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| Hiking | 3.00 Miles |
739 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.00 Miles | 1 Hour 57 Mns | | 1.54 mph |
| 739 ft AEG | | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Day Two - Hike #1:
Since we stayed overnight in Young, rather than drive back South into the Sierra Ancha, the plan was to hit up Hellsgate Trail #37 from the South, which would be totally new to us.
So that was the PLAN... but the closer we got to the TH the worse the 'road' was, deteriorating to the point we'd probably end up wasting 3-4 hours on the round-trip drive. Between the shake-rattle-and-roll bringing complaints from my lower back and ominous dark clouds approaching, just over 2 miles from the TH we decided to turn back and find something less demanding.
Whether I have an actual route planned or simply in-the-back-of-my-mind, I always have some semblance of a backup plan, and here I actually had a route on my GPS. As short as it was, it was intended as an 'if-we-have-time' and still feel like a bit more after a longer hike.
With Hellsgate now crossed off the list (A None-and-Done) the closest hike just happens to be Lucky Benchmark... just like serendipity, it was lucky I had this track already loaded, huh?
Anyway, just a few miles South of Young on AZ 288 at the turn-off for FR 238 leading down to Sevenmile Canyon. (Named because the South end of the canyon is 7 miles South of the center of Young? Just a guess)
To reach Lucky instead of following FR 238, we take an immediate right turn and start climbing along a rough and rocky less-traveled road, which although unlabeled at the start, will be labeled with a sign at the first saddle, where it drops down into Bryant Canyon. But to reach the benchmark we hang a left and continue on up 'PV3022'. (No signage, I just found it on a 15-year-old FS Travel Management map)
After a 500' ascent in just under a mile it felt good to hit somewhat level ground, and shortly after we were off the road in search of the actual benchmark. With no NGS datasheet information, we were in-the-dark as to Reference Marks and such, and with no definitive coordinates (I had just clicked the triangle on Route Editor) it seemed like we may wander all over for nothing.
But again serendipity came to the rescue in the form of awesome views to the Southwest, and while we walked in that direction, there it was, a nice shiny brass benchmark. After a quick photo of the benchmark it was time to take in the views. Although there was plenty of overcast skies, fog, haze and rain squalls, it did nothing to take away from what (spoiler alert) will be the best views of any of our (eventual) 5 hikes. Well worth the short but steep hike.
We did continue to the end of the road, such as it was, taking in a few more views before heading back. On the return trip we got to experience a miniature squall of graupel, but nothing of enough substance to worry about.
Still before noon, does this mean we'll head back to the Air BnB for a relaxing afternoon of reading, or is there anything else worthy of our notice close by? Yep, less than a mile away.
Avg/Max HR = 89/138 |
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