| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 6.93 Miles |
1,990 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.93 Miles | 5 Hrs | | 1.39 mph |
| 1,990 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | As usual, I under-estimated this hike! During this hike, I summited 3 other sub-peaks which were along the way and only a few hundred feet away from my intended route:
Peak 5225 (Gunnison Hills - South) - prominence of 285 feet
Peak 5206
Peak 5253
Peak 5527 (High Point)
I drove my 4x4 Chevy truck to the same place where Paul M. parked. Thanks to Paul for adding a route which helped me determine the best place to park and the route was a good guideline. Starting out I found a cattle trail that took me up the hill. Before long I realized there wasn't a single trail but rather many. The brush wasn't too bad, but the terrain was very rocky which is typical of the Dragoon mountains. Nothing in this range is easy, even the HILLS!!
Along the way to the peak, I encountered ocotillo, desert spoon, creosote, thorn bushes (but not the catclaw variety), some agave, some prickly pear, etc. I didn't see any saguaros or cholla all day. I found some trails that may have been made by miners many years ago. There was areas below some of the ridgelines that looked like old roads. I assume if they were mining here, there had to be some roads in the past. The roads were sometimes overgrown with brush, but overall these roads/trails did save some time.
After hiking about 1.1 miles I was getting close to Peak 5225. Before the summit I found an old mining hole that was filled in, but it was probably 5 or 6 feet deep. I saw an old wooden ladder in the mine hole, partially buried. That was about it. Peak 5225 was only about 100 feet out of the way and had a large enough prominence where it was worth summiting. At the top there was about a 50 foot in diameter flat area. I was surprised to find a registry here at the obscure peak. There were only 3 names on the registry since 2010 including mine. Only one about every 7 yrs.
After another 1/2 mile, I found myself crossing over Peak 5206. If you didn't see it on the map you wouldn't even know this was a peak. It's just a high point on a long ridgeline. I kept following the ridgeline North. There are some rocky areas you'll need to go around. There are also some barbed wire fences that I crossed a few times when I felt like it would be helpful. At each of these areas, I was able to step right over the fence. The fence was very low at each of places where I crossed.
About 30 minutes from the high point, I saw 2 cattle just West of the ridgeline. They let me get pretty close and didn't run away. This was a first for me ;-). I was probably within about 15 feet. I continued and eventually made my way to the summit. At the summit I found a registry with a lot of old pages. Some of thes pages were weathered pretty bad and in bad shape. The oldest registry entry that I found was from 1997.
Notable registry entries from some famous or well known hikers:
October 14, 2009 - Barbara Lilley, Simi Valley, CA. She did this summit on her 80th birthday, wow! That would make her 95 in 2025!
Jan 8, 2000 - Bob Packard, Flagstaff, AZ
2014, 2015, etc. - found 30+ summits by Mark Nichols
I took photos of hopefully ALL pages of the registry and will try to post those on HikeArizona.com. Look for my triplog under Mike_W for the same day.
At the summit I also found a US survey marker that was placed in 1960 and labeled simply "HILLS". This was one of the later placed markers since I have seen plenty that were placed in the 1930's. I also found 2 other survey markers with arrows pointing toward the benchmark.
On the way down, I saw the same 2 cattle. This time, I got a little closer and one of them took a few steps away. This was at least a 1,000 pound cow, maybe more.
I followed the same basic route going down as I did going up. The only deviation from the main ridgeline was for the stops at the various sub-peaks. I thought I would finish this entire hike in about 4 hours, but the rocky terrain and brush made it slow going.
Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 6.93 miles
AEG: 1,990 feet
Strava moving time: 4 hrs 31 mins
Strava elapsed time: 6 hrs 24 mins
Driving Directions:
---------------------
Take I-10 East toward Benson, AZ.
Take exit 318 for Dragoon Rd which is about 13 miles East of Benson.
Turn right at the stop sign onto Dragoon Rd.
Continue for 7.3 miles.
Turn left on N Manzoro Rd.
Continue for 0.3 miles.
You will go under a railroad bridge.
Look for a gate on your left.
Open the gate and continue for 0.1 miles, then turn left.
Continue for about 1/4 mile.
High clearance is OK for this section. You will see another gate.
Open the gate, continue through it, and follow the road to the right.
If you do not have 4x4 you may want to start looking for a parking place SOON because the road gets worse after another 1,000 feet.
If you have 4x4, continue for about 300 feet past the gate and take the left branch.
After the left branch, take the road for less than 1/2 mile more and you will see a parking area.
This is the only good turn-around on this road, past the branch. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
 |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
