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Vulcans Throne - 7 members in 8 triplogs have rated this an average 3.4 ( 1 to 5 best )
8 triplogs
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Apr 15 2024
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 Guides 59
 Routes 1,100
 Photos 1,191
 Triplogs 1,290

male
 Joined Jan 01 2023
 Arizona
Toroweap, AZ 
Toroweap, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Apr 15 2024
pseudalpineTriplogs 1,290
Hiking12.53 Miles 4,273 AEG
Hiking12.53 Miles   7 Hrs   56 Mns   2.00 mph
4,273 ft AEG   1 Hour   40 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
I was in the Toroweap area for about twenty-four hours total and completed three separate hikes. The first two involved yet another hike down and back to/from the Colorado River, an intervening sandwich and beer, and then an ascent of an inactive volcano, which together I’m blithely dubbing Hole to Hump(s). Yes, I know how difficult the actual H2H is to complete. And yes, I realize these two challenges really don’t compare, besides the river and exticnt volcano aspects. I’m almost certain I’ll never compete the real deal. So, please spare us any unnecessary snarky comments about only a playful comparison. The third hike was a Saddle Horse loop with a few side trips added on. It was an enjoyable stay after not visiting for a few decades.
  24 archives
May 21 2021
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 Guides 99
 Routes 1,485
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 Triplogs 1,375

male
 Joined Jan 07 2017
 Fountain Hills,
Trumbull - Logan - Vulcan - Toroweap, AZ 
Trumbull - Logan - Vulcan - Toroweap, AZ
 
Hiking avatar May 21 2021
DixieFlyerTriplogs 1,375
Hiking8.10 Miles 2,639 AEG
Hiking8.10 Miles
2,639 ft AEG
 
1st trip
Partners none no partners
After making the ascent of the Kaibab Plateau highpoint the day before, we drove to the Trumbull TH and car camped for the night. There was a very clean vault toilet there and a water spigot, so it was a good place to camp

Mount Trumbull
We got up early, had a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee, and hiked up to Trumbull. This was a class 1 walkup on a nice trail. We gained about 1,000 feet of elevation in the first 1.4 miles or so; thereafter, the grade was much more gradual. The hike was in a forest, which was nice, and there were some decent views off to the south. The trail got a bit more faint about 75% of the way to the summit, but there were lots of cairns which made route-finding a non-issue. With all the trees, views were limited at the summit. We walked a short distance to an overlook on the north side of the mountain which had some decent views. At the summit there was a benchmark, two reference marks, a height of light pole stuck in a summit cairn, and a register log.

We went back the way that we came, broke up our campsite, and headed out on the 7 mile drive to the Mount Logan TH.

Mount Logan
This was a short hike on a nice trail that was easy to follow. The hike was in a forest, but things opened up at the summit where there were some surprisingly good views. This was an easy, enjoyable hike!

Vulcan's Throne
After hiking Mount Logan, we drove toward Toroweap. The BLM roads were really good to drive on, but the roads were quite a bit worse once getting into the Granc Canyon NP. We took a road toward the Lava River Trail, and it was getting really sandy and we were lucky not to get stuck in my buddy's AWD CRV. Thankfully he had some new all terrain tires. I would not recommend driving the road without 4WD. We found a pullout to park and made the off-trail ascent of this peak, which was my 2nd Grand Canyon summit. We basically followed the route that @chumley used when he ascended this peak. As we ascended we were mostly next to a gully that went up to a ridgeline just west of the summit.

On the way up we saw the biggest jackrabbit that I have ever seen -- at first I thought that it was a deer!

The climb up was a bit steep, but the footing was not as bad as I thought that it would be. Views at the summit were great, and were worth the climb up. It was crazy windy on this day -- gusts were 40+ mph -- so we didn't stay as long as I would have liked. The descent was fairly easy -- even though there was no trail we could see the car the whole way down so route finding was no issue.

Toroweap
After getting back to the car we drove to the Toroweap overlook. The road was pretty crappy, and even though we made it in the CRV, it is really a 4WD road. We had a snack break at a picnic table and checked out some views of the Colorado River. However, winds were really crazy and we didn't really want to spend too much time on the edge of a cliff with 3,000 foot dropoffs, so we didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked. I had originally intended to hike the Saddle Horse Loop, but with the wind we decided to pass on it.

Summary
This was a fun day of hiking, although the ridiculous winds in the afternoon took some of the fun out of it.

Distance and elevation gain for the 3 hikes (I didn't count Toroweap) are below. The stats above are the sum of the 3.

Trumbull: 5.4 miles with 1,629 feet of AEG
Logan: 1.1 miles with 272 feet of AEG
Vulcan's: 1.6 miles with 738 feet of AEG
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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there
 
Dec 30 2018
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 Guides 37
 Routes 556
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43 male
 Joined Jan 21 2013
 AZ
Vulcans ThroneNorthwest, AZ
Northwest, AZ
Hiking avatar Dec 30 2018
FOTGTriplogs 1,052
Hiking2.80 Miles 666 AEG
Hiking2.80 Miles
666 ft AEG
 
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
chumley
John9L
I had always regretted not scrambling to the top of Vulcans Throne the last time I did the Lava Falls Route, as I was not sure when I would ever get out to that area again. Well I found myself in the area again this past weekend and this time after completing the Lava Falls Route, I did not pass on Vulcans and another canyon summit.

