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| Hiking | 7.07 Miles |
1,789 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.07 Miles | 7 Hrs | | 1.01 mph |
| 1,789 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Did this solo hike on maybe the last cool day of the Spring. Starting out, I followed the road West for about 1/3 mile. I saw a water tank and a windmill along the way. There was evidence of cattle that roamed this area. The road seemed to fizzle out and then I ended up following some cattle trails up the ridge. The cattle trails were helpful, but it appeared that the cattle went right through the catclaw bush. I was hoping for an "open country" hike but it was a rough bushwhack, for probably half of the hike or more. Luckily, I had a pair of hand sheers with me. Even with the hand sheers, I still got my hands cut up a bit from cat's claw - which I'm convinced is the worst kind of plant that has ever existed. There were areas of the ridge top, and below the ridge, that were so full of this stuff. Usually it's possible to walk around it, but this stuff was all around, it was impossible to avoid all of it. I ended up spending a lot of time cutting some of it. In addition to catclaw bush, there was yucca with sharp spines, agave, cholla, prickley pear, sharp bear grass, and barrel cactus. I know we had a lot of rain this winter (2023), but I can't imagine that the bushwhack would have been any better in January. To complete this hike, you need to have a lot of patience, you definitely will need to wear long pants, and I'd highly recommend bringing a cutter of some kind, because you will need it. Overall, this was one of the worst bushwhacks I've ever encountered. At times, the ridge was so thick, it was necessary to drop below it. And often times, there was catclaw bush in the areas below the ridge. Because of the thick brush, this hike ended up taking me about 7 hours when it probably would have taken 2-3 hours with a good trail. From the top, there were nice views of snow capped Mt Lemmon, Pinal peak to the North, Picacho peak to the West, and more. I could even see the snow capped Mt Graham to the far East. You'll see a registry in a rock pile at the top. I was surprised at the long list of names on the registry, but it appears as though the last recorded summit was Jan 2021, over 2 years ago.
Driving directions: Take Hwy 77 North from anywhere in Tucson to Oracle junction. Continue North for 4.75 miles to S. Willow Springs Rd. and make a left turn here. The road is dirt from this point on, but is graded very well and should even be possible with a standard passenger car, but I would recommend high clearance. Continue North of S. Willow Springs Rd for 14 miles. Turn left and continue for 0.9 miles. There will be private property signs but as long as you stay on the road, it should be OK. There should be an unlocked gate that you will need to go through near the end of the 0.9 miles. Once you go through the gate, I believe you will be on AZ State Trust Land, no longer private property. At the 0.9 mile mark, you will see a Y-split in the road, stay right and you will see a corral. Drive past the corral and look for a space off the road to park. The sign at the corral said "No Camping".
I parked at this location which appeared to be near a camp site: 32.768557, -110.936098 |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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