A surprisingly mild climb up the north side of Saddle, considering how rugged it looks on the approach. My friend Shawn was in town from Denver, and he and I were meeting up with a bigger group for a climb of Eagletail on Saturday, so we took off Friday mid-day to get a warm-up scramble in.

We parked at the end of Road 11 on the north side of Saddle, expecting a full-on cross-country trek. What we found was actually fragments of a decent, rarely-used trail that got us up to a saddle, which lay east of the summit and 500' below. From there, the route climbs up loose rock and puts you right on the edge of a dramatic, airy cliff. Wow! We followed this vertigo-inducing knife-edge over to the summit and enjoyed an hour-long rest up top, drinking a Red Stripe and soaking in the clear views. Eagletail across the Harquahala Valley drew our eye, as tomorrow's goal... The hike down was easy as the shadows drew larger, putting us in welcome shade.