Butterfly Peak, AZ

Overview
This is a short hike that starts at the *Butterfly trail* and uses that trail to access a not so well known peak called Butterfly peak. Please read the guide for Butterfly Trail #16 as you will be on that trail for just under 1 mile before reaching the junction that extends North / Northeast out to Butterfly peak. The elevation at the peak is lower than the trailhead which is not your ordinary hike.


Hike
Start at the well-known and wonderful Butterfly trail which begins as a nice road heading slightly downhill. The road will turn into a trail continuing down, winding across the mountainside. There are times this trail is quite narrow and you'll be squeezing through ferns and other non-thorny vegetation on both sides, but the trail will open up again. After about 0.9 miles, you'll see some logs that border the trail on a downhill section. Right in this area, I saw a beautiful kingsnake (see photos) on the trail and when I got closer, it moved off the trail and went down into a hole in the ground. The kingsnake is non-venomous, but it does look similar to a coral snake which is venomous.When you see the ridgeline heading out to Butterfly peak, this is where you will step over the logs and continue for about 1/3 mile out to Butterfly peak. There are areas where you will see a fairly clear trail and there are areas where multiple trails are heading along the ridgeline. Take the path with the least amount of brush. After a few minutes, you will be at the peak. I noticed that people camped out here before. If you walk out past some of the larger trees, you will see some nice views of the San Pedro Valley down below and a lot of rolling hills. To the West, looking up you will see Mount Lemmon. You'll see some burned trees looking down from the peak that is probably a result of the Aspen fire (2003) and/or the Bighorn fire (2020). Follow your same route back up and save some energy because it is uphill almost the entire way back.

2022-05-30 Mike_W