| |
| The Cape - Whetstones, AZ | |
|
| | The Cape - Whetstones, AZ | | | |
|
|
The Cape - Whetstones, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.36 Miles |
2,317 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.36 Miles | 10 Hrs | | 0.92 mph |
| 2,317 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This was a difficult hike coming from French Joe canyon with a lot of bushwhacking involved, especially on my way down on the upper section. There was also a lot of loose rock in various areas. My route on the way up was significantly better than the route on the way down, however, the final 2.3 miles on my route down was a good route that may save some time over hiking in the canyon. My first 2 miles of the canyon trail was quite good and easy to follow until we reached a dead end with cliffs all around us. From there we started our bushwhack up and around the cliffs. See my way points for more info.
French Joe canyon road is pretty rough the entire way from AZ-90 to where I parked. There are a few sections of dirt, but the majority of the road is rock. You will need to drive around a few larger rocks on the drive in. The drive to where I parked was a total of 2.5 from AZ-90. It probably took me about 30 minutes to drive each way.
Walk along the road for 0.15 miles to the West. You should see a split in the road. You can go left or right here and the roads converge again after roughly another 0.15 miles. Keep following the road and you will see a few campsites along the way. After a total of walking less than 0.5 miles you will see another campsite area. There's a hill to the right and the road continues up the hill. You would need a very capable 4x4 with good tires to get up this hill. There's some dirt here and not a lot of rock, so traction may be a problem. After another 0.15 miles the road ends and there's a nice campsite here with some shady trees. Walk through the campsite and the trail continues. After a total of 3/4 mile you will cross a canyon and trails will lead along the canyon and then down into the canyon. The canyon is pretty wide up up until you reach about 1 mile. After that, there are more trees and brush, however, there's a very good trail that continues. You might see a few cairns but I didn't see more than 3 the entire way.
After a total of 1.15 the canyon closes in and becomes a slot canyon. You will weave through the slot canyon and you'll see some pretty high walls at times. The trail continues but gets slower going as you get higher up in the canyon. After you have traveled a total of 1.65 miles, you can look for an exit point to the right (North) side of the canyon. If you see walls or cliffs, just keep moving forward. If you don't see any exit point you can follow my route and see where the trail seems to end in a canyon, after a total of 2.05 miles.
We exited the canyon, and walked East for about 300 to 400 feet to get around a rocky wall. There was one point fairly early where I saw a possible class 3 climb route going up about a 10 foot wall, but there was some exposure and the hand grips were not great. I continued East walking around the rocky wall and then I found myself on a ridgeline so I started to hike up. There seemed to be some deer/animal trails in this area but they were all over the place and there were many ways to go. We ran into what looked like an old hiking trail that weaved upward. We stopped to take a lunch in this area because it was already after 12 and we found some nice rocks to sit on. After lunch we continued up along the use trail or animal trail. There were a few times where we needed to push through some bushes and we felt like we got off the trail a few times. We aimed for the saddle West of The Cape. It was important to stay high because there were some steep cliffs lower down. There's some side hilling in this area but overall it wasn't bad. Eventually you will be just West of the saddle. We walked down to the saddle where there was a campsite with a lot of rusted cans, a fire ring and a pile of wood next to it. From this point on, the brush isn't quite as thick. We found pieces of trails and followed them East to get to the summit.
At the summit, we found a registry in a rock pile. It was only a small plastic plastic jar. I happened to have a larger glass jar, and a metal can on me. I decided to the replace the small plastic jar with a more durable glass jar with metal protective shell. We signed the registry, took many photos and then stopped to get a snack before heading down. There were some nice views of Peak 6652 to the East which I hiked a few weeks ago. Looking West, we could see Apache peak to the right and French Joe peak to the left.
On the way down, we decided to try a slightly different route by going further West and then South. There were several 'fingers' of brush leading from Northeast to Southwest. I ended up hiking 750 feet down hill looking for a good place to cross but it was a mess and getting worse the further down in elevation I went. I ended up backtracking and hiking back up 750 feet to get to a place where the brush was not as thick as what it was down below. See my route and the various way points to see where this section was. I'd highly recommend hiking East around all of these insane 'walls of brush'. From 6,000 feet to the saddle next to The Cape, my route on the way up was considerably better. That's the route I would recommend for going up and down.
On the way down, it was already getting a bit late and we decided to stay North of the main canyon, following some cattle trails. We dropped back down into the canyon after we got East of the slot canyon area. Along our route, this seemed to be the best place to re-enter the canyon. Once in the canyon, we followed the trail back the way we came. We finished just after dark and didn't need to use our headlamps.
Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 7.36 miles
AEG: 2,317 feet
Strava moving time: 4 hrs 39 mins
Strava elapsed time: 10 hrs 9 mins
Directions:
----------------
Take I-10 East of Tucson toward Benson.
When close to Benson, take exit 302 for AZ-90 E toward Ft Huachuca/Sierra Vista.
Continue on AZ-90 for 10.3 miles.
Turn right on French Joe Rd.
(Need high clearance from this point, 4x4 would be better)
Continue West for 0.8 miles.
Turn left at the unmarked junction.
Continue Southwest for another 0.5 miles.
You will see a gate marking the start of Forest Service Land.
You can either park here or continue through the gate and drive another 1.65 miles and park at a camp site.
The road is quite rough and even though I had my HC 4x4, I decided to park at a campsite, maybe 1/3 mile from the end of the road. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
 |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
