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| Hiking | 1.56 Miles |
787 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.56 Miles | 1 Hour 10 Mns | | 1.70 mph |
| 787 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | After dropping off the AZT water cache, the drive along the Gila River and up the wash I stopped for a short hike to bag my fifth of the 21 ranked peaks in the Teapot Mountain Quadrangle.
Although short it was a bit more treacherous than I anticipated, almost having my first fall within a hundred yards of the TH. It didn't help that I was without my trusty hiking pole, which I left at Ash Creek last week. I had a replacement along but wasn't used to it so forgot it... until the near-fall, when I realized I should climb back up the 50' vertically to the TH.
Time out for a quick review:
The NorthPak Outdoor pole I was using turned out to be a real piece of  ! My trusty old pole could be adjusted with a quick 1/2 turn, lengthen (or shorten) and twist back within a second. But this one takes a full 6 turns to loosen and 6 to tighten. And even when it is tight, due to the taper of the tubes, they rattle constantly. So much for sneaking up on game.
Once back on the trail it was a matter of following a deeply eroded ancient road (50-70 years ago?) down to the base of Peak 2640, then climbing a series of ridges and saddles before the steep climb up. At the summit the views were awesome, thanks to the addition of puffy clouds on a deep blue sky.
Looking across to my next destination, Peak 2925, I began to wonder if I could even get out to the summit as it appeared there were a couple sheer drops near the summit. Oh well, I'll soon find out.
Thankfully the return trip went without a hitch. Back to the car it was time to drive deep down into Walnut Canyon and back up the steep, rocky and winding road up to the base of Battle Axe where I'd begin my next peak bag.
I filmed the hike to the summit with my GoPro HeroHD but haven't had time to edit it... my be a while before I post it. |
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