Aspen Peak - Hualapai Mountains • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Joshua Forest Scenic Parkway

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My first side trip from the Potato Patch Loop was Stonestep Lookout, which revealed that I'd be hiking in snow for about a third of the day. The forest was burnt some on this side of Aspen Peak. It'll be hot through this section in the summer. Aspen Peak was mellow. I checked out the lower, eastern peak but wasn't keen on free climbing it, seemed sketchy. Planning on researching climbing routes for it later and this area as a whole. As with the second linked route, the third (Tipton Overlook) was also relaxed. The fourth and fifth linked were tough because of the snow. Postholing was necessary through the Aspen drainages and northern slopes to access Dinosaur Rock Overlook. I was the only tracks above the summit road crossover to the steep Hayden Peak Summit Road. What a wild antennae farm perched upon the granitic summit boulders! It was neat tunneling and ascending the stairs to the various summits. I skipped Hualapai Peak and a few other trails for a future trip next month. There's bigger fish to fry this month.

Not the super loop today, but overall a nice, peaceful area lacking aircraft noise mostly. Occasionally vehicles could be heard below, but still not overly annoying. Thirty bucks for a campsite seems reasonable when compared to other similar areas, e.g. Idyllwild.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Antenna Farm

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Hayden Peak Hualapai Peak

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Snow

4 archives

Sep 24 2022

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Sep 24 2022
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	12.86 Miles	4,077 AEG

Hiking	12.86 Miles	7 Hrs 44 Mns	2.16 mph
	4,077 ft AEG	1 Hour 47 Mns Break

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Ryan is on some kind of a fall-color quest and found some terrible website that claimed that the Potato Patch Loop is prime-time in late September. I scoffed at the idea, but after looking back at my past visits here on HAZ, did in fact see some color on this very date six years ago. So who knows!

I wasn't expecting any color, but I haven't been out here in a couple years, and haven't done the whole enchilada since that 2016 visit, so I was happy to make the trip.

I knew there had been a fire on the mountain last spring, but didn't recall it really affecting the park much so I was a little bit surprised to see how much of the Potato Patch loop was affected. Nonetheless, the burn area along the lower parts of the loop will rehab in just a few years as it was not terrible there. The entire upper mountain remained untouched, but the most severe burn occurred south of the park along the east slope below the range high-point. There's a stretch along the old two-track hike to the summit that was charred to a crisp. This area will probably never recover to the shaded pine forest that existed here previously.

Started with Aspen Peak ... the route from the official end of the trail to the summit is pretty overgrown and tough to find in places. From there we headed over to the overlooks, and then decided to skip the short walk up the steep road to the Hayden tower farms.

Camp Levi Levi lost its lease in 2019 so there's no activity and the facilities are in disrepair. It would be nice if it was either used, or the remnants removed as they are becoming a bit of an eyesore. There was no water in the camp system as there has been previously, and I wonder if this is a permanent change.

Speaking of water, there were a couple of stagnant pools under the bridge to Aspen, and a large tank at the bottom of the Hayden Peak Road. Between the tank and camp there was a small creek with flowing water suitable for filtering... I've found water here each of my visits. But that was it for water on the mountain today.

We took turns at the summit since murderdog can't make the scramble. Great views, exceeding 130 miles with the SF Peaks and Charleston both in view today. While I was waiting for Ryan to get back down, I chatted with the one other hiker on the mountain today who we had seen a couple of times earlier. After a couple minutes, I realized it was a guy from Vegas who does a bunch of hikes that fit my interest profile and we recognized each others names from the internets and socials. Stav was not lost today!

I'm always impressed on this overpopulated rock when I'm in some obscure place and run into somebody random -- and of course I know them. Lol!

A couple yellow leaves in the aspens. I wouldn't put this hike on any fall-color lists for late September though!

Still an enjoyable day in the pines.

