Some of the best views around! - Browns Peak Trail - Four Peaks Wilderness

Some of the best views around! - Browns Peak Trail - Four Peaks Wilderness
Browns Peak. Tina and I have a history here. We've camped at the trailhead a few times and climbed it once before. Tina actually was rescued off Four Peaks when she was caught up there in a snowstorm back when she was in high school.
It keeps calling us back, year after year. Unfortunately, a fire devastated the entire area a year or two back. It burned right over the top of Four Peaks and continued on. I've been wanting to go back ever since to see what the area looks like now.
It's not great. A lot of the larger trees are burned and dead. But thanks to an especially heavy monsoon season this past summer, a surprising amount of greenery has sprung up, starting the cycle over again. Eventually, this area will mend itself.
But even if many of the trees on the way up to the chute are gone, the best park of this hike survived. That is the chute and the summit. Eventually you make your way up to a saddle. The views from here are incredible. Roosevelt lake, the Superstitions and the surrounding Four Peaks Wilderness are in plain sight.
The rocky and intimidating Browns Peak - the tallest of the four peaks - is also in plain sight. In order to get to the summit, you have to navigate up a steep chute. It's probably around here that you will be looking at the chute and thinking "That can't be it. That's impossible." But that is the way to the top. It starts with a sketchy climb along a vertical cliff face a with high punishment for error drop to the right. If this scares you, it's time to turn around.
If you continue, you'll be in the base of the chute. It's loose rock and a steep incline. You'll be using your hands as well as your feet in spots. Take care to watch for rocks, either falling from people above you or onto people below you. Helmets would not be the worst idea here. The chute quickly becomes steeper and steeper, until you are climbing straight up. Luckily, the rocks here are mostly sturdy with great hand and foot holds. After a short climb, you come to another saddle, giving you great views of the adjacent peaks and mountain ranges. Go up and to the left from here. This 'trail' is hard to see....it's actually not a trail at all. You need to pick a line that you can manage and move upward. I've seen dots painted on the rocks and ribbons tied to shrubs, but you can't rely on that. (This last time there were neither that I saw at the top.)
And that's it. You're there. Enjoy the views and try not to think about how you're going to get back DOWN that chute.
Music by Epidemic Sound:
We are Giants - Silver Maple
The Quiet Hours - Trevor Kowalski
Thoughts in the Rain - Elm Lake
Calm - Amber Glow
Scared of Heights - Loving Caliber
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Filmed on:
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Canon EOS R:
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Canon 35 mm f1.8 lens
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Weebil S gimbal for your DSLR:
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