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Hiking | 7.93 Miles |
948 AEG |
| Hiking | 7.93 Miles | 5 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.48 mph |
948 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 18 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Jinx Benchmark-2880 is in the South Maricopa Mtns. My trailhead was north of I-8, between Casa Grande and Gila Bend.
From the TH to Jinx, I initially used a road, then when I passed a catchment, the rest was a bushwhack, through rather open desert. There's a wash, curving around, that can either be used, or just crossed many times. I chose mostly to cross the wash, and go straight for Jinx BM Mtn.
I used a Jinx Mtn drainage to go straight up, and a curving ridgeline for my descent.
I recommend the ridgeline for the "up" and "down" the mountain. The drainage was your normal boulder and vegetation filled drainage, that gets quite steep at the top. The Jinx ridgeline I used was a very easy traverse. It curved around from the top of Jinx to almost a half circle.
I knew Jinx Benchmark-2880 had a USGS benchmark disk (1949) at the peak.
There's no datasheet online to view, so I relied on just a few online photos of the Jinx BM disk. Being a USGS disk (and not an 'NGS' disk), I assumed that there would be no reference marks to locate. My experience is, the USGS is "stingy" with using reference marks.
So — I was surprised up top, as I located three disks. The Jinx BM disk & two RM disks were up there, just waiting for me to show up. Good for the USGS.
The summit log includes some 'Usual Suspects', and then only a small handful of entries, until mine.
I had to smile while hiking back to the TH.
I came across a wildlife trail and followed it. Animals obviously have great survival instincts. I put my GPS in my pocket, and hitched a ride on their trail.
As I figured, their trail led me directly to that same catchment I passed earlier. It's probably their only water source in the area.
This was a fun hike. |
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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