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| Hiking | 8.76 Miles |
920 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.76 Miles | 3 Hrs 40 Mns | | 2.61 mph |
| 920 ft AEG | 19 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | A gecko told me this one was worth the effort, and when I questioned the 20+ mile effort, I heard something something the last few miles might drag on something something. So I set out to cut out some of the drag on tediousness.
This one completes my quest to stand atop all of Arizona's national parks. One of the list-chasing sites pointed me into the craziest apocalyptic fantasy world west of PeFo known as Sun Valley. Strange, to say the least. Reported threatening private property signs were not encountered and resulted in another 6 miles deducted from the expected route by starting at an unnamed cattle tank between Lime Mountain and Digger Wash. Bonus!
As always, these Painted Desert badlands are a treat of colors and geology and the trip up to the peak was a fun exploration with a surprise or two. The openness of the landscape made it illogical to retrace our steps on the return, and instead we chose a different route with a whole new set of sights and experiences. I highly recommend the variety option.
Summit views were top notch, stretching from southern highlights Escudilla, Greens, Baldy, Ord and the rest of the high Whites across the rim to Mormon and the snowcapped San Francisco Mtn more than 100 miles to the west.
A chilly morning in the low 40s at the start warmed to the 60s, but the blazing sun up here made it feel significantly warmer. This is not a midsummer hike!
Additional Pilot Rock info:
USGS surveyors indicate that it was known to locals as Rabbit Mountain, despite having the current name officially submitted to the USGS in 1915 by Yale Professor Herbert Ernest Gregory (1869-1952), a USGS geologist who researched extensively in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. (Two tanks along its slopes still contain the Rabbit name). No mention of why the surveyors stamped the discs "DOUGLAS", but I suspect it likely relates to William Boone Douglass (1864-1947) who in 1904 joined the General Land Office as a surveyor, working in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Biographical information indicates that he surveyed multiple natural bridges, including Rainbow Bridge in Utah, and was a strong advocate for the creation of National Parks in the Southwest.
In the first half of the 1900s, surveyors drove trucks to within "10 minutes easy packing" to the summit. After the establishment of the national park, the boundary fence increased the approach to about 45 minutes. I saw no signs of a driving route that reached closer to the boundary fence. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
and a solo hiker from Colorado as we neared the end.
