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| Hiking | 16.40 Miles |
4,719 AEG |
| | Hiking | 16.40 Miles | 8 Hrs 28 Mns | | 1.94 mph |
| 4,719 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Tim T and I talked about wanting to do this hike for a few weeks now. We planned on Wed/Thurs but had to delay because of rain. We finally found a day where the chance of rain was only 20% and decided to go for it. We arrived at the trailhead at 6 am. Driving time was roughly 1 hr 30 mins from NW Tucson to the Miller Creek trailhead. The temps were nice and cool in the morning but it warmed up quickly and we tried to get as high up as we could as fast as we could to avoid the heat. The shady treed areas on this hike were great but there were some areas where the sun could shine in and it got a bit hot at times.
At the campground we met two guys from the East Coast who set up camp and we talked for a few minutes about the peaks in the area. We didn't see anyone else on the entire mountain this day, which we thought was a bit odd for a Saturday.
This entire hike was made up of very good trail. Roughly the last 1 mile before getting to the peak, the trail got very steep in some areas which slowed us down quite a bit. We kept pushing on and near the top, the trail flattened out so I knew we were close. We saw a registry at a metal "podium" about 5 minutes from the top. We signed our names and looked South at Wrong Mt and Wrong Mt South. I considered hiking the additional 1 mile to summit those 2 points, but we simply didn't have the time. Plus there was no trail and the bushwhack looked a bit tedious and time consuming. Even if we had the time, it would have made this hike 18-19 miles roundtrip, which would have made for a very long day. I thought that reaching Wrong Mt in a single day and back is very challenging and a camping trip would definitely be helpful to split up such a long hike. Maybe in the fall or next year...
After getting some photos at the peak, we started our descent heading for Happy Valley saddle. Right near the saddle, we saw a snake that looked like a Pacific Gopher Snake. It didn't seem threatened by us at all. We used a stick to get it to move off the trail, watching it move slowly and then eventually very fast.
We continued our descent and it felt pretty warm despite being on the East side of the mountain while the sun was getting lower in the West sky. We stopped for a few water breaks on the way down. I ended up drinking 1.5 gal of water the entire day, which is more than normal. When we finally got down near the trailhead we saw a cow a few hundred feet from the gate, and then we saw her calf standing right near the gate. We were able to get within about 15 feet when the calf ran back to her mom. It was nice to finish before dark. Had we tried to go to Wrong mountain, we definitely would have been held up for several more hours and run the risk of descending after dark.
AEG = 4719 AEG
Timeline:
6 am - started hiking from Miller Creek trailhead
8:27 am - arrived at Happy Valley saddle / junction, took 20 minute break about 1 mile from peak
11:25 am - summited Rincon peak, stayed on peak for at least 1 hour
12:30 pm - left summit
2:50 pm - reached Happy Valley campground
3:00 pm - reached Happy Valley saddle, took 20 minute break, then took only 5 minute water breaks after that
5:30 pm - arrived at Miller Creek trailhead
Strava stats said 4 hr 20 mins moving time for ascent, 4 hrs 8 mins moving time for descent |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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