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| Hiking | 13.20 Miles |
4,450 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.20 Miles | 10 Hrs 10 Mns | | 1.30 mph |
| 4,450 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Close but no cigar...
Bob and I parked at Cottonwood Camp (the furthest you can go without 4WD) and started hiking at 5:50am. We were in the strong moonlit dark for the first hour. No biggie as you are following the 4x4 road for 2.25mi.
With a direct approach preload route in the GPS we turned off and the adventure began. Within the first five minutes I wasn't paying attention and we were off route. Back on track we were headed to cross five ravines. They're really canyons but I didn't want to scare Bob off so ravines sounded more gentle 
The journey over was pretty much the same canyon after canyon. It's slow going due to thick cacti, mainly of concern is the cholla  The first few hours I was taking all the cholla hits and yelping like a baby over and over. Luckily after three severe stabbings I went stab free. Bob took up where I left off with more stabbings than I can count. Although I understood the pain, some were rather comical just one after the other every where he turned at one point. 
Back to the game plan, five ravines to paradise...
1) The first down is so steep it's more like skiing. Easier to just slide it down.
2) This little rollercoaster has a fading ridge in the middle to keep the joy level boiling.
3) Cane Spring Canyon, wide and appears to get heavy runoff. It's steep out.
4) Blue Tank Canyon We had to go further than anticipated due to sheer cliffs. It's a beauty!
5) Hells Hip Pocket Jaw dropping beauty, I could spend a half day exploring here alone.
Due to the slow going (lack of calculated daylight) we turned around near the bottom of HHP. I spotted a route up, albeit steep I'm confident it's doable. Although we didn't make it to the cave HPP is stunningly beautiful IMO. Hope to return someday, though I admit this rollercoaster route is taxingly difficult. The cold brisk wind was rough the first five hours too. If I go again it will be with firehose pants and thick boots. Gloves are must IMO, tweezers would be wise. Got a great view of the elusive Sheep Mountain, it looks doable too. The question remains, would a sane person willingly do this again...
For those interested - The total mileage to go all the way would be 15.5 miles and about 5,700 ft gain. I figure another three hours too.
This video does absolutely no justice with it's annoying wind and bright white skys 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4n6N135ki0 |
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Route Editor
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