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| Hiking | 10.98 Miles |
4,230 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.98 Miles | 8 Hrs 23 Mns | | 1.66 mph |
| 4,230 ft AEG | 1 Hour 46 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | We were back in the Mazatzals again this weekend, with North Peak as the main destination. FR 414 was in good shape on the way to Mineral Creek Trailhead...some deep ruts along some stretches, but no problem for high clearance vehicles. Ours was the only vehicle at the trailhead, and there was a faint smell of smoke from wildfires as we got started.
North Peak Trail was in good shape and well-maintained aside from some overgrowth near Mineral Spring, but it opened up again quickly as we started the climb. The second mile was the steepest and loosest on the way up to the ridgeline to the northwest of North Peak, but the views were especially nice once the peak was visible. After two miles, the trail leveled out, and we hiked through a long stretch of flowering manzanita on both sides of the trail, buzzing with bees.
At three miles, we took a short break at the clearing where we'd leave the trail. I was expecting the off-trail to be a lot worse than it was--it was steep, loose, and brushy, but it was mostly manzanita and non-thorny branches that I could push out of the way, and I never took the clippers out...after some of the off-trail leaving one of the Doll Baby ruins sites two weeks ago, this felt like a walk in the park. The initial climb up from the trail to the next ridgeline was the most tedious with the brush, then it was rockier terrain but less dense brush the rest of the way. Lots of nice cactus blooms up higher, and after the short scramble up some rocks, it wasn't much farther to the top.
It's a very pleasant peak--flat and open, with lots of agave flowing cacti. Tips of a few of the Four Peaks are just barely visible in the distance toward Roosevelt, and I could see Doll Baby Ranch and the cliff with the ruins to the north/northwest. Someone built some low walls on the south side of the peak, so there was a small structure there. I didn't see a summit register, so I added one near the base of the height of light post.
[ youtube video ]
I took a short food break before starting back down toward the trail. Along the way, I came across a jacket in the brush on the ridge partway down...so if you lost a jacket near North Peak, there's a waypoint on the GPS route to find it  . I picked up some scratches on the way down but avoided any major bloodshed, and it was generally easier to see the gaps in the brush while descending.
We still had some time, so we hiked further along North Peak Trail, and I continued to the end and hiked a short distance on Mazatzal Divide to take a look at The Park, then raced back to catch up with TboneKathy. North Peak Trail was well-maintained to the end--wide and open nearly all the way. The hike out was uneventful, and we didn't see anyone all day. We also didn't see much wildlife during the hike but did see a road runner and a snake on the drive out.
On the drive back toward 87, we'd considered adding a short hike to Table Mountain to check out the small ruin there. On the topo map, it looked like we could hike up FR 193 a short distance, but there was no sign of a road there, just a wall of low trees and brush, so it would've been a lot slower than planned and we abandoned that idea. Overall, though, another fun day in the Mazatzals with great weather and solitude. |
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Mineral Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | Light flow of water across the trail near the spring | | | |
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