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

3 archives

May 16 2020

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Hualapai Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		May 16 2020
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	13.20 Miles	4,528 AEG

Hiking	13.20 Miles	8 Hrs 26 Mns	1.93 mph
	4,528 ft AEG	1 Hour 35 Mns Break

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Camp Levi Levi Access Road - Hualapai Mtns

Peak 7720 - Hualapai Mountains

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I was looking to bag another AZ County high point, so I decided to head up to Kingman and hike up to Hualapai Peak.

We began by doing the Potato Patch Loop in a clockwise direction. I side-tracked at the start and went up the Camp Levi Levi Access Road for a bit; after discovering my error, we made it back on the Loop.

When we came to the road that goes up to Hualapai Peak, we took the road and went up to the peak. There was some Class 3 rock scrambling near the summit, and the views up there were really nice.

On the way back we stopped at the saddle near the park boundary, and went off-trail up to Peak 7720. The route up was pretty straightforward, but we poked around a bit at the top and our route down was not as good as the route up.

Once back on the Potato Patch Loop we headed over to the road up to Hayden Peak and ascended Hayden. The road was really, really steep in places. There are 2 sets of towers on Hayden, and we weren't sure which set was higher so went up both. Even after being up there I am not 100% certain which is higher.

Once we got back to the Potato Patch Loop, we headed up to Aspen Peak. This was a fun trail to hike on, and there were some really good views along the way. There was a bit of rock scrambling once near the summit.

This is a nice park with a good, well-maintained trail system. The trail up to Aspen Peak was my favorite. All of the peaks had some nice views at the top, and there were some good miradors along the way.

This hike is a keeper, and I hope to do it again someday. This was my first time to hike in the Kingman area; this fall I plan to go back and hike up to Mount Tipton.

We did not see anyone on the roads up to Hualapai and Hayden. There were a few hikers on the Aspen Peak trail, and we saw a few on our way back on the Potato Patch Loop from the Aspen Trail.

I used GPS tracks that @LindaAnn and @trekkin_gecko posted when they did this hike; their tracks mostly kept me going in the right direction.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Claret Cup Cactus

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Greater Short-Horned Lizard

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Natural Arch

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bridge Old Rusty Stuff

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Aspen Peak - Hualapai Hayden Peak Hualapai Peak

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
There was some claret cup cactus blooming along the way, but that was about it for flowers.

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

Oct 23 2019

nikorock28

Routes 18
Photos 580
Triplogs 1,081

42 male

Joined Nov 16 2010
Kingman, AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Oct 23 2019
		nikorock28 • Triplogs 1,081

Hiking	6.60 Miles	2,000 AEG

Hiking	6.60 Miles
	2,000 ft AEG

no routes

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I did the loop in clockwise fashion, with a side trip to Aspen Peak. Not sure what it is, but I haven't opted to hit the "official" top slab the last two times I have been up there. I just go to the crack and call it good enough. Back down and decided to take a look at the "spire peak" by the saddle again. Started to head down, to go around to the north side, but decided it would best be left for another day.

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May 13 2019

nikorock28

Routes 18
Photos 580
Triplogs 1,081

42 male

Joined Nov 16 2010
Kingman, AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		May 13 2019
		nikorock28 • Triplogs 1,081

Hiking	7.00 Miles	2,300 AEG

Hiking	7.00 Miles
	2,300 ft AEG

no routes

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This was my 5th venture into the County Park since moving to Kingman on April 1. In town was sunny, but there were looming clouds above the peaks. It was 64 degrees and drizzling at the trailhead at 1PM. Headed to Hayden Peak Road, which has become my go to training hike. 4th time up the road since April 1 and clocked my best time of 15:56 from the gate to the top of the initial set of stairs (right, northern peak). I will keep working on improving that as time goes on and as I slowly lose weight. I didn't see any other hikers today, but the Mohave Electric Cooperative was a presence throughout the park and even on the peak.

I headed back down the road to my usual gate resting place. By this point, the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. It was now lovely out so I decided to head out to Dean Overlook as well. I went over to the base of the dean overlook rock to inspect the climbing. It appears that going up the steep west side might be possible, but definitely not in my comfort zone. Went back to the saddle, looked at the north side and there could be an easier route from that direction. I will go check it out soon. I didn't go to the summit, but the Aspen Peak trail was the highlight of the day. Very nice trail and I will be sure to hit it more frequently.

