Mt Harquahala, Vulture Peak and Wickenburg, AZ
3-10-15
3-10-15
Today I climbed a couple of magnificent peaks: Harquahala and Vulture Peaks. I started to hike up Harquahala about 30 minutes before sunrise and had shade almost all the way up. It was a tough but great hike up a historic pack trail to an abandoned Observatory. There is also a lot of mining history to explore along the trail.
Because of the bad lighting, I didn't take many pics on the way up the trail. The old pack trail is consistantly steep and is definitely a challange. I was really glad I got an early start to avoid the heat of the day. This would be a dangerous trek in the heat. When I reached the saddle below the main summit I finally got some sun and a nice breeze.
The summit is pretty large and flat and has a lot of buildings and obstructions, there is not a true 360 degree panorama to be had. There is a 4WD road that leads to the summit, so there are also some antennas and a small parking lot. The views were really nice though, and I spent a while exploring the summit.
Hiking back down the trail was fast and easy, I stopped often to check out the wild flower displays and cool cacti.
You pass quite a bit of mining history along the trail.
This desert was a wonderland of interesting cactus.
After getting back to the car I drove to the trail head for Vulture Peak to find a camp site and climb the peak. It was getting later in the day and it was HOT! I threw my tent down in one of the numerous free camp sites at the trail head and started my hike through a beautiful Sonoran desert landsacpe.
The view from the summit was awesome! There is a short section of scrambling to get to the actual summit, and I enjoyed climbing the class 3 section to the top. I spent quite a while on top enjoying the view.
After the hike I drove into the town of Wickenburg. What a gem in the Arizona desert! I loved my visit and definitely want to return when I have more time. The Chamber of Commerce has a really nice info center in town and they gave me some advice on what to see and do. Very cool place!
Finally getting back to my camp site, I enjoyed a really nice sunset and relaxed after my long day!
