East Cedar Mountain - Tonto NF • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Nov 22 2015

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Upper Lime Creek - East Cedar Mountain Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 22 2015
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	15.00 Miles	4,019 AEG

Hiking	15.00 Miles	11 Hrs 22 Mns		1.50 mph
	4,019 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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East Cedar Mountain - Tonto NF

Partners

partners

joebartels

This hike held everything good about what you want in a hike.

New grounds covered, New Peaks climbed, smooth rock water slides, the autumnal color of large sycamore and cottonwoods, Water, Ruins, Sherds, Glyhps, Big views. :y:

It also held those things not so high on the list of what you want in a hike.
When 1 mile of bolder hopping in a wonderland turns into, holy crap when is this BS going to be over with.
When wide open views to a distant ridgeline, turn into miles of hidden volcanic rock and cactus land mines.
When you cut the hike short, taking a short cut through 1 mile of solid catclaw, in shorts (avoiding what was probably 5 miles of catclaw), so you can get home in the same calendar day. ](*,)

I'm glad I did it.... The pluses out weighed the minuses. My legs will heal. It's off the to do list now.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

	Ash Spring Creek	Dry	Dry
	Nothing observed

	Upper Lime Creek	Light flow	Light flow
	Plenty of filterable water

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Nov 22 2015

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Upper Lime Creek - East Cedar Mountain Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 22 2015
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	14.30 Miles	4,074 AEG

Hiking	14.30 Miles	11 Hrs 22 Mns	1.43 mph
	4,074 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break

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East Cedar Mountain - Tonto NF

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partners

The_Eagle

The game plan was West and East Cedar Mountain peaks. I wasn't yippie skippy excited about my proposed hike. Bruce cut it down to a sensible size. The rest we learned along the way...

7am
Darn chilly heading down Upper Lime Creek dressed for a heatwave. The first mile rolled off quick. The second was an unexpected heaping serving of Autumn bliss. An intermittent yet obviously perennial flow made it clear water equals life. Like two excited kids we started babbling nonsense. We could change this hike and make it outstanding.

2.10 mi - 8:24 am
How much further in this stupid creek. 1.5 miles.

3.70 mi - 9:36 am
Fenix vibrates we are off track. YES, time to leave the creek! Ugh, a mile of catclaw.

7.05 mi - 12:20 pm
Reached the first peak, roughly 5410, on the SE ridge of East Cedar Mountain. Time to start rethinking our loop. Whoa, put that on the backburner, incredible view alert. The ridge to the peak was 40% ankle busters hidden in grass. 40% dark volcanic rock hopping. 10% catclaw. 10% rock art. Much of which Bruce dubbed early pioneer.

8.00 mi - 1:20 pm
Lunched at what is marked on topo as WC in the shade of a boulder. We had a showcase view of North Peak over to Mazzie Peak. Other stand out performers included Four Peaks, Weaver's Needle and Humphreys capped in snow. After a 25m lunch we picked up nearby 5445 which seems to be the summit.

9.80 mi - 3:15 pm
We'd already scratched off West Cedar peak. 4-6 hours to go with 2 hours of daylight. catclaw was laughing at our shorts. We seriously reviewed our options. 1% skill and 99% luck had us on a road before headlamps sealed the deal. Temps dropped quick over that 1.3 mile stroll.

14.3 mi - 6:20 pm
Glad I went. Glad it's over.

Synopsis
A few hours later I'm digging it more. Feels great. A little bit of the explorer spirit revived. This morning I held a pair of pants in contemplation...

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Buffalo Gourd

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] East Cedar Mountain Horseshoe Reservoir

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Autumn - Color Foliage

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial

	Upper Lime Creek	Heavy flow	Heavy flow
	enough for the whole family

_____________________

- joe

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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