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| | | Mazatzal Mt Catherine - Mt Peeley, AZ | | | |
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Mazatzal Mt Catherine - Mt Peeley, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.05 Miles |
3,090 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.05 Miles | 9 Hrs 19 Mns | | 2.10 mph |
| 3,090 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 9 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Our destination today was Mt. Catherine, and there were already four other vehicles in the parking lot at Mt. Peeley TH when we got there before 8AM...I figured it might be a popular destination on Memorial Day weekend. It was in the upper 50s when we started out, and the early miles on Mazatzal Divide Trail were very comfortable, especially as we got into the shade of the pine trees past the Peeley turnoff two miles in. We passed one backpacker who was heading back toward the trailhead, but that was it in the morning.
The official route up to Catherine takes a steep approach up the SE side the mountain, but we took the longer, scenic route and followed Mazatzal Divide around the north side before we left the trail. It was around a half mile from there up to the peak, and it was a mix of open forest with some brushy stretches, but there weren't any thorns to complicate things. We had a short scramble up one steep stretch on the route we took, and we were getting pelted with grasshoppers on the way to the peak, which was almost exactly at the seven mile mark.
The summit had great 360° views...Humphreys and the cliffs of Sedona were just barely visible through the haze, and Matzatzal Peak and the trio of unnamed peaks (7532/7549/7579) dominated the northern horizon. We could see the trailhead from the summit, along with three bodies of water (Bartlett, Horseshoe, Roosevelt), the Superstitions, and many other landmarks to the south and west. [ youtube video ]
Like so many of these Mazatzal peaks, there was an impressive number of ladybugs up there. We went to sit in the shade of an alligator juniper and found the trunk covered in thousands of ladybugs...in places, the bark wasn't even visible under the sea of red, and we were constantly brushing them off us the whole time we were up there. We ate a snack, and I left a summit register before we headed down. We took a slightly different route that went around the rocky section...it was brushier, but still very manageable without thorns.
Back on the trail, we passed two guys hiking, and they asked if we had a specific destination. I told them we went up to Mt. Catherine, and they asked which one that was, and I pointed to the mountain right next to us. They asked if there was a trail, and we told them no. One of them said they wanted to go up to a peak today, and it sounded like they were going to try it...no idea if they made it, but they didn't seem too prepared.
We'd planned to stop at Iron Dike ruins on the way back toward 87 at the end of the day, but it was looking like we'd be short on time to make that stop without being rushed, so we saved that for another day. On the hike out, TboneKathy waited while took a detour up to the Peeley summit. I was there three weeks ago on the way to Sheep Mountain, but it was only a half mile off the trail. There had only been ~10 entries in the summit register since I was last there, which was less than I expected. I took a brief break up there to get some pictures, then headed back to the trail. [ youtube video ]
There were still two other vehicles in the lot when we finished, but we'd only seen three people all day. On the drive back toward Highway 87, we saw a coatimundi run across the road ahead of us, but it disappeared into the brush before we could get a picture...nice way to end the day. This was an enjoyable hike with great weather, and hopefully I can get out to some of the other Mazatzal peaks soon. |
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