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| Kane Spring Mtn Pinalenos, AZ | |
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| | Kane Spring Mtn Pinalenos, AZ | | | |
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Kane Spring Mtn Pinalenos, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.61 Miles |
2,648 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.61 Miles | 9 Hrs 23 Mns | | 1.54 mph |
| 2,648 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I was on day 3 of 4, hiking and camping in the area. Brian decided to drive out from Tucson to meet me for this one. Unfortunately he was not able to camp this time.
We met at the trailhead around 9.30 am and started this hike. We noticed that the route followed a powerline for a good distance (about 3.3 miles). The road was in excellent condition most of the way and could have been driven if there was access, but the first 1/2 mile of this hike crosses private property and only foot traffic is allowed on this road. If we only worked for the power company, we could have driven closer and made this hike only a little bit easier.
We walked the first 3.3 miles of road without taking any breaks and then decided to take a 20 minute break near a tree and just before an open gate. It was very windy at this point and we knew it was going to be a long day ahead of us.
After the break, we crossed the gate continued down the road for a few minutes, then we curved to the right and started heading up. We noticed that a few other hikers went straight up to the saddle. We decided to curve to the right a bit, which lessened the steepness of the climb. Once we got to the saddle, it was still quite windy. We took a break and looked at 2 possible routes. One route was to stay on the rocky ridgeline and the 2nd route was to stay left of the ridgeline. Because of the extreme wind we decided to stay left of the ridgeline and continue. There was a steep class 2 trail that we followed for about 1/3 mile until it took us to the top of the ridgeline. From here there was a good use trail, probably made by previous hikers. It was fairly easy to follow but there were a few spots that required some route finding. By this time it was already after 1 pm so we decided to take a lunch.
After lunch we continued along the trail. Looking ahead at peak 6832, we thought it was the true summit but were disappointed to see it was a false summit and we still had a half mile to go. The good news was we did most of the elevation and the ridgeline at this point was not rocky and easy to walk. We made it to the summit around 2:25 pm, later than we expected. The wind was not quite as strong at the summit, but there were still intermittent gusts. At the summit, we found a registry with 12 or 13 pages with the oldest entries being from 1994.
Brian decided to go to peak 6902 which was 1/3 mile away and apparently 7 feet shorter than the high point. I decided to just rest at the summit. When Brian got back, we took another quick break and then started to head back down. This time we stayed near the top of the ridgeline most of the way, and instead of taking the Class 2+ route down the right side of the ridgeline, we stayed on top and went left, doing some solid Class 3. After a while we got around the rocky sections and found ourselves doing some steep class 2. We finally met up with our previous track and basically did a similar route to get back down to the road. Once at the road we had about 3.3 miles to get back to our starting point. We saw some cattle on the road that mostly ran away, except for one huge bull who didn't seem afraid of us, or maybe was wise enough to know we were not of any harm. We walked within 8 feet of this massive 2,000 pound bull and it didn't move and inch while we walked by. We kept walking forward and didn't make any sudden movements. It's not often these open range bulls are so comfortable around people, especially people they are not so familiar with.
We kept moving along the road, making a good pace and finished the hike right around 7 pm, just before it got dark.
Flora seen: antelope horns, narrowleaf four o'clock, banana yucca, desert dandelion, desert honeysuckle, threadleaf ragwort, New Mexico plumeseed, Campo-pea, scarlet bouvardia, verbena, oak, manzanita, bear grass, agave
Timeline:
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9:40 am, 0 mi - starting point
11:00 am, 3.3 mi - 1st break near a tree (20 mins), very windy here
12:00 pm, 3.95 mi - reached high ridgeline, very windy at this point, took another 20 min break
12:50 pm, 4.27 mi - took class 2 route around and up to ridgeline again
1:43 pm, 4.66 mi - summited peak 6832
1:57 pm, 4.97 mi - at false summit
2:25 pm, 5.15 mi - at Kane Spring summit, time for rest!!
3:20 pm, 5.33 mi - leaving Kane Spring summit
3:35 pm, 5.78 mi - back at false summit
4:04 pm, 6.24 mi - decided to try class 3 route down
4:45 pm, 6.62 mi - merged back into previous up route, take 15 min break
5:26 pm, 7.26 mi - back on the road again, take 15 min break
7:02 pm, 10.61 mi - finish
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 10.61 miles
AEG: 2,648 feet
Strava moving time: 5 hrs 15 mins
Strava elapsed time: 9 hrs 23 mins (includes breaks, lunch, etc.)
Driving Directions:
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From Tucson/Phoenix, take I-10 East toward Willcox, AZ.
About 11 miles East of Willcox...
Take exit 352 for US-191 (North) toward Safford, continue for 17.0 mi
Turn left onto AZ-266 W (Stockton pass), continue for 4.6 mi
Turn left onto FSR 661 (may be unmarked), continue for 2.2 mi
Turn left and continue for 0.4 miles.
Park off the road near a small cul-de-sac.
There is a gate here and foot access is allowed through to the West. For the first 1/2 mile of this hike you will be crossing through private property. Then, you will follow a powerline road... |
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Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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