Great to have these hikes so close.

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Oct 23 2017

squatpuke

Guides 6
Routes 6
Photos 1,634
Triplogs 186

58 male

Joined Apr 04 2002
Flagstaff, AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Oct 23 2017
		squatpuke • Triplogs 186

Hiking	5.50 Miles	1,500 AEG

Hiking	5.50 Miles	5 Hrs	1.10 mph
	1,500 ft AEG

no routes

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Had some Flagstaff Thai food with chums the Friday before his Barack trip. After getting his typical chastisement for not hiking more, I told him I was headed to Kingman for the weekend and had this little hike in mind.

Initially thought I would hike by myself, but Val decided to join as well.
Was a perfect day for hiking...slight breeze, mild temps, empty trails.

We took took the right (north) fork of potato to get to the camp area and then took the Aspen Trail to the Dean Peak Overlook.

After a short rest, we scrambled west to the nested meadow with the "Peak Way" road sign, and then a final 4x4 climb to saddled top. I wanted to climb those last 20-30 feet to the tippy top of Apsen, but my age restrictions got the better of me and I wimped out.

We returned the same way we went up for a true out-n-back while collecting 2 plastic bottles and card-board soup container as trashy souvenirs.

Was a beautiful day with VERY beautiful company.

_____________________

squatpuke@gmail.com

Aug 30 2017

azbackpackr

Guides 27
Routes 518
Photos 5,861
Triplogs 883

72 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Eagar AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Aug 30 2017
		azbackpackr • Triplogs 883

Hiking	6.00 Miles	1,000 AEG

Hiking	6.00 Miles
	1,000 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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I just followed the trails, passing the campsites,(no water comes out of spigot), and turned left, crossed the bridge and headed up. Great trail! My GPS is still in Oregon, so I estimated. My laptop died this morning, so can't post photos.

Important to note that the trail does not end where the park says it does. Hang a left, west, and search for it in the brush. It's steep, rocky,and brushy.It leads to an AMAZING flat area used for camping, with a view toward Kingman. Beyond that are the summit blocks, which are huge boulders.

Anyone who wants to go back there with me, let me know. I was hesitant to do the scramble to the summit alone. Would like company for that. If I go alone again I should have my GPS by then, and will post description and route to flat camp area.

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Jun 15 2017

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Jun 15 2017
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	9.50 Miles	3,000 AEG

Hiking	9.50 Miles	5 Hrs	1.90 mph
	3,000 ft AEG

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no photosets

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Beautiful sky island, excellent trails.

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Apr 23 2017

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Hualapai Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 23 2017
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	12.30 Miles	4,296 AEG

Hiking	12.30 Miles	6 Hrs 21 Mns	2.06 mph
	4,296 ft AEG	23 Mns Break

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LindaAnn

an excellent hike on the way to las vegas with linda
this area has been on my list for awhile
didn't realize we would be hitting all three peaks

also didn't realize we would be in pine trees the entire time
the entire park is beautiful
set out on potato patch loop, hitting hualapai peak first
a bit of a scramble to get to the summit
nice to get the mohave county high point
dropped back down to potato patch, going through the boy scout camp, then made the steep road walk to hayden peak
went up both sets of steps to be sure we had the high point
back down the road to the aspen peak trail
nice trail to the saddle, then off trail to the peak
great views of the other peaks from there
finished out potato patch loop
loved the park, and would enjoy camping or staying in one of the cabins sometime
very windy on sunday, making summit stays brief
great choice, linda, and a great start to the weekend!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gopher Snake

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

_____________________

hazhole

1 archive

Apr 23 2017

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Hualapai Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		Apr 23 2017
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	12.74 Miles	4,222 AEG

Hiking	12.74 Miles	6 Hrs 23 Mns	2.20 mph
	4,222 ft AEG	36 Mns Break

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trekkin_gecko

The Hualapais were our choice for a hike on the drive to Vegas. We weren't sure exactly which trails we would do up here besides Hualapai Peak, and it sort of turned into a "Well, that one is just one more mile...", and before we knew it, all three peaks were done and we had done a real hike for the day.

