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| | | Florida Peak via East Sawmill, AZ | | | |
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Florida Peak via East Sawmill, AZ
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| Hiking | 11.60 Miles |
3,598 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.60 Miles | 7 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.92 mph |
| 3,598 ft AEG | 1 Hour 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | It was going to be a hot one, so I figured the best antidote to that was a little elevation. I hadn’t done East Sawmill in the Ritas before, so why not Florida Peak?
I wasn’t super confident my trail vehicle would be up for the road to the East Sawmill trailhead; it would probably make it but I didn’t have a buddy to help deal with the chance it wouldn’t, so I made for Greaterville trailhead instead. That road was a bit bumpier than I expected but no trouble at all. I wouldn’t recommend it for vehicles with particularly low clearance but most passenger cars would be fine.
Greaterville trail starts off with a steep climb punctuated by stretches of loose rock not unlike marbles, which made the descent at the end of the day exciting. The trail levels off toward the spine of a series of hills, and makes for a pleasant saddle with nice oak trees and a lovely view. It then makes a gradual descent to the East Sawmill trail.
The junction is not where the HAZ route indicates. It’s about a quarter mile past it. As I would discover, the East Sawmill trail deviates considerably from the HAZ route.
From the junction, East Sawmill is a steady climb toward Florida Peak. At first it climbs well above the canyon bottom through oak scrub, but eventually joins the more densely wooded canyon floor that rises to meet the trail. I saw deer everywhere in this stretch, though the vegetation and their spry movement prevented any photos. There were a few decent pools in the drainage, too. It was much easier to photograph those.
The trail then climbed above the drainage again, switching back repeatedly and crossing a muddy seep. It passes a nice campsite, which was an ideal place to have a snack and short rest before the contour lines got tighter.
After the campsite the trail got brushy and tread quality declined for a stretch. I passed Sawmill Spring, which is developed and has plenty of water. I didn’t draw any though.
Shortly after the spring the trail conditions improve markedly, and there are long switchbacks through very, very dense young pine. It’s pleasant walking but one can’t help but imagine the place would get catastrophically torched if another fire sweeps through.
Halfway through this stretch I saw a long-dead fallen tree, probably a juniper, that was absolutely huge and must have been ancient. The trunk was maybe twelve feet in diameter. The trunk had been hollowed out by fire and somehow a big boulder was in the middle of it, making a nice place to sit (I passed on the opportunity).
Proceeding up, the burn area continued but got less thick. The pines were fewer but bigger, and the trail brushier. It was evident there hadn’t been much maintenance in years. The brush, often catclaw, was thick enough to challenge anyone’s commitment to shorts. I was very thankful I was wearing pants.
As the trees thinned I started getting some nice views and a lot more wind. It was a warm day but breezy and overcast, so it was actually quite pleasant.
Finally I reached the high point, just below Florida Peak. I made for the peak sort of following the HAZ route, but mostly just picking the easiest path I could make out. As far as off trail ascents go, it’s pretty easy.
The peak does afford some great views of the Crest. It was very windy so I just signed the log, took a couple pictures, and left.
I made my way down to Florida Saddle for a late lunch. The route traverses a few severe burn areas in various stages of recovery. Florida Saddle was sunny and hot, so I didn’t stay longer than was necessary to scarf my Mediterranean orzo pasta salad.
There’s great cell service there, and it’s a good thing too as I got a text from Wifey to remind me I had a 6pm meeting in midtown. It was 2pm when I got that, so I did the math and… holy crap I’d have to hike 20-minute miles to make it on time.
I did my best but while the tread is generally in great shape, the brushy overgrowth and frequent steep declines of loose rock were not conducive to 20-minute miles. On the latter half of the descent my feet decided they weren’t fans of the idea either.
I made it back to the car at 4:25, got home at 5:52, showered and grabbed takeout before arriving at the meeting at 6:28. I didn’t miss anything critical, so it all worked out. It made for a long day though. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A few columbines where there were pools. |
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Sawmill Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| |  Nice catchment basin built to hold plenty of water. You can hear it trickling down the drainage a fair distance below. | | | |
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kicker. I was out of gas for the remaining 5 miles from there back to Box Canyon TH.
