| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 9.11 Miles |
2,109 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.11 Miles | 6 Hrs 59 Mns | | 1.59 mph |
| 2,109 ft AEG | 1 Hour 16 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This hike was to the Buckskin Benchmark (elevation of 3,927 feet and prominence of 1,887 feet), which is in La Paz County. This peak is the highpoint of both the Buckskin Mountains and the Rawhide Mountains Wilderness.
The Rawhide Mountains Wilderness contains over 38,000 acres and includes portions of two mountain ranges: the Rawhide Mountains to the north and the Buckskins to the south, separated by eight miles of the Bill Williams River.
I did not have much beta on this hike, but I did see a trip report with this conclusion:
I hated this hike from start to finish. It is the second-worst hike of my life. One day, perhaps in fifty million years, this mountain will no longer exist. I look forward to that happening.
That report did not exactly inspire a lot of confidence that I would enjoy this hike, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.
There is no trail whatsoever on this hike, along with no cairns, no painted dots, no ribbons on trees, etc.
From my parking spot I walked across the desert floor for a little over 2 miles. There were quite a few wildflowers blooming, which made hiking across the desert more interesting than normal.
Once across the desert floor I made my way up to a ridgeline that is SE of the summit. This was a fairly easy traverse to the ridgeline -- the gradient was not too steep and I stayed above Cunningham Wash, which was to my right on the way up.
Once on the ridgeline I followed it for a little over a mile. It was mostly class 1 walking, and there weren't too many obstacles to deal with. There was one ramp to scramble up that had a steep drop-off to my right, so one needs to focus on that section. Having a will to live proves helpful on this scramble! Actually it was kinda fun.
At the end of the ridgeline is the crux of the hike. I had to go up and go around to the right of some unclimbable cliff bands. This section is very steep and quite loose and slippery. I did a short, easy class 3 climb on solid rock to avoid some of the looseness. I just took it a step at a time, and before I knew it I was at the summit.
I spent about 30 minutes at the summit eating lunch and enjoying the unobstructed 360 degree views. I located the benchmark but did not see any reference marks. There is a Lilley-MacLeod summit register from 1986. Based on the logbook entries, about one person a year hikes this peak.
I returned the way that I came up. On the way back I saw two wild burros less than a mile from where I parked.
Synopsis
I liked this hike much better than I expected, although after reading the above-referenced trip report my expectations were pretty low! I actually liked the hike, aand all the wildflowers blooming made it more enjoyable than normal. I enjoyed hiking on the ridgeline, although the section from the ridgeline past the cliffs is steeper and more slippery than some people might be comfortable with. |
|
Wildflowers Observation Substantial
There were quite a few wildflowers along the way, although they were not yet at peak. Poppies, lupine, owl clover, and fiddlenecks stood out. |
|
| _____________________
| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
