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| | Black Mountain - Tucson Mtns, AZ | | | |
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Black Mountain - Tucson Mtns, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.01 Miles |
1,173 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.01 Miles | 4 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.78 mph |
| 1,173 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I parked at the Pascua Yaqui Pueblo park which I knew would be a safe place to park and I would not get ticketed. Pascua Yaqui seems to be friendly toward hikers. As for San Xavier, they don't seem to have the same reputation in my experience.
Walk South through the park using the sidewalks. Once you get to the Southern end of the park you will see an open dirt clearing. Stay in this area and keep heading South. Shortly, you should see a road that heads S/SW. Take this road until you see a barbed wire fence. This fence is the border between Pascua Yaqui and San Xavier. Turn left heading East and follow the dirt road along the fence. There's a sandy road that follows the fence line. After hiking a total of about 0.75 you will see a section of fence where the top barbed wire was cut/open. This is a good place to step over the fence.
Nowhere during my hike route did I see any "no trespassing" signs, however, I have seen these signs before while driving and during my Pacqua Yaqui HP hike (see report). For what it's worth, if you decide to do this hike, understand that you may be violating tribal law. However, since there is not a "no trespassing" sign along this route, you can just plead ignorance if stopped. But, the odds of seeing anyone out there is pretty slim in my opinion. There many be some patrol driving on the dirt roads but certain not in the middle of the desert.
Step over the fence at the 0.75 mile mark onto the San Xavier side. About 800 to 1,000 feet East of where you cross the fence, there's a 5 story building. Keep walking East along the road. Past the 5 story building you'll see a newer housing development with several homes that look identical. All of the houses are the same color and have the same slanted roof.
There are 2 options from here. If you want to stay on the road, you can stay on the road for 1.85 miles and then head S/SE toward the 2nd ridge going up. Or, you could get off the road and tunnel through the desert which may be a little faster overall. Cutting through the desert here wasn't bad because much of the brush is creosote. There also SOME ocotillo, some saguaros, some palo verde, and some teddy bear cholla, but not a lot. Stay near the creosote for an easier hike. See my route for more info. Along my route going up, I saw some javelina near a wash that ran away from me. Sometimes they stand there looking at you. Then, you take 1 step toward them and they kind of snort in disgust and run off which is funny.
As you get closer to the ridgeline you will notice that the lava rock gets more dense. The good news is 95% of the lava rock is solid and not loose. You still need to take care when walking on it, but I was able to make good time here by finding clearings and some cattle trails. Keep going until you get up on the ridgeline and follow it up, in general. When you see rocky areas you can go left or right to try to go around those areas. I found some trails up here that were probably cattle trails. I even saw some places where cattle, deer, or javelina laid down in the dirt.
While I was on the ridgeline, I stayed to the right of the high point most of the time. I was able to see the high point NE of the summit. I was aiming for the saddle left of that high point, which is actually a huge flat saddle. Near the end of my climb to the saddle, I got up on top of the ridgeline since it was easier that way. When I got on the saddle, the high point looked like it was to the right but it's not. The high point is actually on the left side and potentially even out of sight from this point. Continue going up but slant to the left where the summit is. Stay below the top ridge until you get very close to the summit because the top ridge is covered with a lot of lava rock. On the way to the summit, you will probably need to cross 3 or 4 lava rock areas.
At the top I found the US Survey marker. The survey marker was placed there in 1935 and was a little hard to read but it appeared to read "Black Hill No 2". I didn't see a registry so I started a new one. The jar is under a small rock pile right at the high point. From the top I could see everything in the area. The ridgeline seemed to go on forever. You will see a long ridgeline to your SE that is about 2 miles long or more. If I had more time, I would have taken this ridgeline to go down to Black East Peak but I'll have to save that for another time.
I took the same ridgeline back but a slightly different route. If I saw a rocky or steep area ahead I would just turn left or right. When I got near the bottom of the ridgeline, I cut the corner off and started heading North/Northwest. I found several cattle trails on my way back and followed those for a while. When I saw the 5 story high building in the distance, I turned and headed that way. It was an easy hiking through the desert with a lot of creosote. Stay away from the teddy bear cholla. I probably crossed about 10 washes in the last 1/2 mile before getting to the 5 story building, but most of them were very shallow, sandy and just a few steps wide. I got back to the dirt road on the San Xavier side and headed West. I stepped across the fence in the same place I crossed earlier that day and continued back to my parking area.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 8.01 miles
AEG: 1,173 feet
Strava moving time: 3 hrs 51 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 16 mins
Driving Directions:
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From anywhere in Tucson take I-10 to I-19 South.
Use the right 2 lanes to take exit 95 to merge onto W Valencia Rd, continue for 4.9 mi.
Turn left onto S Camino De Oeste, continue for 1.5 mi.
S Camino De Oeste turns slightly right and becomes Calle Torim, continue for 0.8 mi.
Turn left into Pascua Yaqui Pueblo Park
7736-7860 S Kau Bo-Oh, Tucson, AZ 85757
When I was there on a Monday afternoon, the park was nearly empty.
There were many houses around the perimeter.
Park in the lot and start your hike from here.
There may be a closer place to park but I don't know where it is.
San Xavier is reservation is not known to be super accommodating for hikers, in fact, I have heard that some hikers have gotten fines for parking on San Xavier land and even fines for hiking!?!? The rules are unclear.
Maybe it's time to take away their Federal money if they are THAT hostile to walkers/hikers! |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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