We headed up the east side of the Potato Patch Loop, then turned off towards Hualapai Peak. The road/trail almost to the summit is in great shape. The final scramble to the top was brushy in several spots, but a fun scramble. The winds were howling at the top, so we were only up there for a minute or two.

After getting back to Potato Patch, we continued west, then headed up to Hayden Summit. The road is good, but steep, and I felt like I was really dragging through this part. Hayden was interesting, and we climbed both sets of stairs to both high points. Walking on some of the plank pathways in the winds at the top was somewhat unnerving, and we were only up there for a minute. My knee was hurting a lot on the steep walk back down the road, so I switched the brace to the knee, and we headed up to Aspen.

It was a fairly easy walk to the Dean Overlook, then we scrambled up to Aspen. The winds didn't seem quite as bad at that point, so we spent a few minutes there, then headed back down and completed Potato Patch loop.

It was a great area, and was a lot more forested than I was expecting, which was a nice surprise. My kids would like the cabins up there, so that may be an idea for summer break.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

_____________________

Stop crying and just go do the hike.

Apr 22 2017

arizona_water

Guides 9
Routes 118
Photos 1,079
Triplogs 118

35 male

Joined Mar 06 2016
Salt River Valle

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Apr 22 2017
		arizona_water • Triplogs 118

Hiking	5.46 Miles	1,707 AEG

Hiking	5.46 Miles	2 Hrs 38 Mns	2.28 mph
	1,707 ft AEG	14 Mns Break

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Aspen Peak was surprisingly awesome. The ponderosa forests and giant boulders that you pass through give this hike a really unique feel. The views are impressive and trail is well marked and easy to follow. The trail does technically end before the true summit. However, it is easy to see a social trail that continues up from the bench that marks the end of the maintained trail. The last scramble to the top was enjoyable. I would highly recommend this hike to anyone travelling on the 93 or the 40, looking for a break.

_____________________

- there's nothing like finding Water in the Desert -

2 archives

Mar 21 2017

BEEBEE

Guides 13
Routes 100
Photos 1,794
Triplogs 372

51 male

Joined Jul 27 2011
Mesa AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Mar 21 2017
		BEEBEE • Triplogs 372

Hiking	5.30 Miles	1,556 AEG

Hiking	5.30 Miles	4 Hrs 39 Mns		1.78 mph
	1,556 ft AEG	1 Hour 40 Mns Break	22 LBS Pack

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Sota activation of Aspen peak. The trail to the summit is great. I made short work of it. not a whole lot of deadfall blocking the trail. Lots of water running

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ - SOTA ( Summits on the Air )

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

"I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts."

Nov 05 2016

Tortoise_Hiker

Guides 1
Routes 148
Photos 9,924
Triplogs 3,652

63 male

Joined Apr 02 2005
Mesa, AZ

Potato Patch Loop and AHH Peaks, AZ

Hiking		Nov 05 2016
		Tortoise_Hiker • Triplogs 3,652

Hiking	12.50 Miles	4,188 AEG

Hiking	12.50 Miles	6 Hrs 6 Mns	2.05 mph
	4,188 ft AEG

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Potato Patch Loop is in the 100 hikes book so I thought I'd give it a go. Hualapai peak is a county high point so I figured I'd throw it in as well. Some of the previous Hazer's made it 3 peaks so what the heck.
The Ranger station has a self pay station, if it's not open. They even had a little map

. I hiked the loop counter clockwise. the trail is in great shape. As the loop goes I hit Aspen Peak first. Nice views. Second peak up was Hayden. I wasn't paying enough attention and wound up at Tipton Overlook by mistake. Hayden is pretty much all road. If your on a trail your probably going the wrong way. Hayden is the 1 with all the towers. Hualapai Peak was the last peak and the toughest summit. The hike is up a road also. The road gets more wore down as you top out but never worse then a good trail. I tried to summit on the east then south before I remembered I had a track loaded for this summit ](*,)

Blood donated on those 2 attempts . The north side is the ticket. From there you take the road back to your Potato Patch Loop junction and finish your loop. Going this way even gives some north side shade. The trail even had a couple benches for breaks and a couple emergency storm shelters. I enjoyed this one. The aeg is tricky. I felt it more the next day.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

_____________________

Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.

