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| Hiking | 5.70 Miles |
2,040 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.70 Miles | 4 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.32 mph |
| 2,040 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Brian and I left Tucson early and drove to the Picketpost trailhead. It would be our first time hiking in this area. The parking area had room for at least 30 cars and the lot was probably half full on a Monday morning. There were some nice shaded picnic areas at the trailhead. There were restrooms at the trailhead, also.
We started off by going South on the AZ trail. After 1/4 there was a Y-junction with signs telling us to go left for Superior, AZ, stay straight for AZ trail, etc. There was no mention of which direction to take for Picketpost mountain. It was a bit confusing but we checked the map and determined that we needed to continue on the AZ trail. After hiking a total of about 0.7 miles on the AZ trail, we saw a branch heading East. No sign, nothing. Again, we determined that this was the trail to Picketpost Mtn. Why is there no sign here??? It's confusing and annoying. If you want to hike this mountain, make sure you bring a route with you and follow it.
The pretty well-maintained trail continued heading up ridgelines going directly toward Picketpost Mtn. We wondered how we would get up there because looking ahead it looked pretty steep. Originally we thought the trail would go to the left or right and then up the South or North ridges from there. But, we were a bit surprised that the trail went right up the middle, following a canyon to a saddle in the middle and the peak was in the back, out of sight for most of the hike.
We saw only 2 hikers on their way down as we were going up and 2 more hikers on their way up as we were going down. When you get higher up, you will see there are multiple branches. Just take the branch that goes UP and you can also look for white or red painted arrows along the way. There are also a few cairns that may be helpful. I would recommend staying out of the canyon just because it looked a bit messy there. In general, it's usually easier/faster to take a ridgeline trail or trails that are outside of any canyon to avoid messy brush.
When you get up higher, you will see a large flat area. Just keep following the trail up and you will see the summit up ahead. There's a mailbox at the top with a registry in it. It's a nice looking summit and there are few of mountains that appear to be endless. You can see part of the town of Superior, AZ to the East.
This hike felt like a mini version of the Flatiron because there were rock formations like the "siphon" along the way, many cliffs, and at the top there were 2 flat areas that stuck out and were probably surrounded by cliffs. The one that looked most like the flatiron was the flat area heading toward the town of Superior.
On the way down, we ended up going too far away from the main canyon and ended up reaching a dead end. There were good trails there probably just because over the years many people went the wrong way. Head back toward the main canyon and look for cairns. One you get on the right track, you will drop down a bit and see the "siphon" which is a large sheet of rock you can walk down. after that there was a steep rocky area to climb down and eventually we reached the main trail. Overall, this was a very enjoyable hike. If you enjoyed the Flatiron in the Superstitions but wanted something a bit milder and less crowded, this is the hike for you.
Stats:
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Mileage (round trip) = 5.7 miles
AEG = 2,040 feet
Strava moving time = 2 hrs 55 mins
Strava elapsed time = 5 hrs 29 mins |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
hedgehog cactus, brittlebush, larkspur, chia, New Mexico plumeseed, Western spiderwort, California suncup, rattlesnake weed, Cleveland's cryptantha, Baby's breath, orange globe mallow, poppies, orange mariposa lily, fleabane |
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| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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