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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