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| Hiking | 14.93 Miles |
4,212 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.93 Miles | 8 Hrs 34 Mns | | 2.07 mph |
| 4,212 ft AEG | 1 Hour 22 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I had never even looked at this one, apparently part of my unintentional superstitious blind spot. It had been on John's list and upon discussing the phenomenal late-April weather, we decided to make this one the goal on what is nearly certain to be the last tolerable Stits hike of the season.
We opted to do the reverse of what we continually referred to as the @jacobemerick route. We deviated from his route a bit, probably because the view looking up presented some different looking options than he had on the descent. Regardless, this was a really enjoyable route to the summit with minimal obstacles, only a couple of moderately steep climbs, and easily avoided catclaw.
It was about 2.5 miles and 1500 feet from our crossing of Tortilla Creek until reaching the northern reaches of the Tortilla Mountain ridgeline. From there it was another mile and 500 feet more to reach the distinct summit, with a couple of added highlights along the way.
After not stopping for so much as a sip of water on the 3 hour ascent, we spent a solid break enjoying the views at the top, which extended from the Galiuros to the Catalinas, White Tanks, Bradshaws, Pine Mountain, the Mazzies from Lion to Sheep, Ord and Browns, and the Ancha — the latter four caked in spring snow. Poofy clouds lingered from yesterday's storm and enhanced the views and photos.
After adding our names to the summit register, we opted to descend via the official route as posted on HAZ, which is a pretty miserable option. It would certainly be a better climb than descent, but the Emerick route was so much more pleasant, I'm not sure I would ever do this route again! The only benefit was that you do eventually reach the maintained Peter's Trail, so it's only 1.5 miles of off-trail. But the 1500 feet of elevation is highly concentrated on the upper half of the mileage and is replete with loose scree, prickly flora, and no particularly intuitive or pleasant-looking route. Doable? Sure. Enjoyable? Not so much.
Once on Peter's we made quick time out to the trailhead where we opted for the scenic return along the cliffs above Fish Creek Canyon. (I refuse to accept that a mountain or mesa can be named "fish" lol). This stretch is a favorite alternative to walking the 213 and with the perfect weather, did not disappoint.
Temps hovered in the low 60s most of the day, topping out at 67 as we finished up and the afternoon sun made a more steady appearance. Often enough the clouds and cool breeze resulted in being borderline chilly. Not a bad thing for this time of year!
This turned out to be a really enjoyable loop. Lots of variety, perfect weather, and top notch views. The official route? Yeah, find a different way! Lol. |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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