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| Hiking | 11.27 Miles |
2,193 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.27 Miles | | | |
| 2,193 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a hike to the summit of an unnamed peak that contains the Peloncillo Benchmark (elevation of 6,527 feet and prominence of 1,127 feet), which is deep in @RedRoxx44 country in the Peloncillo Mountains. The Peloncillo Benchmark is in extreme SE Arizona; in fact, most of the hike was in New Mexico and I did not cross into AZ until I was about 1/4 mile from the summit.
I parked on FR4310, just off of Geronimo Trail near Geronimo Tank.
I began the hike on the southern terminus of Pine Canyon Trail #383, which goes 5-6 miles to its northern terminus in Skeleton Canyon. Some may recall that Skeleton Canyon is where Geronimo surrendered to the US Army back in 1886. Over the years over 100 bodies have been found in Skeleton Canyon; hence the name.
I hiked about half way to Skeleton Canyon before heading west once I got to Salt Canyon. Pine Canyon Trail was fairly easy to follow for about a mile, but the trail disappeared once I started heading down into Whitmire Canyon. It was a little tedious hiking in the bottom of the canyons. There had been a fire there at some point, as there were lots of burned trees standing.
Once I got to Salt Canyon I figured that I had done all the canyoneering that I cared to do, so I made my way to a ridgeline that I mostly followed to my destination. The going was open for a bit, and I passed by a sign marking the junction of the Salt Canyon Trail and the Dutchman Canyon Trail. There was no visible trail here, so I am afraid that these 2 trails are in the dustbin of history.
Not long past the trail sign I got into some fairly heavy brush, which I had to deal with for about 5 miles of the hike. I have done worse bushwhacking, but 5 miles of this was a bit much.
I eventually made my way to the summit, and enjoyed the views there. The Peloncillo Benchmark was nowhere to be found, but I did see one Peloncillo reference mark.
There were some signs of illegal border crossers on the hike -- most of it looked old but some was recent I believe.
This was an interesting hike in an area that I had not been to before, but I would have liked it better if it had been less brushy. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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