| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 3.38 Miles |
1,036 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.38 Miles | 3 Hrs 5 Mns | | 1.45 mph |
| 1,036 ft AEG | 45 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This is Peak 5630, the 1K prominence peak East of Superior and North of US-60.
We arrived around 3.20 pm. It was a cold day, and this was a higher elevation hike than what would have been ideal for the weather we had. But, we were in the area and felt like we had just enough time to finish this hike before dark. The only unknown variable was the terrain. We didn't really know if there were use trails or not.
We continued past the OHV parking area for about 0.5 miles. After passing the power substation we continued driving for roughly 1,000 feet and found a good place to park. The road is a bit rough but it seemed possible to drive further without a problem. But, since it was a short hike we decided to park where we found a good open place off the road.
We started walking West on FSR 342. After walking about 1/2 mile, we saw a good ridgeline to follow that would take us to where we wanted to go. We could have also followed the road further West, but we would have had to drop a few hundred feet and it would have made the hike longer. Since we had limited time, we decided to take the closer ridgeline. The slope was not steep and there seemed to be cattle trails in the entire area. There were rocks but plenty of ways to step around the rocks, making the footing very good overall. We kept following cattle trails in the direction we needed to go. After hiking about 0.8 miles, we saw a few cows ahead that ran away from us and went over a saddle and disappeared. They did a great job of grazing this entire area. Even though there were no official trails, it felt like the cow trails we were on were almost as good as regular hiking trails.
We basically stayed on the main ridgeline after the first 0.8 miles and there were no major obstacles. In areas where the brush was a bit thick, we were able to easily hike around. Roughly 1/3 of a mile before the summit, we found some huge panels that looked like billboards. We could not figure out what they were used for but maybe they were used for some kind of airplane training?
We walked under these huge billboard structures and continued to the summit. From our starting point, we got to the summit in 1 hr 8 min. We were proud of this time but apparently we were not setting any records ;-). At the summit, there was some wind that made it feel colder. We signed the registry, took our photos, a short video and quickly left because it was getting a bit colder. We took roughly the same route going down. We need to give credit to the cows who grazed a lot of this area! It was easy to see where we needed to go and this made route finding fairly easy. On the way down, we didn't see the cows that we saw on the way up. We got back to where I parked well before dark. All in all it was a great hike and it was harder to decide which hike was more enjoyable - either this one or Granite peak in Ray, AZ about 15 miles down the road.
Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 3.38 miles
AEG: 1,036
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Strava elapsed time: 3 hrs 5 mins
Driving Directions:
--------------------
From the Tucson area, take AZ-77 N / Historic U.S. 80 / N Oracle Rd
Continue past the town of Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, Dudleyville, etc.
When you get to Winkelman, AZ, you will need to make a left on AZ-177 N.
Continue for 31.6 mi toward Superior, AZ.
Just as you enter Superior, AZ you will see an exit where you will...
Turn right to merge onto US-60 E.
continue for 4.2 mi.
Turn left onto N Cerro Rd which may not be marked or signed but it has it's own left turn lane from US-60 E.
Continue on paved road for just under 2 miles and you will see a parking area on the right side of the road.
You can park here or continue up the road a short distance to a power facility.
If you have a high clearance vehicle you can continue for roughly another 0.5 miles and park where I parked and start the hike from this point or drive even further. After leaving the power facility area, you will be on Forest service road 342. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
 |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
