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| Hiking | 10.39 Miles |
3,277 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.39 Miles | 4 Hrs 37 Mns | | 2.37 mph |
| 3,277 ft AEG | 14 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Spontaneous trip. Accepted this hike on about 30 minutes notice. Packed the gear, picked up my crazy friend who proposed it and drove the 2 hours from Mesa.
The road to the actual trailhead is not appropriate for a sedan. You would regret your decision if you gave it the good old college try. 2WD High Clearance truck easily provided access. Started hiking at around 3:30 PM.
Only saw one person on the trail. At about a mile in, we ran into a gruff older man on a horse that was accompanied by a German Shepard. The only words he uttered were to express concern about our decision to start so late. I explained our gameplan and made a gesture towards my vest containing a headlamp. He was not impressed.
Regardless, we made good time up the mountain. This trail design is great. A straight start out of the trailhead running parallel to a dry creek bed hits the mountain and then forms a tilted "Z" shape up to a saddle and eventually to the peak itself. The views of the valley and the enormous rocks suspended on the side of the mountain are scenic and fun to be around. There are some big rocks here and I would bet during a heavy rain you get a bunch of little waterfalls that would pop up.
The saddle is where you get your first view of the 4x4 road to the top. The top itself is cool and different. Big empty parking areas, primitive helicopter pad, a bench or two, a house-like structure, and a GIANT array of solar panels. The sun was getting ready to set so Maricopa County to the East was getting hit with those delightfully orange evening rays of light. You could see all the way to Four Peaks.
Sun set on the trip down. Probably 2 miles in. It got very dark (as expected). Headlamps were used. It wasn't until mile 3 of the down trip that we started noticing differences in light on the surrounding hilltops. All of a sudden, the moon rose over the mountainside from the East and illuminated the valley in front of us. Some areas were still completely dark, others were so well lit that they were traversable without artificial light of any kind. I have never hiked under a full moon like this so I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Overall trip took 4.5 hours. Really enjoyed this area. 8th County HP crossed off the list. |
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