|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 6.32 Miles |
1,187 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.32 Miles | 5 Hrs 26 Mns | | 1.49 mph |
| 1,187 ft AEG | 1 Hour 12 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | A friend and former co-worker who I hadn't seen in a few years was in town this weekend for a wedding, and he suggested meeting up for a hike today. This was his only free day, so despite a rainy forecast, we were going for it either way, but it definitely looked likely we'd be hiking in the rain. He needed to be back by mid-afternoon, so I picked something not too far away and fairly short. The original plan, if everything went well, was to hike up Black Mountain, then cut over to Peak 2431 for the Black benchmark, then continue on to the AT-6 plane crash site.
The sky was very dark, and we had some light rain on the drive there, but the rain stopped before we arrived, and we parked along the road near the dirt lot at the intersection of Old 87th and W. Saddle Mountain Road. It had been a long time since my friend had hiked (the last time being a farewell hike in 2021 when he moved away [ triplog ] ), and he was wearing borrowed boots that didn't quite fit, so it was a slow climb up Black Mountain with the rocky terrain. We passed a wild burro early on and started to get nice views of Lake Pleasant as we gained elevation.
We found the summit register, another one placed by Barbara Lilley, and the most recent entry was from MountainMatt in 2016. We signed and took a short break at the top and actually had some sunshine as we dropped down off the west side of the ridge toward the wash below. That was another slow, rocky stretch, and I decided to prioritize the crash site over Peak 2431, so we stayed in the wash and continued north, passing another group of burros along the way. Once we were out of the wash, we were hiking through more of the same rocky, cholla-filled terrain.
Just under a mile from the crash site, we decided to call it quits. We were going to have to drop down into a fairly deep ravine to get there, and my friend wasn't too excited about the prospect of going down and back up another steep, rocky hillside, and time wasn't on our side at that point. That ruled out 2431 as well, so we headed back the way we came and returned on the road.
The final tally was 1-for-3 on planned destinations, but I knew picking a rocky off-trail route for this reunion hike might be a little optimistic. But the timing worked out well--we managed to stay dry on the hike, and the rain started a few minutes after we were back at the car. I'll have to come back another day to see the crash site, but it was great seeing my friend again, and we got some lunch afterward and caught up a little more before he had to get going. |
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
I feel like land surveyors got a little lazy in our state after ahwile or something, I've heard a lot of repetitive names when it comes to creeks and mountains.
