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| Hiking | 7.21 Miles |
2,408 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.21 Miles | 7 Hrs 39 Mns | | 1.22 mph |
| 2,408 ft AEG | 1 Hour 45 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Ray had Geronimo Head on his to-do list, and this was the day for it. We got started from Tortilla Flats a little before 0900. We headed up the route towards Fragile Arch, although were slightly off the main track for the first quarter mile or so. Joe was wearing long pants and wanted to test them out immediately. Once on track, it was a nice hike uphill to the arch.
After a few moments there, we continued up to the saddle. I like the rock thru this section, and there’s plenty of shade in the morning. At the saddle, we debated for a moment about the route on the other side. Some have done left, some have done right. The more distinct route is left, and since I was in the lead at that moment, we stayed left.
Once we crossed over the creekbed, I was able to mostly follow a faint path uphill, which saved some time. Once we got up “top”, we enjoyed the views as we casually walked south. No path to follow, but it’s easy. Passed the mine, which did not impress Bruce. Saw one deer. Made the final climb up to Geronimo Head and took a nice lunch break.
The original plan was to retrace our steps back for the return, but 150 years ago, Bruce was born, and he likes to get creative. Plan B was to head north, then descend to the west. He had a @dixieflyer track for that, and I’ve also taken a similar route a couple of times, no problem. Plan C was to go farther north, then descend a route to the north northeast, which was a Denny track. Denny claimed no memory of that route, but there might have been some snow when he and Wally took it??? Somehow Plan C was chosen and we headed north. At one point, Ray sincerely said something like “this is wonderful”. A few minutes later, we were singing a different tune.
We were on some sort of cairned route as we steeply descended. The cairns led us to cliffs on one side, a gully on the other. Bruce surveyed the gully and declared it “a piece of cake.” We scooted down. The was a large adit on the right, which Ray investigated while we debated our next move. The gully was too steep, and the cliffs were a no go. We spent some time eliminating options. Ray suggested the next main gully over to the east, which in hindsight, probably would have been doable and the best option. Bruce and Joe looked at a route to the west, which I balked at because there were still cliffs to that side. Nobody wanted to retrace our steps back uphill, which was the last resort. Finally I pushed that we head farther east on the ridge just above and see what the backside looked like since topo was promising.
We headed that way, and once over on the ridge, Ray and Bruce checked out a gully, while Joe and I went a little further and checked out the slope. Denny checked the cell service on his phone to try and charter a helicopter. Joe and I declared the slope to be the best of no great option, and downhill we went, aiming for Peters Canyon. The downhill was fine. Once in the creekbed, we took a break, then followed Peters out. Still some effort required with navigating over and around the boulders, but at least we knew it was a safe option.
Once short little climb to connect to the trail near the beginning, then an easy walk down to the cars. Despite the planned route not panning out, it was a fun day, with great company. I enjoyed the route finding and problem solving. Great weather too. |
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Peters Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | Occasional pools in Peters Canyon | | _____________________
| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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Today seemed like a good day for a repeat.
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
