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| Hiking | 14.59 Miles |
1,834 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.59 Miles | 8 Hrs 37 Mns | | 1.87 mph |
| 1,834 ft AEG | 50 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Beautiful day for a hike!  
Purchased my 3 day permit for Tonto NF OHV area and headed through the Dutchman gate. We parked at the Tomahawk mine. We should have parked before that on the north side, but oh well! 
We met up with Jason (best license plate EVER!! ) and were off! I haven't been in the Goldfields in forever. The only trail I did previously was really a route with zero trail, so I wasn't sure what to expect on the loop we picked. However, this loop is frequently used by horses, so it is a well-trodden trail that is easy to find 99% of the time.
The Goldfields are so beautiful! I especially liked the Horse with no name area. The different color rocks and the majestic saguaros make it so scenic! We also had the entire area to ourselves for quite a few hours. We did our loop clockwise, and we didn't see a soul until the junction with Rough and Ready canyon! Then we saw 3 groups in quick succession, plus another group a bit later.
At the far end of the horse with no name trail, we opted to see Overlook Arch. This was the only off trail of the day. It wasn't bad, really, it is just we went partway up the ridge for... A tiny window! Jason nailed it when he said low ROI. We almost didn't see the arch at all! Alas. I guess we should have paid attention to the previous triplogs that said the arch was meh. At the least the views were spectacular from up high!! 
After bushwhacking back down the ridge and wash, we were back on horse with no name (love the routescout way point commentary in this area!! ). After heading through a delightful saguaro forest, we were in the washes for a while which isn't my favorite. I was happy when we connected to rough and ready canyon. This area is also very scenic. We plodded along and missed a turn before realizing that Oops we were not going the right way. We headed back and before too long we were at the start of the anniversary arch loop which started at a large flat camping area with fire ring. There is actually a trail that goes off to the west earlier that goes up high that may connect to the anniversary arch loop, but we stuck with our route.
The anniversary arch itself is underwhelming, but the views from the back of the loop are stunning. We were able to see the area that we had just hiked through.
After finishing the mini loop, we were in the home stretch towards the car. 
It was a great day to be out hiking, as always! I look forward to exploring more of the Goldfields soon! Maybe see larger arches! 
One low point of the hike - recent grafitti of Bob and Mimi, whose love requires spray paint on canyon walls.   |
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