DESTINATION Santa Rita Peak 5761 1 Photoset
2024-01-29 | | -
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| Hiking | 3.57 Miles |
1,242 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.57 Miles | 2 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.43 mph |
| 1,242 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I drove 2/3 of a mile up FS 144 which got quite rocky at times but I've been on much worse roads. I did activate my 4x4 on this one because I felt that I needed it. After driving about 2/3 mile, I decided to park on the side of the road and walk the rest of the way. From here, I walked about 1/4 mile North on FS 144 and turned left to get off the road. Then, I started going up the ridgeline. There were some animal trails crossing and mostly going around the mountain it seemed but I was able to zig-zag and use some of these trails. I had to go around sections of ocotillo and walk around some thorned plants. There was a lot of dry dead grass on this hillside, but the brush was not thick and there were many ways to go. This is why I would consider this hike to be an open Country hike, rather than a bushwhack. After walking less than a mile I got to a false summit where I saw a barbed wire fence. I found a place to step over this fence, then continued. Up ahead was a rocky hill and I could not see behind it. This was false summit #2 I suppose. I tried to go around this hill at first then realized it was easier just to hike to the top, which I did. From there I could see the high point was not too much further. Along the way, I saw some oak, yucca, agave, rainbow cactus, and a few barrel cactus, and a lot of dry dead-looking grass. There were not too many obstacles to go around; overall this was an open Country hike.
I kept going up the ridgeline and noticed there were really 2 high points with the official peak being the Northern peak and that's where the registry was. The topo map labeled the peak as the Southern-most peak and I didn't see anything there. At the peak where the registry was, there were a few oak trees and evidence that cattle have been way up there. They really are great climbers, those cattle... On the way down, I decided to follow a different ridgeline going East/Southeast and heard some cattle noises in the distance. When I got lower I saw an area with free range cattle behind a gated area. I walked into the gated area just to check it out. I saw a stream with some flowing water and a tank in this area. There were many cows and calves. Most of them walked away from me and I heard some noises in the distance that sounded like the bulls were quite angry at me. Maybe they were being protective of the females and the calves. Anyway, I didn't stay long and walked FS 144 back to where I parked.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip) = 3.57 miles
AEG = 1,242 feet
Strava moving time = 2 hrs 13 mins
Strava elapsed time = 3 hrs 39 mins |
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Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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