Oct 08 2016

Jim

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Hualapai Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		Oct 08 2016
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Hiking	13.40 Miles	4,435 AEG

Hiking	13.40 Miles	6 Hrs 45 Mns		2.09 mph
	4,435 ft AEG	20 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

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Irony: I had planned on a trip to Flagstaff to visit Philomena Springs on the Peaks, for about a month, but decided to drive to Kingman to hike this loop instead, as the forecast was for cold temperatures on the Peaks. I also had no real desire to revisit the Mazatzals so soon, which I had considered doing. Either way, the forecast for sun and mild gave way to increasing storm chances as the hike day approached. By the time I was out there, I had barely any sun, it was cold for me (but likely still warmer than it would have been on the Peaks even at 11,600') and I had hail, some passing rain, and cold wind on any summit or high ridge. I guess the gods didn't want me to have what Todd and Kyle had 2 weeks ago, out here, or myself and Linda had the same day in the Mazatzals. Oh, well.

Todd's loop from 9/24 and his photos of great views with excellent sky conditions had me excited to head to Kingman (yes, really) to explore this range I had never visited, despite expressing a desire to do so 8 years ago. The hike is solid, the park pretty nice, the range interesting, and the views on a nice day are probably very worth it. I followed Todd's loop route exactly as he hiked it so I could use his stats, but also as it was a pretty good loop, and nothing here is ever very long. Counter clock-wise on the Potato Patch Loop, Aspen Peak, Hayden via the road, than a cut over to the Tipton overlook using the Upper Dinosaur Trail, down the road and up the slope to Hualapai Peak, and back to the trailhead finishing on the east side of the Potato Patch Loop.

I was not really surprised it was over 13 mile, but I don't really feel like it was over 4,000' of AEG. Still, I trust the GPS route and stats, and rolling terrain is generally easier to take than a steep up and down. I wish I had those clear blue skies, long distance views, and pleasant hiking conditions, but I guess it was better than a trip to the Peaks, and I did get to use my poncho for the first time this year, as I had good fortune on the Peaks for every Humphrey summit, or I was smart and didn't hike there in the Monsoon season. I took advantage of the storm shelter below the Tipton Overlook and ate lunch for about 10 minutes during the hail storm, and even though I considered skipping Hualapai Peak, I scrambled to the summit of that through New Mexican Locust, as I was there and could tolerate the cold wet wind for a little while. I was in shorts and t-shirt for this.

I highly recommend this hike, but also recommend better weather! I guess I could have canceled my hotel reservation, but I didn't want to, and in the end, I did something new.

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Hail

_____________________

2 archives

Sep 24 2016

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Hualapai Super Loop, AZ

Hiking		Sep 24 2016
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	13.44 Miles	4,438 AEG

Hiking	13.44 Miles	6 Hrs 57 Mns	2.52 mph
	4,438 ft AEG	1 Hour 37 Mns Break

Linked

[ checklist ] Aspen Peak - Hualapai Bill Williams Mountain Cerbat Mountains Cherum Peak Dean Peak Hayden Peak Hualapai Mountain County Park Hualapai Peak Humphreys Peak Mount Tipton Mount Tipton Wilderness Mount Trumbull Picacho Butte Sitgreaves Mountain Spirit Mountain

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Tough_Boots

I was so surprised on my first visit here that I knew I had to come back. Upon returning, I forgot how much I like this park! With eyes set on the two peaks I had previously missed, we started with Aspen. This one is a winner. The trail is great to the Dean overlook, and then the unmaintained route to the summit is nice enough and easy to find. Below the peak is an A-Plus camping area with awesome views in all directions.

