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| | | Top Hat and the Arches, AZ | | | |
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Top Hat and the Arches, AZ
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| Hiking | 13.24 Miles |
2,249 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.24 Miles | 6 Hrs 54 Mns | | 2.28 mph |
| 2,249 ft AEG | 1 Hour 5 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | in looking for more to explore in the goldfields, found three places of interest that could be linked together in one hike: the mask arches, twin arches and the summit of top hat
john agreed to come along on this half road walk, half off-trail hike
set out from dome mountain trailhead
first went up to the mask, following angela's recent gps route
there was a cairned path up the the arches, and the off trail had good footing and not much vegetation
followed bulldog canyon to forest road 1356, passing the rock house along the way
found the route up to trumpet and echo arches using azlot69's track
it would have been very difficult to get up there without it
as it was, we went up the hard way first, getting close to trumpet arch at a point where we lost sight of echo arch
lots of cactus and scree on a steep slope; slow going
went further west to find a way down, passing three feet from a bee hive, according to john
as we dropped, we could see echo arch, so found another route up to get up close on both sides of this one
headed for top hat, almost all off trail then eventually dropping to the road
went around top hat, then up a drainage to what i think is palo verdo arch, gaining a ridgeline and going up to the summit
this was a pretty straightforward ascent on decent terrain, and the summit was cool, too
great views of the superstitions and four peaks
windy, so we didn't stay long, taking a break back at the arch
went north toward some lichen covered rocks and then down to the road
came out near a fence, corral and cottonwood spring
john found a seep, but i'm not sure that was it
long road walk back to the truck, but plenty of good views throughout
saw one more arch on the way back, near top hat
i have tenny's book, and it's easier to make sense of his presentation after you've seen some of the landmarks
the hike took longer than i thought it would, but we found some cool stuff
stopped for burgers at the handlebar on the way home - good food 
weather was good all day, just starting to cloud up on the road walk back
thanks for doing this one with me, john
a nice day of exploration in the goldfields |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
, Cousin Connie's daughter) are flying out tomorrow: Clay to Montana to take care of all those calls he got as a heating contractor and Jenaya to Kona where she lives and co-owns the My Hawaii Hostel (if you're ever in the area). So now that I have the formalities out of the way, on to the hike. Oh, Duke the little black rescue dog was with us too.
. We made our way back down to the wash and checked out the puddles before getting on and off the trail alongside the wash. We encountered another couple who asked us about our route and other than them, we would see no other hikers today.
. So we retraced our steps and went back down to the main road and got going the way RS said we were supposed to be in the first place.
with some sun. As we got nearer the trailhead, we ran across an old tent and tarp in this area that I'm sure was used by somebody but it's been awhile.
. It’s a steep and rocky climb but short and the reward is certainly worth it. We paid our respects and then enjoyed mulling around this area taking pictures of one another.
game. It’s fun to wander as you continue to veer left (east) to make your way around. You can continue straight and down the hill but we were parked at Bulldog Canyon TH so we headed west thru a little valley and then up and around and down the steep side going north. They have done some re-routing here as now instead of going straight down a very slippery part of the trail you zig/zag a tad down some bedrock.
before parting ways. It was a wonderful day for a hike with a decent temperature and a nice breeze for most of it. Can’t really ask for better other than a little less of the wind when we were atop things.
invited us out to the Goldfields to see a natural arch formation known as "The Mask". One of the two arches comprising the mask has collapsed, so what we actually visited is now referred to as the "Cyclops". Loop shown in photoset.
