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| Hiking | 8.59 Miles |
1,140 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.59 Miles | 4 Hrs 4 Mns | | 2.41 mph |
| 1,140 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | 8 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | This one's been on my list for quite a while. The bang for the buck (i.e., 2hr 15min drive for an 8-mile hike) always pushed it to the back burner. Also, I was not sure if it was Subaruable.
I had mentioned this to Linda on a previous hike and gave her some tag-along hikes in the general vicinity to make it worthwhile. With the warm season approaching, it was now or never for the year. We met up at the Goodyear PnR and started our drive to the TH. You lose the pavement at the intersection of Aguila Rd and Vulture Mine Rd. At this point, Aguila is wide and smooth. At 13.1, you veer right off the wide smooth Rd to an easily navigated rd for just under 3 miles until it dead-ends into Microwave Tower Rd. 0.8 miles later, you hang left/east for the 1.2-mile 2-track to the TH. When dry, this is all doable with an HC vehicle with decent tires.
From the corral, the hike starts at Dead Horse Tank. You follow the drivable (with plenty of pinstriping) 2-track for a mile to the Hummingbird Springs Wilderness border that was established in 1990. You have mostly easy walking on a decommissioned 2-track turning to single track to the base of the mountain.
It is a short, fun climb/scramble to this peak. There was only one slightly tricky spot, made that way by a poorly placed cactus. That cactus was not a problem on our return. There is numerous sign of Bighorn Sheep and many alcoves that it is obvious that they congregate in.
We hung out at the top and took in the vast views. We were lucky to have a perfectly clear viewing day.
YouTube link
Once down, we took a slightly different route, following a 2-track that bypassed the ridgeline. We ran into an area that was marked with metal stakes, each with a small numbered disk. The #1 disk was dated in 1982 (8 years prior to becoming a wilderness). There were more than 50 of these in no rhyme or reason.
We thoroughly enjoyed this hike in a rugged area of our state, especially the climb to the peak. |
| _____________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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