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| Hiking | 1.43 Miles |
820 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.43 Miles | 1 Hour 47 Mns | | 0.90 mph |
| 820 ft AEG | 12 Mns Break | 16 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Last of three bags I bagged today. Millsite was the warm-up, Peak 3150 began the workout and this one, although shortest in distance was double the effort of the first two combined due to the ruggedness and the steeper slopes.
The 2-mile drive into Millsite Canyon and west to the TH for this climb was pretty rough, averaging barely 4 mph. But it was better than walking it.
I had planned to do more 4x4 recon after the first two peaks but once I reached a point so close to this peak, I figured I might as well bag it while I'm here. Only problem with that is I had done none of the usual poring over topo and satellite maps for the optimum route.
So... I started my climb following what appeared to be a well-defined trail but faded away after leading me on a tangent slightly away from my destination. After a quick look at the GPS topo map (albeit not the best topo) it appeared I'd have a more moderate 'ramp' up if I kept circling around. As can be the case with Topo maps, just because the lines may be a certain distance apart doesn't mean easy... more like a flat ramp followed by a steep rock face. This set the stage for a number of backtracks whenever I reached a dead end.
Finally up to the first saddle I could see my destination and scan for the best route to is. But the closer I approached the more I realized something was off... hmmm, just because the GPS is pointing to a peak doesn't mean it is the closest.  Although the peak I headed toward was in line with the true destination, it was a waste of time and effort because now I had to drop down and take another route up. On my approach to the summit the old fear of heights and falling rose up and threatened to block my way. Only after leaving my hiking pole by the wayside and commencing to all fours was I able to push through and make it the last 30' vertical feet. At the summit, I had just enough room for my feet so it was with a bit of trepidation that I took my requisite 360-degree pan photos, then took a moment to gather myself enough to try and turn smoothly during the video. Whew! I made it without falling! But the real treat was the awesome view, better than the first two peaks today combined! Oh yeah, and I got a glimpse of Peak 4618 in the next quad north... very intimidating, yet very intriguing... soon.
Now for the descent... For the return trip I did not want to take the same roundabout route, settling for something closer to the shortest distance between two points. Yes it was steep and yes there were plenty of obstacles to deal with, but since I was descending I didn't worry about whether I could get back up an object or not so at times I dropped down spots I could never have scaled going up. So my return trip was not only shorter by distance, but time as well.
The summit video panorama is here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/file.php?id=308 |
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