lots and lots of basalt rocks and boulders along the way to go over and around.
I began by walking across the desert floor and then made my way up to a ridgeline by going up a fairly steep slope littered with basalt. Once on the ridgeline, I followed it a good ways to a slope just below Burnt Mountain. There were several ups and downs along the ridgeline, much of which entailed some class 2 scrambling on basalt rocks and boulders. There was nothing at all sketchy, but it was slow going for me.
I was patient and eventually made my way to the summit. The summit area was open and offered nice 360 degree views. I located the benchmark and both reference marks, and I picked the height-of-light up off of the ground and stood it up by bracing it in a pile of rocks.
On the way back, I saw 3 javelina in a wash just before reaching my truck.
This was an enjoyable day, although I don't think that this hike will make my regular hiking rotation. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
There were some brittlebush blooming. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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