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| | | Peak 5501 and Govt Hill BM, AZ | | | |
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Peak 5501 and Govt Hill BM, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.55 Miles |
2,873 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.55 Miles | 7 Hrs 40 Mns | | 1.68 mph |
| 2,873 ft AEG | 3 Hrs 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| Partners |
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none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Bear with me
Seven years ago I did a hike and started my triplog by saying:
"This hike is all Hansenaz’s fault. (I’ve never met the gentleman, but I still blame him)" 
Then after a hike in Jan 2020:
"This hike is all Outdoor_Lover's fault. (I’ve never met the young lady, but I still blame her)"
Well, for this hike I say:
"This hike is all wallyfrack’s fault. (I’ve never met the gentleman, but I still blame him)"
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In Jan 2017 I did a hike I named - Government Hill and "GOVT HILL” BM.
I hiked to Government Hill in the SE Superstitions and easily located a USGS "No-Name" benchmark. It's a nice little disk, but it has no name on it.
I know many HAZ members have been to Government Hill, and have viewed this no-name disk.
I emailed the USGS with the LAT/LONG of the no-name disk, and their answer, "We have no record of that disk". HMMM ….
On TOPO maps, about 1 mile west of Government Hill, there's a mountain named, Peak "5501 BM". It's basically a no-name mountain, and uses the BM's elevation for its designation.
Well, I have a datasheet for that "5501 BM" benchmark disk, and it's named ….
"Govt Hill". Another - HMMM .…
On that hike in 2017, I hiked west, off Government Hill to Bull Basin Tr, and attempted to climb up to Pk 5501. I failed.
I fought through about 100 feet of thick, intertwined vegetation and gave up. That stuff was like hiking through a chain link fence. Up to Pk 5501 was another 500 Ft up, but no way.
Fast forward to last year. Wallyfrack tried to get up to Pk 5501, using my 'track up', and also stopped, due to vegetation.
However, after his hike, he did some great research, and got up to Pk 5501.
He used a different, zig-zagging, and less dense vegetation track, and located the BM disk named "GOVT HILL" (1946).
After his successful hike, the "King of the Supes" graciously sent me a 'HAZ PM', and included his GPS track up to Pk 5501 from Bull Basin Tr.
Well, I made it up there on this hike, using his expert info.
Thank-you, wallyfrack.
Now, here is why I blame wallyfrack for this hike.
Yes, he confided in me his 'track up', and then he enticed me to get up there by offering me a money reward. (Photo from wallyfrack's successful hike photoset).
[ photo ]
Well, I couldn't pass up that reward. 
So, off I went to retrieve my reward. I located the GOVT HILL BM disk, and the summit log — With my reward inside.
I also located 'where' Ref Mark #1 used to be located, and I did locate RM #2.
Note - The two RMs are not disks. They are etched crosses in boulders.
RM #1's etched cross has chipped away, and that 'chip-away' appears to be a natural occurrence. RM #2 was over 29 Ft away, but easily located, and in perfect shape.
One more point of interest.
I included Google Earth screenshots of my track. You'll notice it stops at Bull Basin Tr, and does not include wallyfrack's track-up portion. He did the work on that part, and it's his.
So, I'm glad I finally got atop Pk 5501, and I'm very thankful for the King of the Supes's assistance. My photoset will explain what I actually did with my reward. |
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Bull Basin trail is overgrown so plan for some route finding and scrapes if you decide to hike it. The climb up Haunted Canyon trail to the saddle on Paradise trail was toasty. The hike down Paradise trail was nice and shaded. Bruce did a slide on the way down but recovered well. There was tree fall/limbs in several areas and we removed some. The road hike from Paradise trailhead to the upper Haunted Canyon trailhead went by pretty quick. The road there was in good shape. The hike up Haunted Canyon trail was warm but once we started down the rest of the hike was mostly shaded and temps were dropping. Not sure I was in shape for a 20 miler but we made decent time and I can walk today. I could have used more water because of the warm climbs. A good hike with normal BS & banter. In the end we agreed that anything that went wrong was Denny's fault. 
Pools
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
On our return to Miles we saw 2 Toyotas with HAZ decals 
and yep, as much as I hate using a GPS to get me to and from some of these unknown THs, I will now have to download the driving directions... okay Bruce 
as the others caught up to me in no time and soon whooshed past. I hiked with Larry until the road ends where the rest were waiting for us.
. Whew! cuz that was not the easiest route to hike with all the creek crossings and such not to mention the POISON IVY. But first we had to climb above the creek and thru some pretty yellow flowered areas that even had some saguaros up higher. The views were pretty cool in this area as you could look up the canyon and at the rock formations. We stopped one time in this area; mostly so I could adjust my pack.
with poison ivy so he was particularly careful through most of this. I, on the other hand, have had very limited experience with poison ivy but I had my long pants and socks on so I just tried to be somewhat careful hiking here.
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to and around the cabin area. Reminded me a bit of Reavis. The cabin was built at the same time my grandparents homesteaded to the middle of nowhere in N Central Montana. Their home and surroundings were not nearly as big or nice at this.
and then it was time to go in search of something Bruce had his eye on. I followed in tow having no idea where we were going. At an intersection in the creek, many of us turned around and started to head back. The others would come back soon and catch up with us at the spring where that Halloween guy was drinking from the spring trough. That Halloween guy was at the cabin too and had chased me around a tall tree stump with an axe; wished I had been a cat.
. Those switchbacks are a bit steep and slippery when you're towing a big pack. However, you did get those level-out points to catch your breath so thankfully, it wasn't that bad or as bad as we feared. It seemed humid though and there wasn't a breeze. We did get occasional spots of shade so that was nice. Devon tried to keep us informed of our progress both mileage and steepness-wise. We were jumping for joy when he said the lower switchback section was the steepest.
Devon for taking care of us on the trail and off. Sharing your knowledge of the area is much appreciated as well. I took Stephen back to his place and met his mom who I suspect thot I was pretty scary looking 
. Well it is the season. I noticed when I got back in Tonto Jr that I had dirt marks and such on my face as I didn't clean up before getting on the road.
