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| Mays Hills HP - Tombstone, AZ | |
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| | Mays Hills HP - Tombstone, AZ | | | |
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Mays Hills HP - Tombstone, AZ
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| Hiking | 4.17 Miles |
1,454 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.17 Miles | 7 Hrs 42 Mns | | 0.54 mph |
| 1,454 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Note: This was our second peak of the day. The first was the Dome, which is nearby.
We took a super long break on the Dome which was fine with me because the weather was nice and there was a bit of a breeze. We decided to have our lunch since it was close enough to lunch time. We looked West toward Mays Hills HP and it looked slightly higher than where we were with some steep slopes around it. Andy had already hiked this a few years back so he didn't have any plans to go there again. After eating and chatting for a few hours, we took a few photos and Andy decided to head back to his vehicle.
Brian and I walked to the South end of the Dome and saw a saddle below us. We saw that we could weave our way toward this saddle and then curve our way West and down to the desert floor. The footing was pretty good and the slope was not as steep as we expected that it would be. We kept working our way down to the desert floor. At the bottom there was a rocky butte which we stayed South of to go around. The terrain here was easy to navigate and there wasn't a lot of brush in the way.
Brian was a bit ahead of me at this point. I found some cattle trails that went up in the direction of the summit but I needed to zig zag left and right to go around brush and avoid some rocky areas. As I got closer to the summit, the slope became steeper. There were some spots where I needed to use my hands but there was little exposure and it was nothing more than Class 2 hiking on the way up. I arrived at the summit a few minutes after Brian which meant I was going at a very respectable pace!
At the top, we found a registry in a rock pile which we signed. There were some older pieces of paper that were in bad shape, but we were able to take photos of some of the pages. We saw a few pieces of pottery at the summit. There were some large flat and smooth rocks at the summit which made a great place to sit down and relax. After getting some photos and a video, we decided to head back to the trailhead. Looking North, the ridgeline looked very rocky but we found a way to drop down and go around the rocky areas. On our way down, there was some Class 3 climbing where we needed to go slow. In a few areas, I needed to spider crawl. When we got lower, we were able to follow some cattle trails. We continued all the way down to a sandy wash, then decided to take a break in the shade. There were some mesquite trees that all looked dead without any leaves. The sun was behind the hillside and we were in a large shady area. After a short break, we continued following the canyon out. It was easy to walk in the sandy canyon and weave through some of the canyon brush. The brush in the canyon was minimal. After walking about 1/2 mile, we were able to see my truck up on the road, beyond the canyon. We followed cattle trails all of the way to my truck.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 4.17 miles
AEG: 1,454 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 25 mins
Strava elapsed time: 7 hrs 42 mins
Driving Directions:
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(4x4 required)
From Phoenix or Tucson, take I-10 East toward Benson.
Take exit 303 for AZ-80 toward AZ-10/Benson/Douglas.
Continue onto AZ-80 E/W 4th St, continue for 1.8 mi.
Keep right to continue on AZ-80 E, continue for 23.5 mi.
Once in the center of Tombstone, turn right onto W Fremont St.
Turn left at the 1st cross street onto S Haskell St.
Turn right at the 1st cross street onto W Allen St., continue for 0.9 mi.
W Allen St turns slightly right and becomes W Schiefflin Monument Rd.
Reset odometer here and use these mileages:
1.25 miles - look to the right and notice a 30 foot tall rock structure which is the Tombstone monument.
1.38 miles - turn left and open primitive gate.
1.67 miles - wash crossing
1.78 miles - turn left
1.9 miles - stay left and go around the curve
1.97 to 2.03 - wash crossing
2.7 miles - look for place to park off the road |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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