|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 12.40 Miles |
3,202 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.40 Miles | 7 Hrs 1 Min | | 1.88 mph |
| 3,202 ft AEG | 26 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | This being the last weekend before my family comes back from Europe, I planned a trip to the White Mountains. This was the first of three hikes. Wally and I left Mesa about 4:45am and arrived at the trailhead a little after 9am. There was a 50% chance of thunderstorms for that weekend, but when we arrived, the skies were clear.
The main comment I have is that the official HAZ route for this hike needs to be retired with that designation. JJ's route should be the official route. This hike is a solid 11 miles, and we turned it into more than that with some missed turnoffs, and a couple mistakes in navigation. We noticed that the official route was off about a mile in after the first trail junction for Grant Creek. We took the right trail, but we weren't on the track. I could tell that we were headed in the right direction eventually, so I thought maybe the trail was re-routed. As the Grant Creek Trail descended, the views started to get really nice.
Later on, Wally and I missed the junction for the Paradise Trail. I had actually seen the marker, but it was nailed to a tree instead of on a post, so I had thought it was just labeling the trail. A few minutes later I decided to check my GPS and saw that we were off route and had missed the turnoff. Right about htat time at 11am, we heard the first rolls of thunder.
Once we were on the Paradise Trail, I noticed again that we weren't on the track. We still were going in the right general direction, but we were pretty far off from the offical route. Looking later, I can see that JJ's route is a way more accurate one for the actual trails out there.
This became a factor for us soon enough because we saw the trail split in two. The one trail headed downhill, and looked like it headed closer to Moonshine Park than the other one, and was closer to the "official" route. This trail dead ended at a wash in a narrow gorge, next to a bog. It also lost us over 100' of elevation. We decided to head back up. Wally was ahead of me and missed the turnoff on our way down and kept going back the wrong way, similar to what he and Joe did back in February on Oracle Ridge. I didn't miss it and quickly realized that he had gone the wrong way because I should have been able to see him along the trail.
After I got to the point where you have to go off trail to get to Moonshine Park, I called Wally and could hear him calling back. I headed towards Moonshine Park on a faint trail that follows the creek until I saw Wally. I told him to make a sharp left at the creek crossing.
Eventually you do have to go off trail to get to Moonshine Park. I had a hard time figuring out where to go and thought we needed to go up another 100'+ to a stand of Ponderosas I could see. To get there we needed to go through some very steep, loose rock and heavy vegetation. Wally was not enthused, but didn't complain. About halfway there, I looked at my GPS again, looked downhill and to the left and saw Moonshine Park. Sorry, Wally. Going back down was marginally easier than going up. We had lunch at the park and headed back.
We missed the turnoff again to the Grant Cabin Shortcut Trail, which was actulaly good because we got to see the remains of the cabin. The hike back up Grant Creek Trail was a bit of a slog, mainly because of the extra energy expended on our side excursions. Towards the top of Grant Creek, a fighter jet flew over the trees, making some of the most hellacious noise I've ever heard. I saw a fighter jet once before at Picacho Peak, but this one was way louder. My reaction was to hit the deck as it was at its loudest and closest.
The last mile the thunder got a little louder and more often, but no close strikes. Got lucky to end the hike without getting rained on, unlike the previous weekend.
|
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
