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| Hiking | 14.84 Miles |
3,774 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.84 Miles | 7 Hrs 13 Mns | | 2.36 mph |
| 3,774 ft AEG | 56 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | It had been ~2 years since my last hike in the Goldfields, and I'd had Golden Dome on my list for years but had yet to go up there. Cool April weather made this a great weekend to change that. We started from Willow Trailhead on a clockwise lasso-loop based on Chumley's previous Golden Dome hike, with some adjustments to minimize wash/road walking.
Seeing the colorful Goldfield geology again made me question why I'd stayed away for so long. We made quick work of the early "trail" miles and took a short break at a tunnel with some grinding holes that I'd visited on a previous hike, not realizing when we started that it was along today's route. Then we improvised on the route a little as we started the climb up to Pedestal Arch and beyond, with Golden Dome coming back into view as we gained elevation.
Fun scrambling and some steep, loose side-hilling as we worked our way around and up to the west side of Golden Dome. We looked at the chute that Chumley went up last time but tried a spot just to the right that worked great. Based on some of the previous triplogs, I wasn't sure how climby it would be going up, but it wasn't bad at all, and I never even had to tell my frightened inner child with a fear of heights to shut up and keep going. My shorts were less fortunate--on the first big step on the scramble up, I heard the loud sound of ripping fabric and spent the rest of the day hiking with some "unintended ventilation" that was disappointing but surprisingly refreshing.
We didn't find a register on top, but the views were fantastic with a not-too-hazy day--lots of Superstion and Mazatzal landmarks, Etrellas, Four Peaks, etc. [ youtube video ] We ate lunch on top and checked out the northeast end where Chumley went down last time, but we returned the same way we'd come up, then worked our way over to Peak 3141. The register I placed a few years ago was still there, though the old entry was faded to the point that it was virtually unreadable.
Next stop was Triple Arch, where we saw our first other people of the day, then we headed into Black Glass Canyon. It was drier in there than either of us had ever seen it, and the few pools we saw were stagnant and full of algae. But the dry conditions allowed us to go down through the canyon via a route I'd never taken before.
Some darker clouds gathered as we closed out the loop, but it didn't amount to anything more than virga. We were back at the parking lot just after 2PM, wrapping up a great loop--two peaks, a couple arches, three wildflowers, some caves, not too many people, great weather and scenery, and, surprisingly, zero soiled mattresses...can't complain about a day like that. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
- as soon as the road started climbing steeply, the two of us who had done the route previously stopped to check our maps since neither of us remembered that being part of the route 
and good thing too! We quickly doubled back to pick up our trail. 
Lots of cool rock formations and stuff to see. Only saw a hand full of people all day!
The trails are unnamed and there are many spur trails as nice as the one you are on but I did end up where I planned to go so that was good. One more loop on Sonoran Trail #306 and I'll have a complete route. The longest hike we'll have to do is 7 miles so I think the turtle can muster that. 
So, I reluctantly decided to hit up a section of the Goldfields that I hadn't explored. I knew it would be hot, but hoped for the best.
