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| Stewart Mtn - Water Users Peak 2433, AZ | |
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| | Stewart Mtn - Water Users Peak 2433, AZ | | | |
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Stewart Mtn - Water Users Peak 2433, AZ
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| Hiking | 4.54 Miles |
2,306 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.54 Miles | 5 Hrs 53 Mns | | 1.01 mph |
| 2,306 ft AEG | 1 Hour 22 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | These were 2 separate hikes, both of which are off of Bush Highway near Saguaro Lake:
1) Stewart Mountain (elevation of 2,988 feet and prominence of 988 feet)
2) Water Users Peak 2433 (elevation of 2,433 feet and prominence of 553 feet)
Stewart Mountain
(2.74 miles with 1,276 feet of AEG)
For this one we parked along Bush Highway, a short distance before getting to the "no parking" signs near the Butcher Jones turnoff.
We crawled under a fence then went along the desert floor for a bit before ascending to a saddle between the 2 subpeaks. This ascent to the saddle was steep, brushy, and bouldery -- much moreso than I envisioned. We took our time and made it up there with no issues.
Once past the saddle things got a bit easier. The hike was fairly flat for a bit, and then was a moderate grade to the summit. Views were really nice at the summit, so we hung out there a bit.
I saw a trip report from @FLYING_FLIVER where he had to use a jackhammer to uncover the benchmark, which was under a mound of dirt. I am happy to report that the benchmark is now free of any dirt and in fact is as clean as the board of health!
We made our return more-or-less the same way that we came up.
Water Users Peak 2433
(1.8 miles with 1,030 feet of AEG)
For this hike we parked at the Water Users Recreation Site. I have an America the Beautiful Pass which covered the parking fee.
There is not an official name for this peak. Topo maps denote its elevation of 2,433 feet, so convention is to call it "Peak 2433". However, it is the highpoint of the ridgeline that runs east-west between this peak and Blue Point, and I have seen it referred to as the "Blue Point Ridge Highpoint". The summit register was placed there by Barbara Lilley in 2012, and Barbara called it "Water Users Peak" in the register. In deference to Barbara, I'll refer to it as Water Users Peak 2433. As an aside, Barbara did the steep, brushy ascent of this peak a few months before her 83rd birthday!
From the parking lot we walked across Bush Highway, crawled under a fence, and then basically busted up towards the peak from the southeast. The ascent was fine for a while, but then got a bit steep and rocky. It was easier than going up to the saddle on Stewart Mountain though. We eventually made our way to a false summit, and then on to the peak.
Views were great at the summit and we enjoyed being up there.
On the descent, we took a ridgeline down that was further to the east of the route that we took up. I thought that our descent route was better than what we did on the descent. If I were to do this hike again I would use my descent route for both the ascent and the descent.
Synopsis
Both of these hikes were steep, but I enjoyed them. I think that I liked Water Users Peak better though. Views were great on both summits, and it was a great winter day to be out there: sunny, light breeze, and a high in the low 50's. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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