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Fishy Black Crossiness, AZ
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| no partners | | The same Nov 15 2023 triplet loop but CCW this time. Directly after the first tough 4x4 section of FR 213 there was a significant grease puddle stain and then an oil drip trail on the road for a while. This is the reason why I’ve always walked this section to avoid an elevated tow bill and expensive wheeler repairs.  We don’t all possess 00blackout's mad wheeler skills! It seemed like a really warm morning until dropping into Tortilla Well. Once on the JF, things were interesting for a bit because of two aggressive and snorty Javelinas. I had to literally yell and wave my arms to get them to back off. Game trails descending Lost Dutch were mostly camouflaged by all the vegetative green carpet. Fish Creek is flowing nicely, which made it somewhat of a slower split by trying to keep the feet dry. The first scramble below the buttress seemed spicier than I remembered but the final dike scramble wasn't. This time I noticed quite a few massive dead junipers near Spyro Portal and the Ram's Horn Arches. Perhaps remnants of a past cooler and wetter climate. Flushed three Coue on the ascent to Black Cross, scrambling a more direct eastern ridge which had quite a few fun bouldery sections. By chance I also scrambled the east face of Fish Creek Peak that I didn't know was possible since the previous trip's direction made it more difficult to determine if that side went. Since it's a weekday, not many vehicles on the Apache Trail, but I still bypassed the sweeping Fish Creek switchback to shorten the amount of busier afternoon road walking. I suppose it's time to write a guide for FCM, since I've done it twice now and both directions.  |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Overall, a nice ridgeline route that is better than staying on the Crest Trail for the transverse.
It couldn't possibly rain all morning. Wrong.
