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| | | Antelope Peak - Peak 4676, AZ | | | |
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Antelope Peak - Peak 4676, AZ
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| Hiking | 11.17 Miles |
2,423 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.17 Miles | | | |
| 2,423 ft AEG | 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I decided to head a bit southeast of Phoenix and bag a couple of peaks:
* Antelope Peak
* Peak 4676
These were 2 separate hikes, but the trailheads weren't TOO far apart.
Antelope Peak
I started and ended this one at the AZT TH on Freeman Road. I could have easily driven to within 1/2 mile of Antelope Peak, but what is the fun in that.
Most of the hike was on the AZT/GET, and the walking was nice and easy -- it was relatively flat and tread was very gentle, as it was smooth dirt with virtually no rocks.
The off-trail portion up to the peak was straightforward, although it was a bit steep and the tread was a bit loose -- it was mostly dirt and pea sized gravel. There was little solid ground, which made it slippery on the relatively steep grade. I took my time and made it up-and-down without incident. There was a bit of brush and some assorted cacti and cholla, but it was easy to walk around it. I had some gaiters in my backpack, but I never bothered to put them on.
When I got to the summit there was an eagle there, but it flew off before I could get a picture of it. There were nice 360 degree views at the summit, and I enjoyed being up there to check them out.
Peak 4676
Peak 4676 is in the Dripping Springs Mountains. Access was on a mining road off of Highway 177, a few miles north of Winkelman. Peak 4676 has 1,033 feet of prominence, which caught my interest by being over the 1,000 foot threshold and was the reason that I did the hike.
You'd need 4WD with some decent tires to drive to where I parked, which was just outside an open metal gate. I decided not to drive past the gate lest it be shut when I got back. However, as it turned out the gate was still open when I returned.
The mining roads that I hiked on were mostly pretty rocky. I was on a road most all of the way to the peak -- I went off-trail for probably no more than 1/2 mile to get to the summit. There was a bit of brush, but it was easy enough to walk around and I did not bother to put gaiters on. Most of the elevation gain was on the mining roads, so there was not much additional elevation gain on the off-trail portion.
I made my way to the summit and enjoyed the nice 360 degree views. There was a nice view of Tam O'Shanter Peak, which is only one mile away.
I saw a height of light but did not see any flivers. There was a cairn a bit north of the obvious highpoint, and it had a pill bottle containing a mining claim. There was a large cairn on the NE side of the summit, and I was wondering what it was for -- possibly another mining claim. To get to this cairn would have required a class 3 downclimb and upclimb; while it looked doable, I decided not to take the time to go there.
Synopsis
I enjoyed being on both of these peaks, and I was glad that I did them. I thought that Antelope Peak was the more enjoyable of the two, largely because hiking on the AZT was better than hiking on rough mining roads.
Distance and elevation gain for the 2 hikes is below. Stats above are sum of the two.
Antelope Peak: 5.21 miles with 767 feet of AEG
Peak 4676: 5.96 miles with 1,656 feet of AEG |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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