Alright, guys - I volunteered to head-up the November Run-of-the-Month many moons ago, and have been really busy at work, so I'm looking for this to be a great kick-off to the cool weather wheeling season! This is a West-side run, so if you've been waiting for a chance to see the 'other' side of Phoenix, this is your trip.
DATE: Saturday, November 16
TIME: 8am @ Meet Up Point, quick Trail Run walk-thru, radio checks and departure at 8:30a, SHARP. If you're running late, call ahead, as cellphones work out there (602-738-6508 is mine), or CB channel 7. Smoke signals will not be returned.
MEETING PLACE: On Carefree Hwy (74) where it meets Grand (US60), North side of Carefree (*see map below)
RUN: From Meet up, 10mi NW to Wickenburg, 25mi E to the town of Aguila, 18mi S on Eagle Eye Rd, and 9mi of dirt N up the mountain to the observatory (yeah, I know that's 53mi of pavement one-way for 9mi of dirt, but no other way to see the observatory! - *see map below)
EQUIPMENT: There are some steep sections and rugged terrain, so higher than stock ground clearance MAY be required - no lockers are necessary. We'll plan to air-down just off the pavement from Eagle Eye Rd. If somebody has run this recently, I'm all ears... but I'm not going to call this one 'stocker-friendly'. (*I'll let the rest of you guys argue about that!)
No permits are required for this area.
History:
For those not familiar, Harquahala Observatory has some cool AZ history when it comes to Smithsonian tracking of meteorological conditions. From the BLM site, their description reads:
"Harquahala Peak Observatory was built in 1920 by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to measure and record solar activity. Although deserted now, from 1920-1925 a hardy group of scientists lived and worked atop the highest mountain in southwestern Arizona (5681 foot elevation). At the time, it was about an hour's drive from Wenden, Arizona, to the mountain, with a 3-hour hike to the top of the peak. Burros were used to pack building supplies, living supplies and equipment to the mountaintop. Most difficult of all to transport were the delicate recording machines and laboratory equipment. Even water had to be transported by burro until collection tanks could be built."
"Harquahala was an observatory without telescopes. Rather, a theodolite was used for measuring the sun's altitude above the horizon. Pyrheliometers, mercury thermometers with shutters that opened or closed at set intervals to record heating and cooling, measured energy from both the sun's direct rays and scattered rays, and a pyranometer, an electric instrument, measured heat from the atmosphere around the sun. After tedious observation and data collection, the raw information was mathematically calculated by hand, sent to Washington, D.C., compared with data from another observatory, and used in forecasting weather."
And,
"For the scenic enthusiast, the summit is the highest point in southwest Arizona (5,691ft) with breathtaking 360 degree vistas. For hikers, a pack trail leads from the summit down the mountain through the Harquahala Wilderness Area designated in The Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990. The trail has several difficult and steep portions. For the history buff, the drive displays old mining debris, shafts and stone houses from earlier miners. The grand finale is realized at the summit with the Harquahala Peak Observatory. The observatory was built by the Smithsonian in 1920 to measure and record solar activity. It was abandoned in 1925 and in 1975 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has since been stabilized."
Link: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/cultural/harcs.html
They even have a .PDF map: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/az/images/cult.Par.20992.File.dat/HarquahalaMap.pdf
CSC Maps - Meet-up Spot (Carefree & Grand) - North side of Carefree (74), there's a wide-spot just before you hit Grand that you can't miss. If coming up Grand Ave (US60), turn North onto Carefree, and you'll see us right there - I'll be there early:
CSC Run-of-the-Month Destination - Harquahala Peak Observatory:
The buildings you see above are a desert visitors center, and I'm digging for info to see what's there regarding amenities. Plan for lunch at the summit to take in the views, and this falls within the Harquahala Mountains Wilderness area if you're planning to camp or hike - there should be plenty of locations off the main trail.
I'll state up-front, I'm not a hard-core wheeler (like some in this group), and tend to take it easy on most runs, generally avoiding obstacles if unnecessary, and I take good care of my Landcruiser. That said, I picked this route so that nobody would be apprehensive about the run - this should NOT be a difficult drive, and the road up is mostly graded and even light paving in places (I Google-Earth pre-ran this tonight!).
Plan on a quick bring-your-own lunch at the top, and departure will be whenever everyone gets bored. Given this is only about 80mi W of Phoenix, it's relatively close - so this will be a day-trip, out and back. For those going back to Central or East Valley locations, it may be faster for you to take Eagle Eye Rd South to Salome Rd and down to I-10 to get back to Phoenix on the hardball - so you can make your own decision.
I'll take a final count of Landcruisers in attendance on Friday night, November 15th - which will be our participant checklist for Saturday's meet-up. I'm really looking forward to getting out, as I've been working a lot of weekends lately, and missed the last 2 club meetings. I hope to see some of you guys on the trail!
