|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 9.40 Miles |
2,969 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.40 Miles | 4 Hrs 58 Mns | | 2.46 mph |
| 2,969 ft AEG | 1 Hour 9 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Hike day had a chilly, windy start, with some sprinkles in the car on the way. Clouds were sporadic and most weren't dropping much, but there was some rain visible in the Rincons. I arrived at the trailhead around 10am, and met a couple hikers who were leaving who told me they turned around because of the wind and sprinkles. The precipitation had stopped by now, and while the wind didn't sound fun I hit the trail.
The wind was pretty stiff, especially on ridges and east-facing slopes. It was a headwind, too, so it made the climb extra challenging. It's also possible that the day prior having been Leg Day may have contributed to the challenge.
Cat Track Tank was dry and devoid of any cat tracks that I could see. Plenty of human and bicycle tracks, though.
Didn't see many hikers on the way up (two, perhaps) and had the summit to myself once I got there around 12:30. The wind had settled down a bit by then, but I was thankful I packed my puffy. I signed the log in the shelter of a tree and had lunch. The view would have been better on a less windy day; it was pretty hazy. It was still pretty good, even if it wasn't really possible to see the Santa Ritas, let alone the Pinaleños.
Saw more hikers coming up when I was headed down. Most of them were in the mile or two closest to the trailhead. It was sunny, warm, and just breezy rather than windy.
Back at the car at 3pm, then on to home. |
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Loosing elevation brought me to the Cat Track Tank. There was a bit of water in it and a ton of animals tracks around its waters. The trail then started slowly gaining elevation again. I crossed the ridge and then the train descended into the canyon. I did not like what I saw ahead of me. I was going to loose elevation and then steeply gain elevation going up to Forest Road 4445. In the canyon there were two stagnant pools of water with bees buzzing around them. I quickly moved on and the trail quickly steepened. My calves started burning as I pushed up the trail. I moved along and was welcomed by the grassy slopes and oak trees. Views of the Catalina Mountains opened up and it was very pretty. Continuing along I saw some poop on the trail with juniper berries next to a juniper tree, a beetle, and even better scenery. I had planned to hike up to Peak 4765. I got to a good spot on the trail and then started hiking up the steep slope. The ground had a very good grip. I pushed my way through orange dead grass, scratching my legs with the occasional dead regular grass only brushing up against me. I made it to the top of the ridge, just below the summit. The view was amazing up there compared to the rest of the hike I had just done. I took a panorama. Being horrible descending steep slopes, I opted to take the ridge back down to the trail. There was a thin face of bare rock that I had to maneuver across before reaching the more gradual ridge. There was plenty of "Agave schottii" or shin dagger along this route, but less orange dead grass. I got back to the trail, feeling beaten up. The trail started getting steep. The trail became either rock with loose rocks on top of it or silty dirt. It was real steep and I had to slow done at some parts. Calves were burning. I thought this was a hill? A turn in the trail gave hope though. It flattened out. It got windier. I could see all around me and the CLUM benchmark in the dead center of a clearing at the peak. It was pretty windy and combined with the 60 degree temperature my hands immediately got colder. I put my jacket on. I ate a banana. I took pictures of all of the benchmarks. My favorite was reference mark 1 because it has a copper color to it. The other benchmarks were pretty dull and kind of hard to read. I wanted to get moving because I was getting pretty cold. In this rush, I forgot that there was a geocache near the summit. Oh well.
: 
