Baldy Mountain - AKA Francis Rogers, AZ

Baldy Mountain aka Francis Rogers Mountain. The author refers to it as 2HIKERZ Trail.


We do a lot of hiking north/northwest of Lake Pleasant. As I've driven north on Castle Hot Springs Road for the last few years, I have looked to the west at a high peak (Baldy Mountain) and the ridgeline leading to the top. I kept saying that someday I wanted to blaze a trail to the top, although I envisioned it as a relatively easy walk/climb to the top. Not! The entire ridgeline and slopes are covered with loose rocks, large rocks, cactus, and brush. It's about two miles long (GPS says 1.7 miles, but it measures in straight lines) with an elevation change of about 900'.In the past few months, my wife Margaret and I have been creating a hiking trail to the top of Baldy Mountain. We marked the trail with rock cairns, removed brush and cactus, cut tree branches, moved loose rocks, and raked the smaller rocks off the trail. All rocks that are firmly (or appear to be) implanted in the soil remain intact. The end result is an easy-to-follow hiking trail. It is clear of any debris in most spots, has larger rocks in place that must be stepped on, over, or around, and somewhat steep in some areas due to the land's slope. If you want to gain 900', you have to go up at some point. Murphy's Law, I guess! :}

But it is a fun trail. Easy to follow. Good healthy cardiovascular workout. Pretty countryside. And the views are spectacular. You are looking down at Lake Pleasant. Four Peaks in the distance. And, of course, Vulture Peak, White Tanks, Estrellas, and South Mountain. Downtown Phoenix and the AZ Cardinals Stadium. Bradshaws, Indian Mesa, Burro Mountain. On the topo maps, it is called Baldy Mountain, but a plaque on the top has it renamed as Francis Rogers Mountain in memory of Mrs. Francis Grace Rogers. She was a Cartographer for the Arizona Highway Department from 1915 to 1960.

Next to the Francis Rogers Mountain plaque is a 6' high rock cairn with one large rock engraved as follows: Homer Campbell, Julia Campbell, March 1, 1920.

From the trailhead:

After 200' +/- you need to cross over a barbed-wire fence. The top wire is loose, so it is easy to hold down the wires and raise your legs over (one at a time). Cross the old jeep road, and you will see a rock cairn at the fence line. Follow the path/rock cairns. The early part of the trail is deliberately vague so as not to be noticed by anyone on a motorized bike who would tear up the tread.

2010-06-16 2HIKERZ