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| Peak 6191 - Catalinas, AZ | |
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| | Peak 6191 - Catalinas, AZ | | | |
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Peak 6191 - Catalinas, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.50 Miles |
1,713 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.50 Miles | 4 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.67 mph |
| 1,713 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | This peak is 1 of 39 peaks in the Catalinas that has over 300 feet of prominence. As of this report, I have bagged 31 of 39.
Regardless of what the prominence is, this was a **fantastic** hike with a lot of variety. You can start from the Lower Green Mountain trailhead or the Bug Spring trailhead. Maybe the round trip is 1 mile longer if you start from the Lower Green Mountain trailhead, but you're starting from higher up so there's less gain going this way.
I parked at the Lower Green Mountain trailhead and didn't arrive until almost 1 pm. At the trailhead sign, I followed the trail right, which is the Bug Spring extension trail. On the way up the hill, I saw 2 small groups of hikers and then a few more hikers further in, and that's it for the entire day. No bikers this time which is fine by me!
After following the trail for 2.45 miles, I summited Peak 5968. If you don't check the topo map, you won't even realize this is a labeled summit. The trail passes right along it. I kept going and looked for a clearing going down to the canyon to the North. I overshot my turnoff by a few hundred feet and ended up having to backtrack which was fine. The weather was perfect and the scenery was quite incredible in this area. There were some hoodoos that the trail went right past and a few tiny windows in some of these hoodoos also. I found a clearing in the brush and saw 2 cairns on a large rock leading down. This must have been a place where other hikers went, but I'd guess not too many. This path was some kind of drainage and I was able to follow it down all the way to the canyon below. There were a few spots where I needed to push through some manzanita or pines, even breaking a few dead branches that were in my way. Within a few minutes I was at the canyon below, but it was only a "sub-canyon".
The canyon was rocky and sandy and starting off I needed to use my hands to navigate down through the rocks. After a few minutes, I entered the main canyon and started heading West toward Peak 6191. There were some hoodoos and rock formations up above, outside the canyon and I was planning on going around as much of it as I could. In the main canyon, there were not many obstacles. The canyon was wide and I was able to make good progress. After about 1/4 mile, I saw a junction with a smaller canyon leading right. I took this branch and after a few minutes had a clear view of Peak 6191.
Looking straight on this peak, I saw some rocky cliffs, but it looked like it was possible to do some zig-zagging and find a channel going up. On the way to the upper ridgeline, I needed to do a little bit of Class 3 climbing which was fun. There was nothing dangerous and I had some great photos being up close to the large rock formations. After weaving, I found myself on the main ridgeline. From here I just needed to hike West/Southwest to the summit. There were some rocky cliffs up ahead and I found a path going to the right side to get around those cliffs. Then, there were a lot of interesting rock slabs from here to the summit. I only found 1 cairn along the way and it was helpful but there's more than 1 way to go. Once on the ridgeline, there isn't any more class 3 hiking involved.
At the summit, I found about an 8 foot tall rock pile that had sort of a mushroom shape. I found a shaded registry under a few rocks and the registry was in excellent condition mainly because of where it was placed. I climbed up on the top rock and got some photos from up above. It was very windy up here so I needed to be careful heading down. I ate a late lunch at the top and signed the registry. This really was an excellent hike because it had a lot of variety, some route finding skills were needed, and had amazing views all around. I got my photos and a video and headed down.
On the way down, I tried a slightly different route and it worked fine. I ended up dropping down into the secondary canyon late, avoiding some of the brush. Within a few more minutes I was in the main canyon and started heading East back the way I came. I decided that I would stay in the canyon longer and take it to where it paralleled the trail, then I would exit the canyon there. I was very impressed with this canyon. First of all, there weren't too many obstacles. A few fallen trees, but they were easy to go around. There was a lot of sand in the canyon which made it relatively easy to walk. I found some flowing water and some smooth rock formations where the water eroded through. I decided to stay in the canyon, climbing up & around these smooth rock formations. I stayed in the canyon for as long as I could, continuing to climb up a few areas where class 3 moves were needed. When I got past the smooth rock areas, the canyon leveled out a bit. Eventually I looked to my right and saw the trail again, so I decided to exit the canyon here. I could have kept going in the canyon but it was starting to get messier up ahead with more brush.
Once back on the trail, I continued following it all the way back to the Lower Green Mtn trailhead. This is a hike I would do again someday, especially to showcase some of the amazing scenery that Arizona has. I would imagine that this area would be more beautiful after the monsoon rains, but care needs to be taken in and around the canyons during the wet season.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 7.5 miles
AEG: 1,713 feet
Strava Moving Time: 3 hrs 45 mins
Strava Elapsed Time: 5 hrs 55 mins
Directions:
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(Mt Lemmon highway to Lower Green Mountain trailhead)
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Drive to Tanque Verde Rd, continue East.
Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto E Catalina Hwy, continue for 4.5 mi.
Continue onto E Mt Lemmon Hwy for 11.6 mi.
Destination will be on the right.
Look for signs for the Lower Green Mountain Trailhead
As of March 2025, there's no fee to park at this trailhead. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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