Next up was Hayden. We took the road which is super steep, but not that exciting. The park literature indicates that visitors should not disturb the equipment on the peak, and we didn't. Though we did observe it from a fairly close range. :scared:

I decided to hit the second hump on the peak while Kyle headed back down. On my return I found a short crossover to the Dinosaur Rock trail and decided to descend that way instead. Then I got to the Tipton Overlook junction, and it would just be dumb not to go out there too. Kyle would have to wait!

In retrospect, if doing this peak again I'd skip the road altogether. The upper part of Dinosaur Rock was awesome. A beautiful grove of aspen was the highlight. Tipton Overlook is worth the price of admission too. (That price being annoyingly flat switchbacks which I cut vertically on the way down :oops:

)

Next up, we decided there was no reason not to bag Hualapai too. While I had been there before, Kyle had not, and it's a fun one I didn't mind doing again. We took turns Lily-sitting since the summit is not dog friendly. Thousands upon thousands of ladybugs covered the peak, but I think it's past their season. They were pretty docile and even their color looked dull. I don't know anything about ladybugs but I was a little surprised to see them this late in the year.

We headed down and finished on the other side of the Potato Patch Loop. This northern slope is a different world of shade, grass, and trees. It's almost as if Kingman isn't... right over there. :A1:

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Summit Block

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Cag Shot Inscriptions Trail Signs and Markings

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

Sep 24 2016

Tough_Boots

Routes 67
Photos 2,708
Triplogs 755

89 male

Joined Mar 28 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Hualapai Hat-Trick, AZ

Hiking		Sep 24 2016
		Tough_Boots • Triplogs 755

Hiking	11.75 Miles	4,006 AEG

Hiking	11.75 Miles
	4,006 ft AEG

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chumley

Chums and I headed up to Kingman Saturday morning. This was a brand new area for me so the plan sounded great. He had done Hualapai Peak before and was more focused on the other two. We decided we'd hit Aspen and Hayden and then see if we were up for the big one.

This turned out to be a beautiful area with only a handful of hikers on a Saturday. I enjoyed Aspen quite a bit-- the trail was nice and views were great. We then came back down to do Hayden. Hayden is all road but there are some nice patches of aspens along the way. Just ignore the trespassing sign and crawl under the gate to access the road to the top

There's a bunch of stuff up there-- weird buildings and antennas all just kind of concreted all over the rocky top.

After getting back to the bottom, we decided we'd go for Hualapai Peak. I'm glad we did-- it was a nice steep walk. The very top is a scramble so Chumley went up first while I waited with Lily. Then once he got down, I headed up. The summit was covered with huge blankets of ladybugs and I think I accidentally stepped on more than I was comfortable with

He headed back down and finished the loop. I had not been planning on a 4K day but it was well worth it. We left the park and headed down Ridge Road to find a spot to camp. That's one heck of a road but we found a nice spot.

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Jun 25 2016

nikorock28

Routes 18
Photos 580
Triplogs 1,081

42 male

Joined Nov 16 2010
Kingman, AZ

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Jun 25 2016
		nikorock28 • Triplogs 1,081

Hiking	7.50 Miles	2,500 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles	3 Hrs 45 Mns	2.00 mph
	2,500 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Well, at least I got one of the peaks in the area. En route to vegas for a few days so I thought it would be a good opportunity to check out the hualapai mountains. My initial goal was to hit hualapai peak, but with the late start of 4pm, I was skeptical that was going to occur.

I had printed out a gps route that showed the potato patch and hualapai peak routes, but was unable to locate it in my papers before starting out. The map that was provided at the entrance station did not have any trail information on it. I located the trailhead parking and started up the dirt road. Just a short walk and I spotted the trailhead at left. This must be it. The trail began switchbacking up the slope and I came to the potato patch junction in 0.86 miles. I thought I was on the potato patch trail already, but okay, no worries. Turned right, passed the impressive rock cliff, the gossips and came to the first overlook with views. Very impressive. Got off track a bit at the overlook and started heading down, and took a couple up and downs to locate the switchback I missed.

