Browns Peak & Four Peaks

Weather:  82º, dry, sunny, windy

About this Hike:  Since joining Arizona Hiker's Facebook group I've seen more pictures of hiking to Brown's Peak in the iconic Four Peaks.  This hike is accessed via the Lone Pine Trailhead which is over miles of dirty, dusty Forest Service road.

My research indicated that above 7,000 feet Four Peaks turns into a sky island with cooler temps, pine trees, and phenomenal views of Roosevelt Lake just on the other side of the Matazal range.  I was sold.

A few years back a co-worker offered to let me borrow his Xterra so I could hike in Four Peaks Wilderness.  While I was humbled at his generous offer, I'm not one to take on such liability.  Fast forward to 2018 and I have an Xterra of my own...

Research indicated that Forest Road 143 to Lone Pine Trailhead may be a challenge for the Xterra, but my gut instinct said it wouldn't be too bad.  Let me preface by saying the Xterra survived unscathed.  FR 143 has it nerve racking moments.  The worst comes when you're about 3 miles from Lone Pine Trailhead the road turns very rocky.  Coming down from elevation is no picnic either, as there are no guard rails to protect from some steep drops.  Other than that, slow and steady is the key to navigating this packed, but sometimes rutted, dirt road safely.

Being the over-cautious driver that I am, I frequently pulled aside to let Jeeps, ATVs, and the like pass by.  Most obliged and passed with a wave (all five fingers extended).  People generally are friendly in nature I find....

An intense journey of two hours carried us 18 miles to the Lone Pine Trailhead.  For an additional 40 miles, you can bypass Four Peaks Road, continue north on AZ-87, and then head south on AZ-188 to El Oso Road.  El Oso is unpaved, but reports say it's in much better condition and is only 11 miles to the trailhead.  The fuchsia Mitsubishi Mirage parked at the trailhead was likely testament to this.  I venture to say that even with 40 extra miles on the odo, you'd probably do this trek in similar, or even better, time.

The hike along Lone Pine took us through high-desert scrub including manzanita, gamble oak, and ponderosa pine.  The vistas overlooking Roosevelt Lake were all that they promised to be.  We did see some interesting wildlife including a scrawny doe mule deer.  Not only was she not bothered by our presence, but she was stripping the foliage like there's no tomorrow—which may have been the case as she looked sickly.

Scree Chute on the left

When you approach the final stretch to the summit of Browns Peak the trail turns very steep and very rocky.  The final incline is infamously called 'the scree chute.'  An acute fear of heights has plauged me since I was a child.  The wind at this elevation was relentless.  These factors combined, I made the difficult—but necessary—call that I would not be going up the scree chute. 

From the photos I've seen, I didn't miss much by not officially touching the top of Browns Peak.  The vistas from near the top are already breathtaking.  Canyon, Apache, and Saguaro lakes come into view.  Superstition Mountain seems but a short jump away from atop Four Peaks.  And while the air quality was thick as soup yesterday, Camelback Mountain way down in The Valley could be seen poking through the mire.

Additionally, the Four Peaks appear to have little surface on their summit.  That would've done wonders for my fear of heights.  And that's another interesting point—as impressive as Four Peaks are from The Valley floor, up close they're surprisingly small.

I'm glad to check Browns Peak off my bucket list.  I'm not sure I'm in a rush to return to Four Peaks.  The drive is long and tiresome for relatively little hiking that you get to do.  If one day I do return it may very well be via El Oso Road.  I would like to explore the Amethyst Mine / Mother Lode trail one day.

Look close. From near the top of Browns you can see the lower Salt River lakes

One of many Roosevelt Lake vistas

Epilogue:  On the drive down we encountered the biggest diamondback I've ever seen.  He/she was sunning in the middle of the road.  I hate snakes, but resisted my urge to use said diamondback as a speed bump and in fact was glad to observe this creature from the safety of my vehicle.

Super-Blooms and Superstitious Hike

Weather:  85°, overcast

Time:  1 hour 18 minutes

About this hike:  I have always wondered how long it would take me to reach the top of Superstition Mountain via the Siphon Draw trail while hiking solo.  Every other time I've hiked this trail it's been with company.  Not that company's a bad thing...afterall, it's a 35 mile drive, $7 entry fee, and minimum 4-6 hour commitment to do this hike.

I made this big commitment on a whim this morning; it just seemed like the perfect day for it.  Plus the desert wildflowers are in full bloom right now.

So 1 hour and 18 minutes is what it takes me solo to reach the part of the trail where you then go right to the Flatiron Rim.  The final obstacle on this trail is a vertical rock wall that has been known to freak me out in the past.  The tried-and-true palo verde tree that everyone uses as a handhold is still hanging in there after all these years, although today as I was going up a helpful blue climbing rope was tied around it.  Weird thing is that by the time I began my descent the rope had vanished...

Instead of heading to the Flatiron I decided to try to make my way to what's considered the true summit of Superstition Mountain.  A true summit is hard to define because Superstition is more like a small range of hoodoos.  Regardless, me and a hiking buddy reached the summit several years ago, so I knew it was there.

The summit is not a fun nor easy hike.  More than a few times I asked myself why I was doing this.  It involves bushwhacking, carefully sidestepping aloe veras and cacti, and climbing thru tight rock crevices.  Only making it a bit easier was a group of middle-aged men whose leader knew the trail well.  I opted to follow them.

All this summit hassle was so I could sign the nylon flag that I saw perched up there last time.  Brave hikers were known to autograph it, but last time I had no writing instrument.  Today I had a Sharpie, but there was no longer a flag.  Signing a dead aloe vera stalk crossed my mind, but that may be considered defacing State/National Forest land.  I'm not that type of person...

A lunch break was originally scheduled for the summit, but a strange uneasiness came over me.  Maybe it's the sheer remoteness of this mountain and a feeling of dread if anything should happen... Regardless, I've had this come over me before hiking at Superstition.  It's an urgent feeling to get off the mountain.  I opted to get off the summit and eat lunch on the Flatiron.  The wind was bad on the rim and it made for an unpleasant lunch.

With that, I began my descent.  Once thru Siphon Draw the fields of colorful wildflowers were dazzling.  All this was set against a perfectly lit backdrop of the Goldfield Mountains and Four Peaks.  The Downtown Phoenix skyline loomed painfully small in the hazy distance.

So I'll be honest...I had a lot of time to reflect.  It's been a year since I last did this hike, and I could easily go another year before doing it again.  Superstition Mountain is so beautiful in the spring, but this hike will kick your you-know-what.  It's treacherous and grueling, and as I get older I'm wondering if such risk is necessary.  I have so many other hikes in our beautiful State of Arizona on my bucket list that maybe it's high time I start checking some of these off.  Regardless, I'm sure I'll be back at Superstition before too long.

Desert super-blooms as Four Peaks looms in the distance