DESTINATION Coffeepot Mountain - Ajo 1 Photoset
2023-04-07 | |
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| Hiking | 3.60 Miles |
1,394 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.60 Miles | 3 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.08 mph |
| 1,394 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I had a trip planned to Rocky Point, and I thought it was a good time to visit Coffeepot mountain since it wasn't far off the route from my drive down there. I tried to drive out there last July (would have been quite hot) but didn't get very far because of some deep puddles, perhaps small ponds, in the road in just the first mile. I suppose that was for the best, since it's not the greatest time of year to be in this area. I didn't know why it was called Coffeepot mountain, but noticed when driving closer to it that it looked like a bit like a teapot, rather than a coffeepot. Either way, it was a unique and interesting name.
From the starting point you will need to cross 2 or 3 washes before you start climbing up the ridge. Climb to the nearest saddle which should be Northwest of where you started. Once you are on the ridge keep going up staying in the middle of the ridge. At times you may see animal trails, but this ridge is pretty easy to follow up. This is an open country hike, there's some dense areas of teddy bear cholla in some places but you will be able to walk around the dense sections. Just watch the ground for stray chollas. Pretty soon, you will see a steep rocky "thimble" in front of you. The thimble can be thought of as the handle to the coffeepot. When I was first here, I wasn't aware if climbing this was necessary because there were no routes and no trip reports for this great hike! The good news is it's not necessary to climb this thimble. Hike up to the thimble and when you get close you will see it's very vertical here. A few minutes below the thimble, I saw some dug out areas that would make great shelters. You can walk around the East side of the thimble. There is somewhat of a trail here. People and/or animals have been through here before. After going around this thimble you will get your first look at the peak since you saw it from the drive in. From here, it's only another 1/4 to the top. Just follow the ridgeline up and you will eventually make it to the peak. At the peak you will see a registry under a rock pile. There's also a nice organ pipe cactus at the top. You can walk North for a few minutes and be able to look down and see the "spout" of the coffeepot. All in all it was a great hike. The drive getting out there really is half the challenge.
I saw a lot of wildflowers: brittlebush, lupine, some poppies, orange mallow, hedgehog cactus flowers, white tackstem/chickory, silver puff, scorpion weed, delphinium, Dichelostemma capitatum, and more. As for animals, I only saw a few lizards, a few birds and there were many turkey vultures flying around near the high points. On the drive out, probably around 6:15 pm, when I was roughly 1.5 miles from Hwy 85, before reaching the gate, I saw an animal about 100 to 200 feet in the road that looked like a jack rabbit or small coyote. I watched it do 4 high vertical jumps and then it disappeared. I wish I could have captured that on video. I never saw any wild animal do this before. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
brittlebush, lupine, some poppies, orange mallow, hedgehog cactus flowers, white tackstem/chickory, silver puff, scorpion weed, delphinium, Dichelostemma capitatum |
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Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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