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| | | Ironwood Ridgeline and Four Goldfield Peaks, AZ | | | |
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Ironwood Ridgeline and Four Goldfield Peaks, AZ
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| Hiking | 6.20 Miles |
1,825 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.20 Miles | 5 Hrs 59 Mns | | 1.41 mph |
| 1,825 ft AEG | 1 Hour 36 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I hadn't hiked in this part of the Goldfields in a few years, and I was looking for something relatively short today because my friend had to be home by mid-afternoon, and the Ironwood Ridgeline looked like a good option to see some new peaks. The Medicine Wheel parking lot was mostly full when we arrived just after sunrise, though some of the cars looked like they were from locals camped out/sleeping in their cars, which I've also noticed at other Goldfield trailheads...
We took a quick right on Meridian Mystery Trail and saw two deer along that stretch before we started following the social trail up to the ridgeline. It was a comfortable morning, and we shed the extra layers early before we started the ascent, which was marked with the traditional, unnecessary Goldfield white spray paint arrows and dots. We took the easy detour over to the first peak, 3108, and had a nice view of the series of peaks along the ridgeline.
"Temptation Peak" (the southern of the two Peak 3195s) looked like quite a scramble from a distance but was pretty straightforward once we got there. There was a summit register on top with a couple of familiar HAZ names and a total of eight previous sign-ins this year, the most recent of which was yesterday. We scrambled down off the east side of the peak and continued toward Peak 3125, picking up a faint trail that led over toward the left side of the summit, where we scrambled up a chute to the top and got a better look at Hippy Hill (Peak 3163) and the northern Peak 3195.
Hippy Hill was a little more challenging than the three previous peaks but was a fun one. We stayed to the east and scrambled up that side...ishamod found a more efficient route than the chute full of spider webs and cacti that I originally started up before following his lead  . We took a break on top and noticed two other hikers back on Peak 3125, the only two people we saw on the ridgeline today.
[ youtube video ]
We scrambled down a steep section on the northeast side of the peak, but there was a lot of solid rock, then headed over to 3195. Having read about the conditions of that climb, we didn't plan to go up there but wanted a closer look. The only realistic spot to climb up that we saw was a lower spot with a chute of yellow rock, which was every bit as crumbly as advertised...the first foothold that ishamod tested at the base of the chute immediately broke off, confirming we weren't going to try going up.
We circled around to the north side of 3195 and explored two fairly large caves, then bushwhacked to the southwest to get back on the Ironwood Ridgeline route. We saw a small arch along the way and followed the trail down to Bulldog Saddle. I'd hoped to get up to Peak 3004 as well, but ishamod was short on time today, so we just circled back to the trailhead from there.
Today was one of the hottest days of the year but was still comfortable, especially with a little cloud cover, but it was a reminder that summer is coming soon, and it's good to get some of these lower-elevation hikes in before the extreme heat kicks in. Today's was a short but fun one with a lot of off-trail scrambling. I hadn't hiked with ishamod in more than three months, so it was great to see him again and catch up and explore some new peaks in the Goldfields. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
Was granted a break at the junction of Maricopa Trail where we went up toward the descent route for the ridgeline trail, took a little while to find some decent boulders to sit on near 2525, we concluded Fountain Hills fountain wasn’t functioning today. Returning to the trail after the break the number of hikers increased as we approached Wind Cave trail head and from then on. Cut through Pass Mountain trail head to get on Blevins now seeing bikers and horses. After the “long steep ascent” up Cats Peak Pass we skipped the summit ,will catch it next time. Easy walking on Spillway and Ruidoso made it possible to admire the Saguaros ,but Linda kept pointing out the doomed ones 
also pointed out the snow visible on the Catalina’s. Observed some nice loops and rolls from the model airplanes as we were exiting. The weather was perfect today, as usual enjoyed Linda’s company , she promised to subject her kids to some humor later.
