Madera Canyon, where our group of 13 gathers and waits for late comers. This Meetup hiking group accommodates and enables late arrivers far more then any other hiking group so we grumble a bit but there are worse places to pass the time as other hikers come and go. At 8:20, we shove off, briefly on the Old Baldy Trail, then quickly on the Vault Mine Trail and where it breaks right on a punishing up hill climb, we stay straight on the Carrie Nation Trail which is slightly less strenuous. The above artifacts indicate we are about to reach the end of the trail and just beyond, it is a good idea to.... ….check out the mine entrance but probably not a good idea to be too inquisitive. No telling what creature lurks in the shadows, prepared to pull you in for a meal. Actually, I got there a little ahead of the group and looked for animal tracks but saw none. It's a beautiful spot with plenty of shade and running water. The official end of the Carrie Nation trail begets a well worn social trail that leads us higher with an occasional break in the foliage. From the trail head, the average grade to the end of the official trail is 13% but now it becomes steeper. The granite slopes leading to Mount Wrightson can be seen as we continue. The trail intersects with the Aqua Caliente Trail as part of my group arrives and we are given a very brief break from the unrelenting climb. Actually, only about 0.2 of a mile until we reach a left breaking, unnamed trail that leads us to Mount Hopkins Road. We encounter an awesome alligator juniper tree that dwarfs us as we pass. This well worn trail is easy to follow and the occasional view.... ….is easy on the eyes! We reach the road but still have another 1.5 miles until we reach the peak and observatory. The final ramp from the trail is really steep as we wait to regroup. Compared to what we have experienced thus far, this final hike is relatively easy with an average grade of 8%. When I reach the top, looking down I see mountain bikers descending as some of our group ascend. I talked to one of the cyclists and he confirmed that while staff will intercept you during the week, on weekends one can go around the gate and finish the ride so that will be next weekend's project. The serpentine, Mount Hopkins Road. For a dirt road, it's in great shape. There are a few final ramps that are just killer. The last has to have an average grade of at least 25% and after what we have endured, the crest can't come soon enough. In the shade, it is a very nice, 62 degrees as some of us sit on the deck of the observatory. Our hike leader, Bill, on the left. Bill is a well known and respected reservoir of hiking knowledge and experience. You go into the wilderness with that guy and you just know you are going to come out. Yes, maybe on a stretcher but you will come out:) For the first arrivers at the peak, we ate our snacks, waited for the others to join, eat their snacks and then some of us plotted to get the group going. We decided if we put on our packs and act as if we were ready to go, the signal would be sent and it worked. A big but though. Rather than retrace our route, we would take a different route off the mountain. Rather than descend the 1.5 miles down the road and exit as we had arrived, we strode maybe 200 yards, hopped a fence and descended a ravine. A bad omen at the start....Bill slipped and cracked his elbow on a rock. Fortunately, it was only a flesh wound so after applying a bandage, he was good to go....whew! And so, the real reason why I joined this group hike. We were bushwhacking, entirely off trail, toward Aqua Caliente Saddle. Last July, I had ascended this ridge from the Saddle, reached the peak, lost cell phone power, decided I could find my way back down, became lost, found the remains of a lost hiker, etc... It has always bothered me that I became lost so when I saw Bill was going to lead the group down the route, I had to sign up. Sooooo, now I know I had gotten off the main ridge to another ridge known as the "Wrong Ridge", ha, ha but of course. But, good things occurred because I had become lost (not the least of which is I became unlost, of course) and now the mystery of how I got off route was solved so happy about that. During our descent of today, the slope was very slippery with a thick bed of pine needles so many of us fell but all survived. We reached the aforementioned saddle where we got onto the Aqua Caliente Trail. The group decided to take a break but I was good to go so politely excused myself and soloed back to the parking lot. During the descent of the brutally steep, Vault Mine trail I passed by a mine having an ominous warning sign. Finished with 7.8 miles and 3300' of elevation gain. Good workout with some good people. Our route was clockwise.
7 Comments
John Mills
4/28/2020 06:28:50 am
Interesting notes from a singular point of view, Mark. I always enjoy reading them & know you to be a "go-getter", usually free from the responsibility of leading a group & therefore free to go at your own pace.
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Mark
4/28/2020 07:27:14 am
John, I'm glad you have this format to express your thoughts, just as I do to express mine. I belong to 12 hiking groups in the Tucson/Phoenix region. Your willingness to accommodate late arrivers at the expense of those who arrive on time greatly exceeds any other group. My comments are not my own but were volunteered by others as we waited. Yes, 5 minutes of the delay was due to none in the group knowing you were at a different place but the balance of the delay was waiting for late arrivals. I have organized and led many dozens of cycling and hiking groups and long ago learned it is a largely thankless job so you shouldn't be surprised I failed to give you the credit you deserve. Please note I intentionally left out the name of the Meetup group and your name as organizer so as not to draw unwanted attention to the failings of being organized. Well, got to go for a bike ride and see you on the trail soon.
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El Conquistador
4/28/2020 11:07:09 am
Singular point of view??? It's Marks blog, having Marks comments from Marks point of view. What do you want, a collective point of view from his blog? Were any of his comments inaccurate or untruthful? I have followed the infamous blog for many years and yes, he can exaggerate to improve the story but I doubt his opening comment had any exaggeration.
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Alligator Juniper
4/28/2020 11:26:35 am
To the author's comment, it is really unfair to reward the people who can't get their act together in the morning at the expense of those who can. It's perverse reasoning and what is up with all the day of no shows? John complains about the lack of recognition but what about the lack of respect shown to the group by not showing up in such large numbers?
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Ohioians Have His Back
4/28/2020 05:31:49 pm
Hey now! If you don't like the content, Mark should issue you a refund for your subscription......oh wait...…
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Lily
4/29/2020 12:20:34 pm
There are groups who do not wait for people. But they also do not let you go ahead or leave the group early. I don’t like wait for the late ones but appreciate we are treated like adults on the hike. Thanks John. And I liked reading the review on this hike. It was a challenging, long hike and I loved every minute and love to hike with this group.
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Desert Rat
4/30/2020 04:40:41 pm
I was with the group. I don't know Mark other then have hiked with group where he was at a couple of times. He sets his own pace most of the time and I don't have a problem. I'm not as fit as Mark but I don't come out to hike at the slowest pace either. I am glad I have the freedome to hike at my own pace but also wait when needed as does he. I don't understand Johns comment about Mark not signing up properly or did he? I saw he was on the waitlist so what is the problem. Love hiking with this group but that is because there are good people in it.
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