DESTINATION Monte Vista Peak - Chiricahua 1 Photoset
2023-08-05 | |
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| Hiking | 13.91 Miles |
4,036 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.91 Miles | 7 Hrs 13 Mns | | 1.93 mph |
| 4,036 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Note: Stats are for both Paint Rock and Monte Vista mountains.
I camped the night before at Sycamore campground at 6,300 feet elevation. Camping was very comfortable and the night time low was forecasted around 67. For the hike, I knew it could be hot at the lower elevations so I decided to start hiking early, about 7 am, but wish I started earlier. The canyon hike going up was steep but enjoyable. There was flowing water in the lower part of the canyon. There were a lot of wild raspberries near the top of the canyon and along the Crest trail, and of course stopped to have some. Near the top, I picked up the Mormon trail ridge trail. Then, I took this trail about 1/2 mile to Chiricahua saddle. At that point, I took the Crest trail (#270) further South. There were some nice views of Paint Rock, and from this side it appeared to be a difficult rocky climb to the summit. On the South side of Paint Rock, it appeared that there might be a way to the top, but the route was not visible from this point. I ended up hiking through a messy canyon to a high point, then climbed up a 10 foot vertical rock with some good hand grips. That was the most difficult obstacle so far. Once past that point, the summit was only about 1 minute away. I found a registry which I signed. From the top there were nice views all around. On the way down, I followed a slightly different route which was no better than my original route. From here I continued on to Monte Vista peak...
I summitted this peak after Paint rock. It was quite hot, even at the high elevations over 9,100 feet. It was comfortable in shady areas and when the sun was behind the clouds. If I had to do this hike again, I would avoid the hotter months and wait for the Fall. The Crest trail was an excellent trail that was easy to follow. There were raspberries along many sections of trail. Some of the wooden signs along the way were in pretty bad shape and in bad need of replacement. From the top of Paint Rock, I could see the tower on Monte Vista peak. It looked pretty close, but it ended up being 1.7 miles of trail to get over there. At the summit, there was an old log cabin that was locked and a 40 foot fire lookout tower. There's a small patio on the front of the cabin that provides some shelter which I really needed. I suspect the cabin was occupied by staff who were on "fire watch duty". About 30 feet West of the tower I found a rock pile with a registry. There was an old weather vane on the ground.
Total distance = 13.91 miles (for both Paint Rock and Monte Vista lookout)
Total AEG over combined trip = 4,036 feet
Strava "moving time" to peak = 2 hrs 23 mins , elapsed time 4 hrs 20 mins with breaks
Strava "moving time" for entire trip = 7 hrs 13 mins |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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