|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 7.52 Miles |
1,241 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.52 Miles | 5 Hrs 19 Mns | | 1.78 mph |
| 1,241 ft AEG | 1 Hour 5 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | I decided to head down toward Tucson bag my first peak of the year, the Sawtooth Mountains Highpoint. We also checked the nice arch that is a couple of hundred feet below the summit.
This is a tale of two hikes: there is about 2.5 miles each way of easy hiking on the desert floor, along with about 2.5 miles total of rock scrambling getting to and from the summit. A lot of the scrambling was class 2 or class 2+, with an ever so slight bit of exposure right at the top.
We mostly followed the route in the guide for this hike. Once we started ascending from the desert floor, we made our way to a saddle that is south of the arch and the peak. Some moron had spray painted some arrows that allegedly pointed the way, but we totally ignored those. I sure would not recommend following them, unless you enjoy exposed climbing on questionable rock.
We followed the GPS track for the hike, and located a large saguaro that is down below a gully that goes up to the arch. We continued on to the peak and went to the arch on our way back. The route to the peak went north, then east, then south to the summit. It was a decent route, with a mix of loose rock and solid rock to hike/climb on. I felt like the climbing was mostly class 2, with perhaps a bit of class 2+. The final climb to the summit was an awkward 5-6 foot climb up, but wasn't too bad. There were some nice views at the summit so we hung out there a bit.
We descended the same way that we came up, except that we went up the gully to the arch. The gully was somewhat steep with some loose rock and a fair amount of brush. I thought that going to the arch was almost more onerous than going to the peak; but we made it up there. The arch was cool, so I am glad that we took the time to get up there.
After descending the gully from the arch, we continued to the saddle that we hiked to earlier, and then descended back down to the desert floor and then back to our parking spot.
This hike won't make my top 10 list, but it was an enjoyable hike to do nonetheless. |
| _____________________
| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
