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| | | Hutch Mahan Loop Plus, AZ | | | |
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Hutch Mahan Loop Plus, AZ
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| Hiking | 14.70 Miles |
2,340 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.70 Miles | 5 Hrs 59 Mns | | 2.73 mph |
| 2,340 ft AEG | 36 Mns Break | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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none
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| no partners | | Last-minute plans to hike up north with Chums. After a few PM's with different ideas, we decided on a Hutch-Mahan Loop that Chums put together.
We met at his campsite, and we started off the trail to Hutch Mountain around 8 am. With a 70% chance of thunder boomers, we kept an eye on the sky.
Going counterclockwise from camp, we made the off-trail climb up Hutch Mountain from the south. It was a relatively easy climb, with only a bit of slowdown approaching the unoccupied Fire Tower. Down a north-side ridge, we hit a few forest roads (FR's) and stopped by the Gooseberry Spring complex, which had fresh, clean water in a couple of locations.
After getting on the AZT (Arizona Trail), we stopped at Shuffs tank to check it out. There were literally hundreds of Northern Leopard frogs leaping into the water as we passed by. Next up was Mahan Mountain.
Another off-trail climb to this peak. Close to the top, we kicked up a cow elk and a flock of 6+ large bull elks still in velvet. The top of this peak has the remnants of an old fire tower and building foundation. Down the old fire tower road, we again kicked up what we believed to be the previous flock of elk crashing through the thick brush.
After lunch back at camp, we decided it was early enough to hit up another 8k peak in the area. Interestingly enough, if we were paying any kind of attention, we could have easily hit it up as part of our loop. Instead, we drove over for 1.6 miles, a 400' climb to the top of Peak 8004. The top was littered with deadfall, but the rest of the hike was quite pleasant.
The temperature was 71 degrees at the start, it got up to 85 until the rain, and then dropped to 69, remaining comfortable for the rest of the day. Some cloud-to-cloud boomers started at 11 am, with light rain where we had to open the umbrellas only a couple of times. |
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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry  |
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