I suggested scrambling up from the Lava Falls Trailhead, but @chumley suggested starting from an area closer to the old dam. His suggestion won over and paid off greatly. From where we parked, it was a pretty quick and direct ascent to the summit. It was extremely cold and windy on the summit, but we tried to enjoy ourselves nevertheless with some summit beverages. The views were tremendous from the summit of Vulcans, but after taking them in for a few minutes and reading through the register, we decided to finish our beers on the hike down, as it was very cold on top of the exposed old volcano. The hike down was quick and uneventful. I would definitely put this summit on my to do list, if in the area. Grand Canyon summit number 18 for me.
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  1 archive
Dec 30 2018
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 Guides 94
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 Triplogs 1,993

52 male
 Joined Sep 18 2002
 Tempe, AZ
Vulcans ThroneNorthwest, AZ
Northwest, AZ
Hiking avatar Dec 30 2018
chumleyTriplogs 1,993
Hiking1.40 Miles 666 AEG
Hiking1.40 Miles      57 Mns   1.91 mph
666 ft AEG      13 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
FOTG
John9L
After Lava Falls, we decided for a quick trip up Vulcans. From what I had read it was going to be climbing a gravel slope, but it was really no problem at all. I don't think I had one step that took me backwards. It climbs more and more steeply but the flora is evenly spaced and there are signs of wildlife use to help guide the way.

The 40-degree weather caught up with us on the peak as there was a cold wind, so we didn't linger long before heading back to camp. This is definitely a worthy climb for anybody visiting this area.
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Toroweap Valley
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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
 
Dec 30 2018
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 Guides 6
 Routes 183
 Photos 5,612
 Triplogs 1,647

male
 Joined Mar 12 2004
 Scottsdale, AZ
Vulcans ThroneNorthwest, AZ
Northwest, AZ
Hiking avatar Dec 30 2018
John9LTriplogs 1,647
Hiking1.40 Miles 666 AEG
Hiking1.40 Miles
666 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners partners
chumley
FOTG
After hiking the Lava Falls Trail, we drove a couple of miles to the north and started hiking to Vulcans Throne. This is a very straightforward off trail hike with a healthy gain. We opted for a drainage that led to a saddle & this worked out really well. There were signs of use and the going is mostly easy except for the loose footing on the volcanic rock. We topped out and enjoyed the views and signed the register. It was very cold and windy so we decided to finish our summit beers on the hike down. Once back to the cars, we headed back over to the campground and settled in for the evening. This was a nice hike and is worth doing if you’re in the area.
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Sep 30 2017
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 Guides 8
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 Triplogs 662

39 female
 Joined Dec 02 2009
 Grand Canyon
Vulcans ThroneNorthwest, AZ
Northwest, AZ
Hiking avatar Sep 30 2017
HippyTriplogs 662
Hiking7.50 Miles
Hiking7.50 Miles
 no routesno photosets
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Jamie and I took two friends out for a weekend

Evening hike to Vulcan's summit
Skiing down cinders on the south slope

Ascent up north slope, all sides the same. Familiar names in register. Not too many HAZzers...hmmm...

Tarantulas and an alien disguised as a Jerusalem cricket

Todd seliga special visit

Wondering why I don't spend more weekends out here?!

It was only like a 2 1/2 hour drive!

The road was great. Last 2 miles from park "gate" to Campground had a few spots that were fun, definitely need high clearance.


Going from the first 3 campsites down the little hill past the first compost loo is a bit trickier and I wasn't feeling like trying to get my little AWD down that this time around.

Favorite campsite is # 2, it faces east, no other campsites or any people in view.
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Canyon Freak Adventures!
 
Apr 14 2015
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 Guides 8
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39 female
 Joined Dec 02 2009
 Grand Canyon
Vulcans ThroneNorthwest, AZ
Northwest, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 14 2015
HippyTriplogs 662
Hiking2.00 Miles 982 AEG
Hiking2.00 Miles
982 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Spent a few days at Toroweap with an old canyon freak from the 70's.
We were waiting to surprise Jamie Compos in the middle of his Pearce to Phantom esplanade hike...

So Tuesday morning Doug and I drove out to check out Lava Falls Route. I scrambled down a good bit but had other fish to fry so we parted ways and I shot up the south side of Vulcan's Throne.

Its steeper than it looks, follow the bighorn tracks up in a spiral and you'll be fine. If you hike straight up you're doomed. Every step up you'll slide down two!
Yeah I kept my feet in the bighorn tracks and was up in 17 minutes :p

It was SO windy I was knocked over a few times on the way up. Topped the false summit the wind gave way for a moment so I ran to true summit and shot a little video of the wind and the views.

Found the huge summit cairn. Signed the summit register (Hi JJ3!! Borrowed your stats seems like a bit much AEG but whatevs) And plotted my descent on the north end.

As I began the slide down the north side I spotted a solitary figure trudging along the road that runs from Lava Falls Route...

I ran down to meet him fast as my feet could carry me and after his initial shock we walked back to my campsite together where I presented him with beer, tons of fresh oranges, Reese's peanut butter cups and a burger dinner. :)

We caught sunset at Toroweap overlook then settled in early for our hike along Tuckup the next day and that's another triplog :p
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Canyon Freak Adventures!
  2 archives
Apr 26 2012
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58 male
 Joined Jan 30 2011
 Chandler, AZ
Vulcans ThroneNorthwest, AZ
Northwest, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 26 2012
JuanJaimeiiiTriplogs 2,400
Hiking2.00 Miles 982 AEG
Hiking2.00 Miles
982 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
After Lava Falls I decided to hike up Vulcan's Throne. The trailheads are right next to each other.

This one is deceiving. It looks like a big gentle mound that would be easy to climb up. In reality it is slippery lava rock so as you make your way up it is easy to lose traction and slide down. Once up top it gets much easier but then you have to make your way over to the actual summit which is another short climb. Up top the views were amazing. I made good time coming down but going up was a total slog.
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average hiking speed 1.95 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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