|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 17.72 Miles |
6,124 AEG |
| | Hiking | 17.72 Miles | 9 Hrs 33 Mns | | 2.08 mph |
| 6,124 ft AEG | 1 Hour 3 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | I'd guess that every Arizona outdoor enthusiast has a bucket list ready for days like today. Well, one of the many on my list was this hike. The forecast was for a break in the recent hot temperatures. The day did not disappoint. Almost perfect, except for those pesky gnats! I had three goals on this hike. The first was to find Mel's bandana she had lost on our previous trip to Hayes Peak. The second was to not get bit by a viper. The final goal was linking up three of the Sierra Estrella's main summits. I closely followed our previous route and quickly found the lost bandana, so after that I was elated to put the phone away, transitioning into sheep mode and trying to step up the pace. Hayes Peak didn't seem that difficult, as well as most of the traverse south towards Montezuma Sleeping. There surprisingly were well-worn sheep trails in many places on the ridgeline and remnants of the 1945 plane crash. Nearing the north side of MS though, the topography became more challenging and didn't really let up at all until Quartz Peak. I saw one large ram below me when ascending MS. He quickly distanced himself from me with what seemed like very minimal effort. An old friend gave me some advice about this ridgeline, stating that it's best to stay on the ridgeline proper. I tried to keep to that great advice, except the last three very rocky peaks before reaching Quartz seemed tough to go over, so I traversed the northeast side of them. It was a jenky, grueling bushwhack to say the least. If (unlikely) I repeat this route, I'd try it CCW, up the Quartz Peak trail first and try to crest those three peaks when fresher in the hike. This is a more difficult hike. It would be insane to attempt this without prior experience hiking.  |
| |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
