| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 7.99 Miles |
2,092 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.99 Miles | 7 Hrs 24 Mns | | 1.48 mph |
| 2,092 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This was a hike to Middle Peak and USLM 2871 which are both very near the Oracle ridge trail.
Brian C. and I met a little after 9 am. He drove up the backside of Mt Lemmon and camped overnight just below the trailhead. I woke up early in the morning and rode the motorcycle up, parking at the Oracle Ridge trailhead.
Temps were a bit cool in the morning but it would get warmer throughout the day and as we descended a bit in elevation.
We had an energy drink and started heading South on the Oracle ridge trail. The Summerhaven Benchmark, also known as Mt Hitchcock was to our East starting out. Within about 20 minutes we were at the saddle North of the Summerhaven Benchmark. There was a barbed wire fence at the ridgeline heading up the mountain. We noticed some kind of weather station across the fence. We stepped over the fence to take a look. The electronics appeared to be damaged and the plastic housing was melted as if it was struck by lightning. We figured it was some kind of camera or weather device. We saw a few network ports so we assumed it transmitted data wirelessly to whoever was monitoring this area. Hopefully it wasn't the CCP !!
We continued down the Oracle ridge trail. It was rocky at times but still a pleasant walk. Up ahead we could see Marble peak and evidence of mining in that area. There were several mining roads down the slopes North of Marble peak. We continued to Dan saddle. There were a few areas where the trail shared the road.
There's very little shade on this hike, so keep that in mind and it's probably best to avoid hiking here in the summer heat. Even in early October, it was warmer than I expected in the afternoon.
We reached Dan Saddle after hiking a total of about 2.75 miles. From there, the trail went up and we continued for another 0.7 miles until reaching a point that was West of the saddle between Middle peak and USLM 2871. We actually overshot the saddle but that was fine. We just climbed up to the ridgeline from where we were. It was steep at times but it only took us about 5 minutes to get up on the ridgeline. We saw some huge juniper trees in this area, great places for shade. Once on the top of the ridgeline, we followed use trails North to the summit. These trails were probably made by both hikers and deer. Deer are good peak baggers but they probably don't even know it ;-).
At the top, we found a rock pile with a registry in it. Registry entries went back as far as the year 2000. We signed the registry writing 'rest in peace Charlie Kirk'. He was a great man, only 31 years old, who was shot simply because he voiced his freedom of speech, all the while being respectful of everyone who disagreed with him. This doesn't feel like the America that I grew up in. I could go on and on...
We rested a bit, had our lunch and took a few summit photos. Then, we headed South toward the saddle. This time we would hike through the very bottom of the saddle and head toward USLM 2871. USLM 2871 looked very steep on the North face, but we were able to stay to the right and curve into it. There were some use trails heading that way. At a certain point we had to do some class 3 climbing to get up to the summit but it didn't take very long. At the summit we saw 2 large rock piles. The smaller rock pile had a wooden post in it and somewhere near this we saw a metal marker in the ground that was not a US survey marker but something else. Read Michael A's trip report for some of the history of this area.
On the way down we took a slightly different route off of USLM 2871 heading North down the ridgeline and only zig-zagging when necessary. Once at the lowest part of the saddle, we turned left and went down the steep slope to the trail, getting to the trail in about 5 minutes. Once on the trail the rest of the hike down to Dan Saddle and back up to the Oracle ridge trailhead was fairly easy. We talked about stopping at Catalina camp, but with the heat and time, we decided to skip it, and save that for another time. I had been there several times in the past while Brian has not seen it before.
We continued back up the Oracle ridge trail, stopping only in the FEW shady areas that existed. On the hike up we heard and saw a dual prop helicopter which we identified as a CH-47 F Chinook. Brian used an app to determine that it came from the Ft. Huachuca air force base. The app showed the flight path and it appeared to be doing a lot of large circles around the Oracle ridge area.
All in all it was a great hike and we enjoyed it. These kinds of hikes will get better as the temps get cooler in the coming months! Thanks to Brian C. for joining me on this one!
Stats:
-------
Distance round-trip: 7.99 miles
AEG: 2,092 feet
Strava moving time: 4 hrs 18 mins
Strava elapsed time: 7 hrs 24 mins
Driving Directions:
--------------------
Set Google maps to this destination: Mt Lemmon Fire District, 13170 N Control Rd, Mt Lemmon, AZ 85619
...after making the right turn on N Control Rd from that main road, you will notice that it is paved for the first 500 feet. Drive about 1/5 mile to the Oracle Ridge trailhead. The road is a bit rocky after the paved area but most vehicles should be able to make it. There is room for parking for about 5 cars or more. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
 |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