Passed through the camp areas and was a little confused with the intersecting dirt road. Passed a trail sign which indicated the aspen peak trail was in the opposite direction, which was confusing since I never saw the turnoff. A little perplexed, I made it to the turnoff for Hayden peak trails and decided to go up that, as I had wrote off a hualapai peak summit by this point. I really enjoyed this section of trail, nice switchbacks. I passed a sign that indicated the mt. Tipton overlook was 0.33 miles away. I arrived at the overlook and wow, what great views. I then wondered where hayden peak was so I ventured off trail from the overlook for several minutes to try to get a better look, but that proved to be fruitless, so I headed back.

Now back to the dirt road, I continued along and headed up another dirt road. I came to the no tresspassing sign and opted to turn back there. I am mostly an obey the rules kind of guy.

Okay, maybe I can find the aspen peak trail and salvage something of the hike. Aha, there it is. I dropped two water bottles at the start of the switchbacks past the bridge and started my ascent. Lovely trail, really enjoyed it. I came to the overlook and still wondered where the peak was. There was an almost spire like formation, and I figured that might be dean peak, since an earlier trail sign had indicated 0.62 miles to a dean overlook. I figured aspen must be behind the bench, so I headed right and began to immediately climb some rocks. Turned back pretty quickly and back down as I hit an iffy cliffy area. There must be an easier way I thought. Back down to above the bench and, aha, there is the pathway to the left. It was a fairly defined route that led to the base of some rocks. I scrambled up the rocks, looked over and saw the further set of rocks was obviously higher, so headed back down and over to those. A little scurry up a rock face and very nice views.

Headed back down the trail and somehow blew by my stashed water, even though I had left it right in the middle of the trail. No problem, I still have about 7 ounces left and there is a water pump ahead. Filled my bottle in case I needed it and continued on.

I missed the left turn to take me back to the campground and didn't realize it until I hit open views on the east side of aspen peak. Crap. I ran back, anxiously looking for the now right turn. I found it nearly half a mile later and was relieved. Seems silly on a well defined trail, but it is not a good feeling to not know where you are in an unfamiliar area.

Aside from the mishaps, this is a beautiful area, I love the drive up the mountain to the park and it has some really cool rocks and great views. I'll be back another time to tackle hualapai peak.

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Jun 30 2012

johnlp

Guides 1
Routes 14
Photos 7,202
Triplogs 5,208

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Jun 30 2012
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	11.90 Miles	3,745 AEG

Hiking	11.90 Miles
	3,745 ft AEG

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A return to Hualapai Mountain Park was a no brainer following the drive to Kingman with my son. We were there to rendevous with his friends. He is spending a week in Las Vegas. I got a late start (for me) hiking at about 10:30 AM. My goal was to hit Hualapai Peak then other peaks as my energy allowed. I met a local hiker early in the hike who said his favorite hike is the Dinosaur Rock Overlook and trail, so I decided I wanted to go there as well. I summited Hualapai Peak first, then took the Potato Patch Loop through the boy scout camp on my way to Hayden Peak. I followed a sign that read Hayden Peak trails, but those trails don't go to the summit. I hiked up to the Mount Tipton Overlook, then to the Dinosaur Rock Overlook. Both nice trails and vistas. Next was Aspen Peak. The trail goes up to Dean Overlook, then like Hualapai Peak there is a short bushwhack to the summit. I decided at that point to forego Hayden Peak and call it a day. Saw four deer and lots of smaller wildlife. Awesome place to hike.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White Fir

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White-Breasted Nuthatch

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Reference Mark

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Hualapai Peak

_____________________

“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Aug 20 2011

Lthornton

Routes 16
Photos 53
Triplogs 6

61 male

Joined Sep 21 2011
kingman, az

Deer Canyon - Hualapai Mountains

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Aug 20 2011
		Lthornton • Triplogs 6

Hiking	11.20 Miles	2,975 AEG

Hiking	11.20 Miles	4 Hrs 39 Mns		2.41 mph
	2,975 ft AEG		10 LBS Pack

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