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| Hiking | 3.61 Miles |
1,039 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.61 Miles | 3 Hrs 29 Mns | | 2.19 mph |
| 1,039 ft AEG | 1 Hour 50 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Brian, Chris and I drove from Tucson and arrived around 10.45 am. The 4x4 road started getting quite rough so we decided to park along the side and just walk after driving about 1.5 miles of the 4x4 road. We hiked less than 1 mile and saw the cattle tank to our left which is another possible place to park for HC 4x4 vehicles if you decide to continue driving the road and have a capable vehicle.
The road continues to climb up and wrap around the left side of Scott mountain and around to the back side of the mountain. We hiked a total of 1.5 miles on the road. Right before a bend in the road we saw a pretty clear line to the summit heading Northeast. We decided this would be a good place to exit the road. From where we got off the road, it was only another 0.25 miles and a little over 300 vertical feet to the summit. There was some catclaw and some shin dagger along the way, but it was pretty easy to walk around as the brush was not thick. At the summit, we found a rectangular tin box containing a registry. I took photos of 32 pages of registry entries including ours. The group who signed before us was a SAHC group from April 2025.
From the top, we could see into the Ray mine. At first it seemed like the mine was closed but then we saw and heard some of the vehicles in the mine. Looking to the East and Northeast, we could see some of the mountains in the Pinals, such as Pioneer Mtn, Stone Cabin Mtn, Pasadera Mtn, Pinal & Signal peaks, etc. Looking to the East we could see El Capitan.
On the way down, Chris followed the ridgeline down instead of the road. Brian and I were content in taking the road back which was an easier hike but slightly longer in distance. On the way down we stopped to take photos of various flowers including Dichelostemma capitatum, red-maids, globe mallow, Napa fawn lily, etc. I believe the flowers are coming quite early as compared to past year's because of the winter rains that were heavier than in past years.
Plants/flowers seen (in Feb!): Barrel cactus, London rocket, Toumey's century plant, shin dagger, slender goldenweed, red-maids (purple), apricot globe-mallow, Napa fawn lily, desert agave, spreading fleabane, agarito, Dichelostemma capitatum
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 3.61 miles
AEG: 1,039 feet
Strava moving time: 1 hrs 41 mins
Strava elapsed time: 3 hrs 29 mins
Driving Directions
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(4x4 required to get to where I parked. High clearance will get you CLOSE enough to do the hike)
From Tucson, take AZ-77 North
From the intersection of Oracle road and Magee road in Tucson...
Continue to follow AZ-77 N for 1 hr 18 min (73.6 mi)
Turn left onto Dripping Springs Rd, continue for 9.3 mi
Turn left onto unmarked road. Up ahead the road gets quite rocky and there are some steep sections.
If you have a high clearance vehicle you might be able to make it about 0.5 miles.
If you have a decent 4x4 vehicle, like mine, you should be able to drive for 1.5 miles which is what I did with my 2005 Chevy Colorado (1st generation model).
If you have larger tires or a 'kick pumpkin' 4x4 vehicle you might be able to drive a total of 2.4 miles to where Jesse started, by the cattle tank! |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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