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| Hiking | 9.40 Miles |
588 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.40 Miles | 6 Hrs 20 Mns | | 2.09 mph |
| 588 ft AEG | 1 Hour 50 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Did a little trailblazing this one. Wendi picked it from her stash of descriptions, we chose over the one that starts at Cloudview just because 3 miles didn't seem worth the long drive. In it, at one point it just says follow the contours of the mountain. Nothing screams trailblazing louder than that so I forewarned Wendi about "Her" hike. I ended up enjoying more than she did, this one could probably even have it's own trail description but I feel like this being my first time in this area I might be missing some of the gaps.
The night prior I went over the topos (and satellite views) and decided on two possible routes. I had a favorite in mind but it looked like it could cliff out. I decided that if I got to the base of the hill that was preferred route and found the trail was ducked/cairned going through a valley between two hills (Secondary route) then I would assume somebody knew better than I and follow that one. Well that is exactly what happened, but first there are few other tips for anyone looking to do this hike so I'll start at the beginning.
Hike starts at Broadway TH, on Jacob's Crosscut where it cuts north is where the Lost Goldmine trail picks up which continues east. Eventually the Goldmine crosses over a barbed wire fence through an unmarked gate. It continues east following the fence line. It crosses two washes and once passed the second wash comes some sort of dirt road that lollypops at the fence line. This also acts as an alternate TH for Hogs Canyon(I think) There was and ATV parked here when we came through. NOTE! The trail looks like it continues on the south side of the fence but in fact our trail crosses the fence right here at the top of the lollypop. There's a gate of sorts just remember to close it behind you. I am not certain if we are still on Goldmine or not because I have seen some tracks continuing on the south side of the fence and cornering south to the south end of Cloudview Rd. Our Trail continues east following the fence line one the north. It is at this point my trail description I was following says follow contours of the mountain. Eventually the fence line corners but we continue on following a well cairned trail east. I say that, but I lost the trail on the way in but kept to my game plan of heading for the base of the hill at the mouth of the valley. It ended up that was where the trail headed anyway.
We follow the cairned route past "A" route. The trail looked more like one of the many game trails running through here but just with cairns. We ended up loosing the cairns again on the next hill and just made our own way. Everything worked out but once we got within eyeshot of the Hieroglyphics we could see that our hike was exploding with people. It made having to cross the wide wash and the climb out, and the whole hike for that matter a little less desirable. We were committed though and went on, though we ate lunch before we got to the top. There seemed to be a lot of echoing, and barking, alot of barking.
We regained our spirits while eating, we could see that more people were coming back than going up. Eventually we would see a serious looking basset hound go by nose to the ground, I am almost sure he was our barker.
We went finally went up, and it did not disappoint. The rockart was cool and so was the back canyon. I had scanned for the entry point of my original route and though there was no trail I knew it would not be a problem exiting that way. So we went off trail just up trail from the last set of cliffs and headed to the west side of the canyon. We notice some rock art on the way out on the last set of cliffs, you wouldn't normally get to see them without the off trailing. The return route was much faster and more direct. I recommend that over our approach , I will post my route. |
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| The Tree of Understanding, dazzling, straight, and simple, sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It. - Wislawa Szymborska, "Utopia" |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. Enjoyed walking past the canyons on my right and looking over the East Valley to my left, extra nice having the sun at my back the entire time. When I approached Siphon Draw I called my wife for a ride back, based on her ETA went to the Prospectors View junction and took it and then Treasure Loop, timed it perfectly for her arrival. Now I can put to rest this idea about a walk to the park.
Got a pretty late start a little before 10am. Flatiron went pretty quick @ 1:13 min. total which surprised me as I felt like I was taking lots of breaks. Took a quick break to hydrate and eat and possibly donate my headlamp? See where I'm going? (More on that later)
I did finally get back on trail on the next ridge, but wasted a lot of time, energy, and (water).
Now I could eat because I didn't want to waste my fluids digesting stuff before I had a water source. Got back on trail, but the goldmine trail was a lot rougher here and I had already banged up my feet pretty good. (I will have 2-3 less toe nails by the end of the week guaranteed 