P.S. - I told LCPhil I'd post this at midnight on Friday, Nov15th before the run - so consider this 'advanced' notice!
DATE: Saturday, November 16
TIME: 8am @ Meet Up Point, quick Trail Run walk-thru, radio checks and departure at 8:30a, SHARP. If you're running late, call ahead, as cellphones work out there (602-738-6508 is mine), or CB channel 7. Smoke signals will not be returned.
MEETING PLACE: On Carefree Hwy (74) where it meets Grand (US60), North side of Carefree (*see map below)
RUN: From Meet up, 10mi NW to Wickenburg, 25mi E to the town of Aguila, 18mi S on Eagle Eye Rd, and 9mi of dirt N up the mountain to the observatory (yeah, I know that's 53mi of pavement one-way for 9mi of dirt, but no other way to see the observatory! - *see map below)
EQUIPMENT: There are some steep sections and rugged terrain, so higher than stock ground clearance MAY be required - no lockers are necessary. We'll plan to air-down just off the pavement from Eagle Eye Rd. If somebody has run this recently, I'm all ears... but I'm not going to call this one 'stocker-friendly'. (*I'll let the rest of you guys argue about that!)
No permits are required for this area.
History:
For those not familiar, Harquahala Observatory has some cool AZ history when it comes to Smithsonian tracking of meteorological conditions. From the BLM site, their description reads:
"Harquahala Peak Observatory was built in 1920 by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to measure and record solar activity. Although deserted now, from 1920-1925 a hardy group of scientists lived and worked atop the highest mountain in southwestern Arizona (5681 foot elevation). At the time, it was about an hour's drive from Wenden, Arizona, to the mountain, with a 3-hour hike to the top of the peak. Burros were used to pack building supplies, living supplies and equipment to the mountaintop. Most difficult of all to transport were the delicate recording machines and laboratory equipment. Even water had to be transported by burro until collection tanks could be built."
"Harquahala was an observatory without telescopes. Rather, a theodolite was used for measuring the sun's altitude above the horizon. Pyrheliometers, mercury thermometers with shutters that opened or closed at set intervals to record heating and cooling, measured energy from both the sun's direct rays and scattered rays, and a pyranometer, an electric instrument, measured heat from the atmosphere around the sun. After tedious observation and data collection, the raw information was mathematically calculated by hand, sent to Washington, D.C., compared with data from another observatory, and used in forecasting weather."
And,
"For the scenic enthusiast, the summit is the highest point in southwest Arizona (5,691ft) with breathtaking 360 degree vistas. For hikers, a pack trail leads from the summit down the mountain through the Harquahala Wilderness Area designated in The Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990. The trail has several difficult and steep portions. For the history buff, the drive displays old mining debris, shafts and stone houses from earlier miners. The grand finale is realized at the summit with the Harquahala Peak Observatory. The observatory was built by the Smithsonian in 1920 to measure and record solar activity. It was abandoned in 1925 and in 1975 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has since been stabilized."
Link: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/cultural/harcs.html
They even have a .PDF map: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/az/images/cult.Par.20992.File.dat/HarquahalaMap.pdf
CSC Maps - Meet-up Spot (Carefree & Grand) - North side of Carefree (74), there's a wide-spot just before you hit Grand that you can't miss. If coming up Grand Ave (US60), turn North onto Carefree, and you'll see us right there - I'll be there early:
CSC Run-of-the-Month Destination - Harquahala Peak Observatory:
The buildings you see above are a desert visitors center, and I'm digging for info to see what's there regarding amenities. Plan for lunch at the summit to take in the views, and this falls within the Harquahala Mountains Wilderness area if you're planning to camp or hike - there should be plenty of locations off the main trail.
I'll state up-front, I'm not a hard-core wheeler (like some in this group), and tend to take it easy on most runs, generally avoiding obstacles if unnecessary, and I take good care of my Landcruiser. That said, I picked this route so that nobody would be apprehensive about the run - this should NOT be a difficult drive, and the road up is mostly graded and even light paving in places (I Google-Earth pre-ran this tonight!).
Plan on a quick bring-your-own lunch at the top, and departure will be whenever everyone gets bored. Given this is only about 80mi W of Phoenix, it's relatively close - so this will be a day-trip, out and back. For those going back to Central or East Valley locations, it may be faster for you to take Eagle Eye Rd South to Salome Rd and down to I-10 to get back to Phoenix on the hardball - so you can make your own decision.
I'll take a final count of Landcruisers in attendance on Friday night, November 15th - which will be our participant checklist for Saturday's meet-up. I'm really looking forward to getting out, as I've been working a lot of weekends lately, and missed the last 2 club meetings. I hope to see some of you guys on the trail!
P.S. - I told LCPhil I'd post this at midnight on Friday, Nov15th before the run - so consider this 'advanced' notice!
Last edited:
(I won't be in town that weekend)
