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| | | Peak 5501 and Govt Hill BM, AZ | | | |
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Peak 5501 and Govt Hill BM, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.55 Miles |
2,873 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.55 Miles | 7 Hrs 40 Mns | | 1.68 mph |
| 2,873 ft AEG | 3 Hrs 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Bear with me
Seven years ago I did a hike and started my triplog by saying:
"This hike is all Hansenaz’s fault. (I’ve never met the gentleman, but I still blame him)" 
Then after a hike in Jan 2020:
"This hike is all Outdoor_Lover's fault. (I’ve never met the young lady, but I still blame her)"
Well, for this hike I say:
"This hike is all wallyfrack’s fault. (I’ve never met the gentleman, but I still blame him)"
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In Jan 2017 I did a hike I named - Government Hill and "GOVT HILL” BM.
I hiked to Government Hill in the SE Superstitions and easily located a USGS "No-Name" benchmark. It's a nice little disk, but it has no name on it.
I know many HAZ members have been to Government Hill, and have viewed this no-name disk.
I emailed the USGS with the LAT/LONG of the no-name disk, and their answer, "We have no record of that disk". HMMM ….
On TOPO maps, about 1 mile west of Government Hill, there's a mountain named, Peak "5501 BM". It's basically a no-name mountain, and uses the BM's elevation for its designation.
Well, I have a datasheet for that "5501 BM" benchmark disk, and it's named ….
"Govt Hill". Another - HMMM .…
On that hike in 2017, I hiked west, off Government Hill to Bull Basin Tr, and attempted to climb up to Pk 5501. I failed.
I fought through about 100 feet of thick, intertwined vegetation and gave up. That stuff was like hiking through a chain link fence. Up to Pk 5501 was another 500 Ft up, but no way.
Fast forward to last year. Wallyfrack tried to get up to Pk 5501, using my 'track up', and also stopped, due to vegetation.
However, after his hike, he did some great research, and got up to Pk 5501.
He used a different, zig-zagging, and less dense vegetation track, and located the BM disk named "GOVT HILL" (1946).
After his successful hike, the "King of the Supes" graciously sent me a 'HAZ PM', and included his GPS track up to Pk 5501 from Bull Basin Tr.
Well, I made it up there on this hike, using his expert info.
Thank-you, wallyfrack.
Now, here is why I blame wallyfrack for this hike.
Yes, he confided in me his 'track up', and then he enticed me to get up there by offering me a money reward. (Photo from wallyfrack's successful hike photoset).
[ photo ]
Well, I couldn't pass up that reward. 
So, off I went to retrieve my reward. I located the GOVT HILL BM disk, and the summit log — With my reward inside.
I also located 'where' Ref Mark #1 used to be located, and I did locate RM #2.
Note - The two RMs are not disks. They are etched crosses in boulders.
RM #1's etched cross has chipped away, and that 'chip-away' appears to be a natural occurrence. RM #2 was over 29 Ft away, but easily located, and in perfect shape.
One more point of interest.
I included Google Earth screenshots of my track. You'll notice it stops at Bull Basin Tr, and does not include wallyfrack's track-up portion. He did the work on that part, and it's his.
So, I'm glad I finally got atop Pk 5501, and I'm very thankful for the King of the Supes's assistance. My photoset will explain what I actually did with my reward. |
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
The original plan was to see if we couldn't successfully get underground and into a nearby cave...but figured we could stretch our legs first with a short walk, so we headed to the Miles TH to do just that.
). We continued down Pinto Creek to Rock Creek and jumped on Bull Basin, stopping for a hydration break before turning around at the Rock Creek junction. Even though it was only 1.5 miles back to the truck, it was hot with it sitting at 97 degrees already, which is way above my threshold. On the way back down, we parked along the road to attempt to check out the Coon Spring Cave. After spending some time looking for the best route up to the entrance and trying a few that were not feasible, we called it, looking to come back when it's cooler out and my ankle is healed. Even though it was short, it was good to get out in the Supes again.
Route 
Bull Basin trail is overgrown so plan for some route finding and scrapes if you decide to hike it. The climb up Haunted Canyon trail to the saddle on Paradise trail was toasty. The hike down Paradise trail was nice and shaded. Bruce did a slide on the way down but recovered well. There was tree fall/limbs in several areas and we removed some. The road hike from Paradise trailhead to the upper Haunted Canyon trailhead went by pretty quick. The road there was in good shape. The hike up Haunted Canyon trail was warm but once we started down the rest of the hike was mostly shaded and temps were dropping. Not sure I was in shape for a 20 miler but we made decent time and I can walk today. I could have used more water because of the warm climbs. A good hike with normal BS & banter. In the end we agreed that anything that went wrong was Denny's fault. 
Pools
There were some nice pools of water here and there probably due to melting snow. Slow crawl up to the top of the ridge then down into Bull Basin. I have to admit I was pretty tired by the time I got to Miles and was really hoping for someone to be at the TH driving up 287 so I could hitch a ride, but no such luck. Long hike up 287 back to the TH. One Subaru at the TH when I left but I saw not a soul all day, which is perfect! Another great day in the Supes to mentally refresh.
I guess that is why the first TH (Pinto Creek TH) to Haunted Canyon is full of cars, and there were no cars at any of the other THs! I actually think the section of road just before the Pinto Creek TH is worse than anything past the iron bridge. There were sketchy parts, but doable. The hands-down worst section came at the very end, past the sign which helpfully reads "end of 279" but then the road continues for a very short length to the Miles TH. But you know you are almost there. You can see the corral. We had to park by the corral entrance and walk the remaining few steps to the TH due to a gigantic puddle that spanned road. There was no possibility of avoiding it in the car, so we figured it was better to walk the last bit.
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Now, if I hadn't known Wally for 13 years now, this might seem rude. But I knew what the abrupt shutting of the door meant. He wasn't going back to sleep. And he knew where we were going. We was going to catch up with us. there was a precedent set for this 11 (OMG, THAT long ago?) years ago. I had to move, Andy was waiting. 
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