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| Hiking | 4.31 Miles |
1,438 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.31 Miles | 3 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.29 mph |
| 1,438 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I've been wanting to do this hike for quite some time. I originally planned on hiking on Sat. Brian wrote and said he could do Monday but not Sat, and that was good enough for me. I left my house in NW Tucson around 7 am and we arrived at the trailhead around 9 am, so door to door it was 2 hours. It was a bit cool in the morning. We started on the trail and found it to be very obvious where to go because the trail was blazed quite well through the dry grass that was 2-3 feet tall in some places. The incline was fairly flat for the first mile and quite fast moving. After that, the trail started heading uphill and getting progressively steeper and slower. We kept following the trail and noticed some occasional cairns. We probably got off the trail a couple of times which is fairly easy to do. That's why I would recommend bringing a GPS with a loaded route.
The hike in the canyon going up was quite steep and remind me a little bit of the hike to Pusch peak or the Flatiron in the Superstitions but shorter. There were some steep areas but we just took our time and hiked carefully. Near the top we saw a huge rock slab that had a left and right side. The left side appeared to be a few feet higher. After looking around, we didn't see any registry which I thought was odd since this was an Emblem peak. It was quite windy which made it colder but we were able to move to an enclosed area NE of the high point. Even though it was only 11 am, I decided to have part of my lunch there. We took about a 1 hour break total and continued searching for a registry but did not find one. We were baffled as to why one didn't exist on this hike.
We took a few photos and a quick video and started to head down the way we came up. At one point we got off the trail and ended up hiking down a steep canyon area, but eventually ran into what looked like a trail, but somehow it wasn't the main trail. We ended up hiking about 200 feet West off the main trail and then had to bushwhack a little to find the main trail again. This was the worst part of the hike and we weren't sure where we went wrong. Bottom line is check for cairns and bring a GPS/route because it seemed to be pretty easy to get off the main trail on the way down.
All in all the hike was very pleasant and memorable. I can understand why this is considered an Emblem peak!
Stats:
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Distance (round trip) = 4.31 miles
AEG = 1438 feet
Strava moving time = 1 hr 59 mins -- but seems like we were moving for much longer than that!
Strava elapsed time = 4 hrs 27 mins
Driving directions:
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From Tucson/Phx take I-10 East toward Benson, AZ.
Follow I-10 E to AZ-80 E/W 4th St in Benson. Take exit 303 from I-10 E.
Continue onto AZ-80 E/W 4th St and continue for 1.8 mi.
Keep right to continue on AZ-80 E and continue for 21.8 mi.
Turn left onto N Middlemarch Rd and continue for 10.0 mi.
Turn left onto FSR 687 and continue for 0.4 mi.
Turn right onto unmarked road and continue for 0.38 mi. until you see a Y-split.
Park in an open area off the road. It would be better to not occupy a camping area if you are not camping.
Walk the left branch of the road to a gate which is where the trail starts from.
High clearance vehicle is recommended, but a passenger car SHOULD be sufficient enough to make it. The road is graded pretty well 95% of the way. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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