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| Catalinas - Reef of Rock peak 8012, AZ | |
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| | Catalinas - Reef of Rock peak 8012, AZ | | | |
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Catalinas - Reef of Rock peak 8012, AZ
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| Hiking | 1.41 Miles |
733 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.41 Miles | 1 Hour | | 1.41 mph |
| 733 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I parked on the side of the hairpin turn on Ski Run Rd and hiked down to "Reef of Rock", Peak 8012. This whole area was labeled Reef of Rock on the topo map and is more popular for climbers, I believe. I was not expecting a trail but glad to find out there was a cairned trail going down. The trail was very steep and there were some shady area that went through areas of dense aspen trees. There were some New Mexico locust lining the trail but it was easy to avoid most of it. This trail was pretty well maintained considering it was not on the map and there was no official trailhead.
I met some climbers just South of Peak 8012 and they told me these were climbing trails and there were some popular climbing areas. They told me about a few spires called Neptune and Pluto, which I believe were North and West of Peak 8012. At the base of 8012, I found a passage way on the West side. There were some cairns leading up which were sometimes helpful. From the top, there were some amazing views of the rock formations all around the area, including Red Ridge, Oracle Ridge, Samaniego Ridge. I could see some of the spires or rocky cliffs looking down to the Northwest and I could see down into Canada del Oro (Gold Canyon to us English speakers).
There was a hail storm earlier that day. The climbers told me they saw a big chunk of accumulated hail that was a foot thick that was further down the trail from the peak. After summitting Peak 8012, I continued down the trail that led East and further down the ridgeline. I found this massive chunk of hail right on the trail. It was like a 50 pound mound of crushed ice in one big chunk that must have all accumulated in this spot below the massive rock formation near it. The hail must have hit the rock formation and funneled down to this area on the trail. It truly was about a foot thick of loosely packed ice and amazing to see.
I continued down to an elevation of 7802 to get some better views and photos, then turned around and hiked back up to the road. It was pretty slow going because the trail was very steep.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip) = 1.41 miles
AEG = 733 feet
Strava moving time = 59 mins
Strava elapsed time = 1 hr 36 mins |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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