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| Hiking | 15.00 Miles |
3,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.00 Miles | 12 Hrs | | 1.50 mph |
| 3,000 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The mission was to hike a section of the Sauceda Mountains in Area B of the Barry M. Goldwater Range.
The Sauceda Mountains are an interesting mix of basalt lava formations, offering an assortment of caves, cliffs, and buttes to explore. In fact, the caves are so numerous that it is impossible to check all of them; eventually one must resort to cherry picking the caves with the best potential. Most of the caves there are filled with the leavings of 'wayward travelers', ranging from unsightly garbage to high dollar machine guns, optics, or contraband. You just never know what is inside the next cave.
"Toto, I have a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore."
The Border checkpoint at Black Gap, 20 miles north of Ajo, diverts human and drug smuggling traffic away from State Highway 85, forcing a walk-around on either side. The Sauceda Mountains are due east of Hwy 85 and receive much of the traffic coming out of Ajo and the western Tohono O'Odham Reservation.
The Sauceda Mountains cover about 30 miles and will take several trips to reconnoiter; this most recent sortie only covered about 5 miles of the range. However, this short span is quite busy and has several smuggling trails cutting north, the last of which is so well trodden that it is clearly visible on the satellite photos. Each trail has a layup site at or near the top of the mountain pass, where the crews rest during the daylight hours. The high vantage point lets their spotters monitor BP vehicles and trackers coming up either end of the ravine. Lesser used trails went along the ridgeline that connects the main thoroughfares, allowing the smugglers to skip over if need be.
The original plan was to walk the ridgeline of the Saucedas, take some pics of bighorn sheep, then drop down and bag Hat Mountain on the return leg. This was not to be, at two miles distant; I deemed the mountain "impossible to climb". It was actually just a convenient excuse to cop-out, knowing full well that I did not have the time or energy to bag it, anyway. Hat Mountain looks to have a helicopter landing pad on top of it; perhaps there is a surveillance tower up there.
After a couple of dicey situations, I worked my way down to the flats for some easy walking, arriving at the truck at 4:00 PM no worse for wear, other than a bum left knee that annoys. Chalk it up as another day that the television fell silent. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Thanksgiving Day Tank |
26-50% full |
26-50% full |
| | | This tank gets a regular filling by the Game and Fish Dept. More people drink from it than animals. | | _____________________
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