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| Hiking | 9.07 Miles |
3,239 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.07 Miles | 4 Hrs 38 Mns | | 2.24 mph |
| 3,239 ft AEG | 35 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After months of promising Peter that I do the trail he blazed to Mount Tritle, I finally got around to it, and it’s definitely a sweet ridgeline traverse… at least this time of year with no snow on the ground! From TH to summit, there is heavy shade cover the entire way, and Peter described it to me as a ‘route that is heavily blazed to the point where it feels like you’re on a trail’, which is very accurate. Although, [thanks to the many the animal routes and routes from people stopping by the Hassayampa River in the very beginning], I had a bit of a rough start for the first 1/10th of a mile or so after inadvertently veering slightly from Peter’s track, [which resulted in heading up a very steep embankment with loose dirt and not much to grab on to]. With my equilibrium still not 100%, it was definitely a bit of a challenge to stay on two feet, but I managed to not take a nosedive or go over backwards and before long, I had reconnected with Peter’s track and it was smooth sailing to the summit. Along the way, occasionally gaps among the tree cover allow for some pretty awesome views of nearby peaks / ridgelines in the area, particularly those of Spruce, Davis, and Union. The Sundance Mine is a really neat area, with a large vertical shaft enclosed by barbwire and several piles of tan colored tailings. There are also some great views from atop the tailings piles.
Compared to when I was last on Tritle at the end of April, I was surprised to see how brushy the summit has become during monsoon season. Peter mentioned that in addition to the register he had placed by the tallest rock pile in the center of the open portion of the summit, the other register [that had been buried in a brushy area by the actual highpoint] had also been taken… and the cairn garden kicked down.  With a jeep road leading directly to the summit, this doesn’t surprise me… in addition to the missing registers and destruction of the cairn garden, there was tons of broken glass on the summit as well as what looked like an old road sign that had completely rusted over. Perhaps this ‘summit trashing’ will finally stop if FR 52B erodes completely in the section that literally ‘broke off’, mid-way down…
Peter graciously created a new register, equip with a writing implement, small notebook to sign in, and a deck of cards, as well as a few other goodies. Relative to how he normally loads up some of the registers he’s planted with tons of goodies, he didn’t have much on hand this time; but one of the items in the register will likely make someone’s day.  In hopes of avoiding another registry robbery, I decided to select a slightly different location from the one Peter had used the last time. If approaching the boulder pile Peter used last time, [which is located toward the highpoint of the open part of the summit], there is another boulders pile just beyond it and to the left [if heading away from the dirt road]. This boulders pile looks roughly equal in height to the one Peter had originally used for the first register, but with brush on one side, [along with hundreds if not thousands of ladybugs], it’s much easier to conceal. I used a combination of both rocks and dead wood to conceal the register even better, especially from the side of the summit in the direction of the dirt road [from where the vandals are most likely to approach]. Hopefully the next person who signs in will return it in such a way that it is good and concealed as well.
After Tritle, I decided to head over and grab Maverick Mountain. I did not find it nearly as bad as Peter’s [ triplog ] and Joe’s [ triplog ] triplogs might suggest… but then again, my route was slightly different. For the beginning part of the SE ridge that Peter had overshot, there were wide open areas thanks to tons of brush having been cleared. Things gradually got brushier as I continued up the ridge toward the summit, [and there were fewer brush piles and routes as I continued upward]. Shortly after connecting with the spot around where Peter had reached the ridge, I encountered a few areas where the brush was thick, resulting in less than ideal visibility underfoot during snake season. However, I wouldn’t consider it extreme/terrible… at least not if you’ve got a good pair of bushwhacking pants/jacket, shin guards, and trekking poles like I wore!  I’d much rather blaze through the type of vegetation found on Maverick, [which doesn’t tend to penetrate my clothing/protective layers unless I take a real direct hit] versus something like catclaw, [which seems to go through everything at the slightest touch except for my shoes and shin guards].
Unless the register Peter had placed on Maverick had fallen from the tree and become buried in the brush below [or unless I was barking up the wrong trees, literally!] I could not find it. There is no obvious highpoint on Maverick so I looked up/around all large trees located near what I thought would be fair game. Granted, I did not look nearly as thoroughly as I would have liked given that the mosquitos were eating me alive and I was REALLY running out of daylight… but even still, an overlay of our GPS routes later that evening revealed that I should have found the register. Unlike the summit of Mount Tritle, [which is extremely easy to access thanks to the dirt road that goes directly to the top], Maverick is definitely not a mountain that folks are going to go hang out/party on… so if the register was indeed taken / removed, my guess would be the people clearing the brush a short distance below the highpoint.
After Maverick, Peter graciously bailed me from the extreme stress of having to return in pitch darkness by meeting me near the official take off point for the Tritle via FR 52B HAZ hike [ description ] . For many more reasons than one, I am not a fan of night hiking while alone; and, [when there’s a time crunch and I know I’m cutting it close in terms of having enough daylight], I’m usually very careful to plan my routes accordingly, [i.e. taking certain precautions like planning the return / portion I anticipate hiking after dark on a well-defined route/trail/jeep road, and preferable one with decent footing]. However, eager to finally execute Peter’s route that he’s been wanting me to do for months, [and then over ambitious in terms of going after both Maverick and Tritle despite my late start], I definitely feel a bit short in planning this adventure.
Had Peter not bailed me, my two options were: continuing with the original plan [which involved returning to the summit of Tritle and then taking a different route that Peter had blazed off Tritle and back to my vehicle] or doing an out-and-back. Neither option was ideal. Although Peter’s route to Tritle was fully trailed for the most part, if I were to inadvertently stray from his route again and descend from the section I’d taken in the confusing spot at the beginning, it would be downright treacherous, [even in broad daylight], thanks to my equilibrium still not having fully recovered. By the time I would have reached this section, it would definitely be pitch dark… NOT something I wanted to chance. The other alternative was sticking to the original plan, which meant coming off Tritle by way of a different route that Peter had blazed. In addition to never having taken this route, Peter had emphasized the importance of sticking to his descent route closely if I wanted to avoid cliffy/craggy areas... again, NOT something I wanted to chance after dark. Needless to say, neither option was ideal; but thanks to Peter’s willingness and generosity to drive out and bail me, I was able to return safely via the jeep roads. |
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| God save the Prom Queen, cuz [reality check!] AEG's King...! |
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