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Ascent of Harquahala Mountain on 2016-01-05

Climber: Kreg Ellzey

Other People:Solo Ascent
Only Party on Mountain
Date:Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Ascent Type:Successful Summit Attained
    Motorized Transport to Trailhead:4x4 Vehicle
Peak:Harquahala Mountain
    Location:USA-Arizona
    Elevation:5681 ft / 1731 m

Ascent Trip Report

I decided to give Harquahala Mountain a try on this overcast and drizzly day using the 4WD road (-aka- Harquahala Mountain Byway) that heads northwest off Eagle Eye Road. Elevation at the edge of pavement is approx. 1824 ft. From there I drove in for 8.4 miles to a pull off around 4,090 ft where I parked the vehicle. I finished the trip up to the summit (ca. 2.3 miles) on foot following the 4WD road. Above approx. 3000 feet, cloud cover became dense and low, and for the most part visibility was limited to just a bit beyond the edges of the road. For the final hike up, precip was steady but, aside from a couple brief instances of light showers, it never developed into much more than drizzle. On the summit I found and photographed a reference mark that was in the rocks close to the windsock and then wandered over to the wilderness highpoint before retreating back down the often slippery road to the vehicle. Total trek was 4.6 miles roundtrip with 1591 ft gain. The setting, combined with the weather, provided for an interestingly surreal summit visit. The last time I hiked in conditions similar to this was during a high elevation trek in Ecuador. I hope to get back to this one in the near future, and under clear skies, to try its northwestern route.
Click on photo for original larger-size version.
HARQUAHALLA RM on the summit of Harquahala Mountain (2016-01-05). Photo by Kreg Ellzey.
Click here for larger-size photo.
Summary Total Data
    Total Elevation Gain:1591 ft / 484 m
    Total Elevation Loss:41 ft / 12 m
    Round-Trip Distance:2.3 mi / 3.8 km
    Route Conditions:
Road Hike
    Gear Used:
Ski Poles
    Weather:Drizzle, Cool, Breezy, Low Clouds
Ascent Statistics
    Gain on way in:1591 ft / 484 m
    Distance:2.3 mi / 3.7 km
    Route:Harquahala Mountain Byway
    Start Trailhead:Harquahala Mountain Byway  4090 ft / 1246 m
Descent Statistics
    Loss on way out:41 ft / 12 m
    Distance:0 mi / 0.1 km
    Route:Harquahala Mountain Byway
    End Trailhead:Harquahala Wilderness HP  5640 ft / 1719 m
Ascent Part of Trip: Harquahala 2016

Complete Trip Sequence:
OrderPeak/PointDateGain
 Harquahala Wilderness High Point2016-01-05 b0 ft / 0 m
1Harquahala Mountain2016-01-05 a1591 ft / 485 m
Total Trip Gain: 1591 ft / 485 m    Total Trip Loss: 1591 ft / 484 m
GPS Data for Ascent/Trip


 GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by Kreg Ellzey
Click Here for a Full Screen Map
Note: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO responsibility or liability from use of this data.

Download this GPS track as a GPX file




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