Hiking Reports

Travel using primarily feet only. Hands might be used with hiking poles for balance or uphill travel.

Tucson Local Peak Hikes, Early 2015

April 3, 2015 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

For the past two winters we have traveled to Arizona to spend a few weeks bicycling and hiking in the sunshine. Early this year we spent about 8 weeks in Tucson, our new winter home. While settling in we bicycled many routes around the Tucson area. I also enjoyed several peak hikes in the surrounding mountain ranges.

Wasson Peak

On Thursday, February 19, I hiked Wasson Peak in Saguaro National Park West (Tucson Mountain District) via the Hugh Norris Trail. The summit of Wasson Peak is the highest point in the Tucson Mountains with 2117 feet of prominence. It was a warm and sunny day. The hike was a good shakedown after months of relative inactivity.

I enjoyed watching several USAF jets pass over. It reminded me of my early years living on USAF bases and of my deceased father.

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Arizona Bicycling and Hiking, March 2014

March 31, 2014 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Linda and I spent several weeks in March of 2014 visiting Arizona for bicycling and hiking. This was our third Spring visiting Arizona and we were curious to see locations we had not previously visited. I enjoyed hiking several Arizona “prominence peaks”: Mount Ord, Pinal Peak, Mount Graham, and Chiricahua Peak. The only significant snow I encountered was on Mount Graham, and it was manageable. The weather was ideal for hiking and enjoying the scenery.

On March 10 we camped near the city of Sedona. The next day we moved camp to Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood. We explored around Cottonwood on our bikes. On on March 13 we relocated to Payson Campground and RV Resort which was our base for four days.

On March 14 we drove south from Payson on AZ Hwy 87, turned east off the highway, and followed a gravel road to a locked gate. From the gate we hiked to the summit of Mount Ord, a 2000 foot prominence peak in the Mazatzal Mountains. The weather on the summit was light and intermittent hail turning to drizzle with thunder in the distance. But the hike was pleasant with good views of the mountains and valleys south of Payson. After returning to the highway we visited Fountain Hills, near Mesa.

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Mauna Kea, Hawaii, January 2014

February 24, 2014 by Paul McClellan 2 Comments

On January 14 I hiked to the top of Mauna Kea, the highest point of the the Big Island of Hawaii and of the entire Hawaiian chain of islands forming our 50th US State. This hike completed my project of climbing the High Points of the Western US States.

I began climbing Pacific Northwest Cascade volcanoes in 1975. These volcanoes rise far above the surrounding terrain. With each summit another one tempted me on. By the mid 1980’s I had started exploring other ranges in Colorado, California, and Nevada. The variety and beauty of these other ranges suggested more explorations. I decided to try to summit the High Points of the Western US States.

This project continued with more or less focus over many years, but recent progress left me with only one high point left to climb – Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.

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Southeast Oregon Peaks, October 2013

December 18, 2013 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

The summer had ended and autumn had begun without my returning this year to hike peaks in Southeast Oregon. There was only one more peak on my Oregon’s Highest Peaks list in SE Oregon I had not yet climbed. I had that peak in mind when I traded my Ford Explorer in for a Jeep Rubicon. On Thursday, October 24, I packed my jeep and began my explorations of Southeast Oregon Peaks.

Little Pinky Reservoir, Oregon Canyon Mountains South Ridge on the Horizon

Oregon Canyon Mountains Highpoint

The Oregon Canyon Mountains Highpoint (aka “Stevenson Benchmark”) has a reputation for difficult access. In particular a frequently used road is long, remote, and has a reputation for shredding tires. However, Caleb Morris posted an alternative driving and hiking route on SummitPost.org. His route proved to be much shorter on difficult driving and included an interesting ridge hike.

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