Three Sisters P500

I was on my way to meet up with Eric for a two-week peakbagging trip, giving myself a few days on my own as I drove across three states to reach him. I put in 10.5hrs of highway driving today, getting me to the town of Williams, AZ along Interstate 40. I was here to tag what looked like an easy summit, Three Sisters, on the northwest side of town. Gordon and Barbara had recorded ascents in June 2006, when they were between 75-80yrs of age. I drove my way up a somewhat rough Forest road (any high-clearance should make it) to a saddle on the south side of the summit just after 5p. This would leave me with only 0.40mi to the highpoint.

The hike starts off easy, on an old firebreak that goes up about 1/3 the distance - then things get a little more interesting. There are what appear to be trails of a sort through the woodland understory, but I think these were likely created by cows and/or bears - lots of prints from both animals. The trails involve some minor bushwhacking, and minor/moderate scrambling depending on the route. The upper half has lots of lichen-covered volcanic rocks, more if you stay to the right (east), fewer if you stay left (west). They would probably be considered easy in most locals, but the brush adds a level of difficulty not otherwise expected. The summit area is also somewhat brushy along a N-S ridge, the highpoint not at all obvious. I eventually found my way to the benchmark (which was missing), but someone had flagged a route up from the west to reach one of the reference marks. I searched the possible points along the rocky ridge, but didn't find a register left by the dynamic duo. Whoever didn't like the benchmark (or wanted it for a souvenier), may have felt likewise regarding registers. I left one of mine under a small cairn near the benchmark. I spent almost exactly an hour on the little excursion, about twice what I might have hoped. Any thoughts of getting another summit went out the window as the sun appeared ready to set. I drove a short distance back along my route, then west on other Forest roads to what would serve as a campsite on the east side of Hearst Mountain. That would be my first objective come morning...

Continued...

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