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| Goldfield Canyons and Arches, AZ | | -
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| | Goldfield Canyons and Arches, AZ | | | |
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Goldfield Canyons and Arches, AZ
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| Hiking | 14.09 Miles |
1,907 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.09 Miles | 8 Hrs 35 Mns | | 1.73 mph |
| 1,907 ft AEG | 26 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | A wander into the Goldfields - I've spent a lot of time in the Superstitions, but always drove right past the goldfields. Figured it was time to check them out closer - I've always found the heavily lichened rock faces in the area absolutely enchanting.
Had heard there were arches to be spotted in the region, so we decided to have a look around while hitting a few of the more scenic canyons. Given the canyons of interest, we decided to try for Overlook and Anniversary Arches. Since it's been seemingly forever since we've had any rain, there was no water observed anywhere along the route - all of the potholes and pourovers were completely dry.
The road in from the staging area at Dutchman Gate was a little rough, but nothing too awful. We parked near Tomahawk Mine, and after quick greetings and introductions, we headed down the road a bit to pick up Frankie goes to Hollywood to start our adventure.
A large portion of the loop follows various drainages, and thankfully there were often packed dirt trails to walk on either side of the canyon bottom. There were some stretches fully in the washes which made for loose footing on deep sand/gravel mixed in with some rock hopping. The side trip up to Overlook Arch was entirely off trail and involved finding our way up a drainage before popping out to climb the ridge steeply to the arch.
The views certainly did not disappoint, with Horse with No Name being especially beautiful. While we did indeed see both arches, they were quite tiny....think window sized. The views encountered en route though, were spectacular.
In addition to the arches, there were a several notable saguaro spied along the way, including one with a crested arm (no photo or waypoint, sorry!). Sadly, there was a very large freshly sprayed panel of graffiti commemorating the short lived relationship of Mimi and I don't remember who (and I failed to grab a photo - perhaps one of my hiking partners will oblige)...my admittedly porous memory suspects that was in Cottonwood Wash shortly before heading off onto Horse with No Name. Rough n Ready also sported some unnecessary markings - a fair number of arrows in pink flagging paint to mark the route.
We didn't see very many folk out - one group of 3 with their pups, one couple, and another group of 3 - we crossed paths with all three groups in fairly quick succession, all in Rough n Ready Canyon. While we didn't see any horses, there was fresh evidence of their passing along the trail.
Am now eyeballing routes for my next foray into the area...preferably to see some people-sized arches  |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Fewer than a handful of flowers spotted...a sweetbush bebbia/bebbia juncea and a few chuparosa. |
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Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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