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| | | Cone Brown Mountains Loop and Chuckwagon, AZ | | | |
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Cone Brown Mountains Loop and Chuckwagon, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.38 Miles |
1,160 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.38 Miles | 5 Hrs 15 Mns | | 2.38 mph |
| 1,160 ft AEG | 53 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Oh that Linda does seem to fly up peaks, with or without trails. No wonder she and Kelly get along so well  . And how did I end up in this mix  . However, in this case, I think I suggested this one ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") .
We almost missed our turn for Cone Mountain Summit. Linda led the way up which I appreciated so I could concentrate on just my ascent. It wasn't the easiest of routes as you had to avoid so many different things on the way. The summit was nice and the views impressive. It was VERY windy going up the side but once on top, the wind was almost nil. We took a slightly different route down but eventually hooked up with Kelly's route. As we descended a hawk was trying to get our attention and as always, fun to watch it catch the wave so to speak.
And then it was around the mountain we went trying to decipher where there might be additional routes one could take to the top but Kelly's seemed to be the shortest if anything. We did encounter a few hikers on this side and some trail stewards as well as some bikers. I was having trouble with a small sore my new shoes had caused me on Thurs so I stopped to re-bandage it again. A biker even yelled over to ask if we were okay; wasn't that nice!
And then it was on to Brown's which was more up than from the other side. But I trudged along and tried to keep up with Linda. She sets a nice pace so that's good for me. We finally got up to the saddle but I told her to proceed so I could, once again, change my bandages. They kept falling off  . This time I used several pieces of tape. When we got back to Brown's Ranch Road and the intersection with Corral, we reviewed my options in light of my heel issue. The bandage was, more or less, staying on so we proceeded on Corral, Dry Gulch and Cholla to get to the Amphitheatre which I wanted Linda to see.
We had a quick lunch and rather than head over to Balanced Rock we took the beautiful Watershed Trail to Chuckwagon. It's extra lush through here. This whole Preserve has so much extra desert flora it's really worthy of more visitation by yours truly. I keep threatening to give a bike a try but as I told Linda, "I'm such a gawker I'm afraid I would crash numerous times."
And then along the Chuckwagon Trail we got to see five hawks all of a sudden fly in our vicinity. We watched them as they landed in various areas and flew around; it was so cool. I'm glad I took as many shots as I did as I did manage to get two good photos. In the distance to the SE I saw extreme haze in the Superstitions; we assume from dust, but it was quite thick. We started walking again and then when we looked north we could see some billowing smoke over by the Seven Springs area. There were a few different small billowy-like plumes. We're hoping it's intentional fire but since it was pretty breezy today, we were a little worried.
And per usual, quite a few bikers on the Chuckwagon Trail as we made our way back to the TH. Linda got to be the first to meet Tonto the Third (III)/MYTONTO 3. We finished our beer (root) and parted company. Thx again Linda, glad you got a couple more peaks. And thx for putting up with me fixing my heel every couple miles.
WATCH: 9.81 miles in 5:15:18 at 1.8 avg MPH (128 avg bpm, 164 high: 1 hr Zone 5, 2 hr Zone 4, 1:45 Zone 3), burned 1943 calories. 60.7 degrees at 1:46PM, 14% humidity |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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Route Editor
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Route 
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Rustler 
. I also decided to try out my new shoes.
and 2 hikers. (There were 2 large groups that composed almost half of the biking number). Wildlife included a rabbit, couple of chipmunks, a rattler, quail and a bunch of lizards. Love the MSP! 
