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| Backpack | 11.75 Miles |
4,400 AEG |
| | Backpack | 11.75 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 4,400 ft AEG | | 25 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Made an unsuccessful solo attempt to climb Mazatzal Peak. Started late morning November 11 with plans to summit Mazatzal and get down to a comfortable place to camp before walking out the next day. Parked at Barnhardt/Ybar trailhead and set off around 11am down the Ybar trail. I passed only 1 group of hunters glassing for deer. Approx. 2.7 miles up Ybar trail near 34.067314, -111.440939 I turned uphill off trail and walked up the dry wash until it was crowded with vegetation. I picked this spot because I thought gaining the ridge would be easier up the wash. It was pretty tough and choked with manzanita as I turned left out of the wash and directly uphill. It was slow going as the vegetation changed with altitude and small rock steps were interspersed. At some point I came upon a rock step about 35 feet tall and started climbing with my backpack on. The climbing was pretty easy because the sandstone(?) is so ledgy but there is some exposure and some loose rock to look out for. I was about halfway up when I made a move reaching across my face and knocked my glasses off. I watched my glasses fall to the bushes below and tried to see where the landing point was. I left my backpack on a ledge and downclimbed, luckily found my glasses by almost stepping on them and retrieved my backpack and finished the rock step. I kept moving slowly upward usually trying to find the rockiest and therefore least vegetated way through. Only about 800 feet from the top of the ridge around 3:45pm on a fairly easy part of the hike I lost my balance and got stabbed by an agave in my lower left calf. It went pretty numb and I instantly felt cramping. I limped to a seat and continued trying to flex it for almost an hour. As I did I realized I had cell service and googled agave puncture injuries. I learned that agave have toxic sap that can cause the swelling, tingling and cramping I was feeling. The internet said the symptoms would last up to two weeks so I figured I would have to continue without waiting, plus I was losing daylight and didn't want to sleep on the slope. I limped up the last 800 feet to Suicide Ridge finishing just as dark was coming on and set up my tent on a good spot at roughly 34.070224, -111.455008 (spot is easy to find because the ridge is not very wide). Overnight was slightly above freezing but I was comfortable. I could hear the wind ripping through the valley below all night but it was luckily calm on top.
I decided not to attempt the summit from the camp spot the next morning because of my leg. It would have been about 1.5 miles of bushwhacking round trip to the camp spot, probably a bit easier than the way down because the vegetation thinned a bit at the top. I was planning to come down by walking down suicide ridge as far as it could take me and then exiting to barnhardt trail and I figured this would still be the most efficient way to get home. It was a pain in the pumpkin and I was going very slow because of my leg but I'm not sure any other route would have been better. I eventually made it by mid afternoon to within sight of the barnhardt trail but unfortunately was cliffed out and had to backtrack to find my way down a pretty neat rock formation just at the top of the heavy switchbacks on the barnhardt trail near 34.087727, -111.445262. Walking out on the trail was a blessing after having been off trail since noon the day before. There was some water in pools below the barnhardt trail but I had enough water and finished my supply with only a half mile until the car.
My cramping and tingling symptoms lasted for about two weeks time in which I still couldn't walk without limping. I had noticeable decrease in muscle mass in the calf from not being able to use it. Then when I was really starting to worry this was going to go on a long time my symptoms disappeared within 3 days and I was able to run and climb again.
I will probably come back and try this again, perhaps in 1 day instead of overnight, I think scaling the steeper rock bands closer to the Ybar trail instead of beating through so much vegetation would be the more fun way to do it. Thanks for reading and watch out for agave! |
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