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| Hiking | 3.49 Miles |
1,106 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.49 Miles | 2 Hrs 54 Mns | | 1.51 mph |
| 1,106 ft AEG | 35 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I decided to head to eastern Arizona in search of some cooler weather, and figured that a hike to Mitchell Peak (elevation of 7,951 feet and prominence of 1,831 feet) would fit the bill.
I drove north of Morenci on Highway 191, aka the Coronado Trail. The road is windy, hilly, narrow and is pretty slow going. The copper mining complex in Clifton and Morenci is HUGE.
I started the hike at the HL Saddle Picnic Area. I crossed Highway 191 and hiked about 3/4 mile on the HL Canyon Trail, which is basically a road bed in the section that I was on. Then I went off-trail for about 1/4 mile and picked up a use trail which went all the way to the summit.
The off-trail portion was fairly easy -- I had to go up a slope, but it was open and not very brushy.
The use trail was in good shape most of the way, but close to the summit there were some gambel oaks that were encroaching on the trail. There was some decent fall foliage on the use trail, and it was nice to see the color. Actually some of the gambel oaks had some nice color also, especially in the sunshine.
There were some nice views at the summit, and I took a break in the shade of a juniper tree. I was the first person to sign the summit register in 2023, and there was only one entry in 2022. Given that, I think that it is safe to say that this peak is not hiked very often!
I returned the same way that I came.
Synopsis
This is not a bad little hike, but given that it is a long way from anywhere and is a fairly short hike, most people would not want to venture out there for such a short hike. However, it you are travelling on the Coronado Trail anyway and have a couple of hours to kill, you might want to check this hike out. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
There were several big tooth maples putting on a good show, and believe it or not some gambel oaks looked pretty good also. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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