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| Hiking | 20.73 Miles |
4,962 AEG |
| | Hiking | 20.73 Miles | 10 Hrs 31 Mns | | 1.97 mph |
| 4,962 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I decided to hike to the top of Mica mountain. Brian, Jim, and Preston have already summited Mica mountain before and they were interested in hiking to Reef Rock and Manning Camp only on the same day. They planned on starting at 9 am. I knew I needed more time because I planned on summiting Mica mountain, Spud rock, and Helen's Dome, if there was time. Then, I wanted to stop by Manning camp on the way down. I arrived at the trailhead at 5:30 am and started my hike. The sun was already up and it was still cool. My goal was to get up as high as I could to avoid the heat because the Tucson high this day was 96. The hike started out with only a gradual incline and it was fast moving going up the ridgeline and then along the sides of several hills. The trail was maintained very well in this area. After hiking for a little over 2 miles, I found a podium style registry which I signed around 6:30 am. See my timeline below for more details.
Trails taken: Turkey creek trail, Deerhead spring trail, East Slope trail, Switchback trail, Heartbreak Ridge trail, Fire Loop trail, Bonita trail, Cowhead Saddle trail, North Slope trail
Timeline:
5:30 am - start hike right after sunrise
6:25 am - reached podium-style registry (2.1 miles)
8:30 am - 5 miles in, found great place to take a break. Left a banana peal on a log strategically placed across the trail as a marker for the other guys coming up.
8:45 am - arrived at Deer head spring
8:55 am - reached Dearhead spring trail junction
9:11 am - reached East Slope trail junction
9:19 am - reached Switchback trail junction
9:45 am - reached Heartbreak Ridge trail junction
10:15 am - reached Fire Loop trail junction (7.1 miles)
10:30 am - reached Mica Meadow area
11:12 am - arrived at Mica summit (8.7 miles). Had lunch at the top. Would have been 10 minutes earlier but I saw 2 huge turkeys fighting, along with a deer who was watching the entertainment. I got some great videos of this.
11:55 am - left Mica summit
12:15 pm - reached the top of Spud rock (9.4 miles)
1:03 pm - reached trail junction and near base of Helen's dome
1:26 pm - reached the high point on the Eastern side of Helen's Dome (11 miles). Climbing the West side would require ropes, we believe.
1:43 pm - back at the trail junction at the base of Helen's dome
2:20 pm - arrived at Manning camp (12.4 miles), took photos, video, and break
3:08 pm - arrived at "lollypop junction" (13.4 miles), better known as the end of the Heartbreak Ridge trail. Brian, Jim, and Preston showed up 2 minutes after I arrived. We never planned this - What great timing. We all took a 40 minute break.
3:50 pm - started descending
4:30 pm - reached Spud Rock Spring
4:54 pm - reached Deerhead Spring
6:45 pm - reached podium style registry (18.6 miles)
7:45 pm - back at trail head (finish) (20.7 miles)
Total roundtrip distance = 20.73 miles
AEG = 4,962 feet
Strava moving time = 10 hrs 31 mins
Pace = 30 min 45 sec per mile
The drive: The last 2 miles getting from the Miller Creek trailhead to the Turkey Spring trailhead required 4x4. This road must have gotten eroded badly in the last few years. There were a several bad spots. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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