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| Hiking | 2.07 Miles |
1,034 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.07 Miles | 2 Hrs 52 Mns | | 1.24 mph |
| 1,034 ft AEG | 1 Hour 12 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The figures above for time, distance and AEG are based on a loop from the Squaw Peak deadend. They do not reflect numbers for the main objective, which was hiking the ridgeline of the several peaks east of Squaw Peak Drive. I plan to do a route and description in the not too distant future.
My ridgeline trek started on the north at the Elydia Davis memorial bench in the high saddle of the Ruth Hamilton Tr, continued S over the summits of what I determined were six peaks and ended at the high Connector Tr on the south. The connector I'm talking about parallels the #202 Mohave Connector, but above it and is the more popular of the two.
This is the same route I aborted on March 30 because of high wind and shaky legs. Today, with only a light refreshing breeze and stronger underpinning, I made it in fine shape. It just took a while.
Elevations of Peaks 1 thru 6, north to south: 2,109, 2,109 (amazing, though #1 seemed a few feet higher by eyeball science), 2,079, 2,074, 2,058 and finally 1,995. Six peaks in a row with summits within 114' of each other! This is according to my GPS, and the numbers are intended to show only the relative differences in this sextet. So, in the larger sense, you are traveling downhill as you proceed southward.
Very few do this ridgeline. I have seen two or three go up to Peak #1 but I have no clue how far south they went. By the time you reach the rock front of Peak #3 the faint trail has all but disappeared and you have to bushwhack and haul yourself up over large grainite boulders and in one case a small rockfall. I used my hands a lot on the rock and in one instance on a particularly steep section, tossed my trekking pole down about 10 feet so I could use both hands on the granite. The good thing is you can always find the "trails" again because the width of the ridgeline is small. I estimated it was 15' across at one point with steep slopes on both sides.
The summit of Peak #4 is fairly flat and offers a nice place to rest. Someone had obviously been there. I saw what looked like an empty flip-top beer can so old that only the silver-colored aluminum remained. No recent signs of travelers. And of course saw no one on my trip today, only hearing voices waft up on occasion from Squaw Peak Dr far below.
At Peak #5, someone has spray-painted graffiti in blue across the faces of several large boulders on the north face. It's not art. Just stupid stuff.
The worst time came in descending the south side of Peak #6 down to the connector trail. It is very steep with nothing but pebbles to walk on and very few trustworthy hand-holds on rock. It took an hour or so it seemed to get down that 128' in elevation and I almost fell once. That descent without injury was almost as much a victory as completing the entire ridgeline.
It was sunset when I reached the connector and 7 dark 40 when I got back to the car. My Civic was the only one left in the parking lot, though at one time, from above, I had noticed the lot all but full. May try this one again someday when I have time to linger on top of, say, Peak #4 and enjoy the expansive views. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
. The views were great. As I hiked down the flora was very nice all around me (leafed out ocotillos) and the views to the south and east were interesting too; especially of Camelback and I could see clear to the Supes as well. The trail was laid out before me including a nice little flat section where I could gawk a little more. 
, it was a beauty!! And then I saw lots of other larger quartz pieces on the hillside; thus why "quartz" is in the name.
so I took more photos. The trail is interesting here as far as the tread and flora. The climb south up to the saddle is not bad at all. The side views of the mountainsides is nice here. As I hiked down Nature Trail #304 I started encountering lots more people. 
. I found an alternative ridgeline to walk, from Ruth Hamilton to Mohave, and made a loop out of it. Thanks BlackToes for the track! It was a good up and down climb with some different views. Construction on the Mohave Parking area is coming along nicely as they continue working their way through the park making improvements. Great day! 
