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| Maverick Peak Pinalenos, AZ | |
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| | Maverick Peak Pinalenos, AZ | | | |
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Maverick Peak Pinalenos, AZ
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| Hiking | 7.81 Miles |
2,567 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.81 Miles | 4 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.74 mph |
| 2,567 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was my 2nd attempt on this peak and this time I finished it successfully! The first time I started from Ladybug saddle and ran out of time and patience. I also remember wearing shorts and I got scratched up from the rugged brush. This time I decided to wear old jeans.
I can't help but think of the Top Gun movie(s) when I see the name of this peak. Great movies by the way, both the old & new!
The forecast showed highs in the low 80s around the starting point near Stockton pass (Bear canyon trail). I figured it would be a few degrees cooler on the summit, which was good enough for me. There were also some shady areas along the way.
I arrived at the trailhead around 10:30 am, and parked about 400 feet North of AZ-266. Even though I have 4x4, I would not have attempted to drive much further. I was more than fine without my 4x4 engaged getting to where I parked and any vehicle could probably make it there. Past the area where I parked had some serious rocks and I felt like I would have bottomed out on these rocks. Watch out for AZ pinstriping, though, in this short 400 foot section of road.
I started hiking from my parking spot, followed the road North and found a few other campsites further ahead. The road got pretty rugged and rocky. I had to plow through some brush to get over to the actual Bear canyon trail, which was not marked at all. From the starting point, it would be better to follow my down route since it was better overall.
You'll notice there are 2 loops before you have made it to one mile. The Western route was a ridge trail which I followed UP. One the way down, I found another branch (Eastern route), which I decided to follow just to see where it went. It ended up connecting back to the main trail, which is what I was hoping. The Western route passed right by a large hoodoo. The Eastern route stays in the canyon more, so there's a bit more shade. Take either or both.
The trail was maintained very well from the starting point to about 2.9 miles in, which is where I needed to go off trail to get to the saddle next to Maverick peak. Having a very well maintained trail was not the experience I had in August 2022, however I started from Ladybug saddle and noticed then that the final mile of trail leading down to the saddle near Maverick was in horrible condition. I lost the trail many times in 2022, and ended up bushwhacking through some really rough terrain. This time, I didn't quite overlap my previous route, but I suspect there was significant trail maintenance performed since that time. It would be very odd if the trail went from very good to terrible suddenly on the way up to Ladybug saddle. Either way, I would recommend starting this hike from where I started and then there would be no guessing involved.
On the way up, there were several switchbacks and a few steep trail sections. The trail only entered the canyon for a short section, although it's called the Bear Canyon trail. I thought it was a bit odd that there wasn't a single sign the entire way. Not even a 50 year old primitive wooden sign, which I have seen before at various trailheads accessible via the Swift trail (AZ-366). I suspect this must not be a very popular trail since it's not marked at all.
After hiking up 2.9 miles, I realized I went too far and overshot the saddle. You should know that the Bear Canyon trail does not go to the saddle, and there's some bushwhacking involved to get there, although a relatively short but tough bushwhack. I tried heading Southeast immediately, but the brush was so bad, I just detoured back to the trail I was on and backtracked about 500 feet. From this point, I started heading Southeast/East toward the saddle. The brush was so bad in this area. This reminded my of my experience in 2022. I had to do a lot of zig-zagging and breaking of dead branches to get where I needed to go. This was one of the slowest parts of the entire hike. I finally made it to the saddle and there were a few more clearings there. Looking about 200 feet ahead toward Maverick peak, I could see a huge rock formation. By the time I got to there, it was already getting close to 1 pm. I decided to stop for lunch at this rock formation and there was plenty of shade here. I saw a curious lizard looking at me from a large rock formation near where I sat. It's head kept tilting while it looked at me. Maybe it never saw a human before. ;-)
After lunch I got a better look at the ridgeline. Honestly, it looked pretty hellish. Based on how it looked, I thought I would need to drop below the ridgeline in many areas and it was hard to plan my route because the terrain was so rugged and messy. I decided to stay on the top of the ridgeline as long as it was possible and then drop left or right when I couldn't continue on the top. There were some bad spots and I needed to drop down to the left at times and the right at times. Eventually, I came to a huge steep rock formation near the top. I didn't see a route around it, so I looked carefully and thought I could get up safely using the cracks and flatter areas. I climbed up this steep rock formation, zig-zagging where it made sense. Near the top of this rock formation, I found a channel to the left so I dropped down and took this basically right to the summit.
At the summit, I found a rock pile and a registry which I signed. I believe that last log entry before mine was from Nov 2020. Hard to believe nobody went up there in over 4 years! The oldest entry I found was from 1998. I photographed all entries and will add all photos to HikeArizona dot com.
I took a water and snack break and improved the rock barrier around the registry so that no light could enter where the jar was placed. Then, I got my final photos and videos and decided to head back down. I didn't want to down climb the class 3 section again, so this time I found a much better and safer way down. I basically stayed East of the rock formation that I climbed up and found a pretty good use trail. I didn't see this on the way up because there was some brush hiding this route. But, I would highly recommend my entire down route as I felt it was significantly better than my up route.
At times you will need to cross the ridgeline to find better use trails and avoid the shin daggers, yucca, agave, etc. After getting to the saddle, I found a nice use trail which I tried to follow but I reached some dead ends. I needed to zig-zag here just like I did on the way up. There are probably many ways to go. My goal was to get back to any part of the Bear canyon trail without getting stabbed by shin daggers, yucca, agave, etc. There was a 20 foot x 20 foot area I found that was full of either giant shin daggers or yucca that I needed to walk around. I never saw so much of this stuff in one place. It's nearly impossible to hike from the saddle to the Bear canyon trail without having to plow through some brush or break off some dead branches. But luckily, I kept finding clearings and eventually I made it back to the very well-maintained trail.
On the way down, I decided to take the canyon trail branch for the final 1.4 miles just for some variety. The trail part of this hike was excellent. The bushwhack was rough but with a little maintenance and some cairns this would be an excellent hike overall. I don't believe I saw a single cairn on the way up to Maverick peak.
By the way, a trail maintenance guy I talked to near Shannon campground in 2022 told me there were a lot of snakes in the area of Maverick peak. I didn't see any snakes on either of my trips to this area. In fact, I haven't seen any snakes in well over a year and I do a lot of hiking. It is quite odd.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 7.81 miles
AEG: 2,567 feet
Strava moving time: 4 hrs 0 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 47 mins
Directions:
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Note: a high clearance vehicle is preferred. AZ pinstriping possible in this short section of forest service road.
From Tucson/PHX, take I-10 East toward Benson/Willcox/US-191 North.
**Note: From I-10, the exit for US-191 South is 21 miles WEST of the exit for US-191 North.
US-191 North is roughly 11 miles past Willcox, AZ.
Take US-191 North for 17 miles.
Turn LEFT, then take AZ-266 West for 8.4 miles.
Turn RIGHT onto dirt road (look for marker for FSR 1176).
Stay STRAIGHT and cross cattle guard within about 50 feet.
The right bends right, then left.
After about 400 feet you should see a camp area.
You can park somewhere on the side here and if you are not camping, allow room for possible campers. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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