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| Copper Mtn Ashburn Mtn - Canelo Hills, AZ | | -
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| | Copper Mtn Ashburn Mtn - Canelo Hills, AZ | | | |
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Copper Mtn Ashburn Mtn - Canelo Hills, AZ
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| Hiking | 9.30 Miles |
2,903 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.30 Miles | 8 Hrs 22 Mns | | 1.46 mph |
| 2,903 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | | | |
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| no partners | | The high temp in Marana was 72 this day, which is very unusual for May. This means it's possible to hike anything at the desert level and probably as high as the 5,000 foot range. Anything over 6,000 might be too cold! After doing several difficult hikes in a row, I decided it was time to do something easier, however, this wasn't as easy as I expected. Ashburn and Copper mountains are located in the Canelo Hills area, but don't let the word 'hills' fool you. None of these peaks are hills and my AEG for the day was nearly 3,000 feet, which is more elevation than average based on the hikes I've done so far this year.
I arrived at my parking location around 9:40 am. There were some cattle nearby. When I got out of my truck, they were looking at me wondering what I was doing there. They didn't seem too happy. Some of them ran away while some of them stayed at a safe distance of about 30 feet away. My first goal was to get around the peak to my South (let's call it 5775). I started heading Southwest and picked up a cattle trail. There were a few cattle trails along the way to the saddle South of Peak 5775. Once there, I looked to the South and saw some cattle hanging out near a large tree. I had to go in that direction to get to where I needed to be. As I got closer, the cattle appeared to get more nervous. A few started to look over at me, then all of them were focused on me. 4 or 5 started walking away, then running. A few held their ground. One stayed on an old 4x4 road which I needed to take to get closer to the long ridgeline I planned on descending down. I walked within about 10 feet of this cow and it didn't move. It just stared at me without making any noises. I guess it didn't feel threatened. The rest of the cows moved a few hundred feet away by this time.
I walked to the top of the hill and found a barbed wire fence. There was a low area that I was able to step over and then I got a better look at the ridgeline heading down. I ended up descending a total of about 900 feet to get to the canyon North of Copper mountain. Along the way, I was able to follow some cattle trails, but other times I was just walking down, zig-zagging around the rocks or bad brush areas. I didn't encounter too many loose rocks, but there were a lot of small rocks I needed to step on on the way down. When I got lower down I picked up more cattle trails and those trails eventually led me down to a thick ocotillo forest. This area was in the 4,900 to 5,000 foot range. I was able to follow a good cattle trail through the ocotillo forest and made it all the way through. After that, the terrain flattened out a lot and I just kept heading directly toward Copper mountain. I eventually made my way down into the canyon North of Copper mountain, and then found a steep cattle/deer trail leading up out of the canyon. Here, I needed to zig-zag to cut down the angle. After traveling 1/3 mile, I found myself at the middle of the ridgeline. From here, I still needed to zig-zag a bit to get to the summit.
At the summit, I found a rock pile but there was no registry to be found. I happened to have a jar, so I started a new registry. I added 2 names from PeakBagger, and specified that there were 6 other summits according to LoJ, but my access level did not allow me to see the names or dates. It was pretty close to Noon, so I decided to have my lunch here. After a 30 minute lunch, I took some photos and a video, then headed South to the high saddle SE of Copper mountain. I followed the slope down to a primitive gate that was SW of the saddle. Surprisingly, this gate was already open and laying on the ground. Once through the gate, I found another cattle trail that led SE toward another saddle. The terrain flattened out a bit and I had a better look at Ashburn mountain. There was a left and right side, where the right side was much wider and that's where the high point was. My original plan was to hike up the left side and drop down to the saddle in the middle. But, I realized I didn't need to climb the left side. I went straight on toward the saddle from the front, but stayed slightly to the right because that side of the canyon looked less steep. I picked up a few cattle trails on the way up and as I got higher up, the grade to the left of me kept getting steeper. I had to zig-zag a few times in this area to get to more stable ground. I hiked up until I saw the fence line which divided the peak into 2 sides. The grade became more gradual here. I continued up toward the high point, weaving around brush where needed. At the summit, I saw a 3-4 foot rock pile with a registry in it. I took photos of all of the pages that were readable on the 2 newest logs. A few hundred feet from the high point I needed to step over a barbed wire fence, but there was a low spot here. I also found some interesting rocks with copper (green), and also red and orange colored rocks with patterns. I felt a light sprinkle here but it didn't last long.
On the way down I took a slightly more direct route, but then I merged into my original route. I got back to the primitive gate went through it and on up to the saddle which was Northeast of the gate. This time I would walk East of Copper mountain, which was a different route than I took earlier. I was able to drop down into a wide canyon and I followed this for at least 1/3 mile, almost to the place where I entered earlier in the day. I was at the bottom of the same ridgeline I took down, but I couldn't see all the way to the top. I took this in sections and kept checking the GPS to make sure I was headed the right way. After tunneling through the ocotillo forest, I picked up a very nice cattle trail which took me further East, below the top of the ridgeline. It seemed to follow the canyon to my right. After a while the terrain up ahead looked messier so I decided to hike up and to the West to get back on the main ridgeline. I felt that my route up this section was better overall because I was able to take cattle trails almost the entire way to the top of the ridgeline. At the top, I could see the barbed wire fence. I stopped over the fence near a huge juniper tree and continued North toward the saddle that I was at earlier in the day. From here, I found some cattle trails taking me around the mountain (Peak 5775). I picked up an old overgrown road that I didn't see earlier in the day. I decided to follow this for a while. Then, at a certain point, I decided to head Northeast and drop back down to where I parked. On the way down, I found a fenced in area that said 'game water'. It looked like there were some cattle inside this fenced in area. I continued walking down the hill to my truck. About 30 seconds before getting to my truck, the rain started. I got a video of some calves playfully running around in the rain. They were running toward me, but then, when they saw me, they stopped and looked, then turned and ran in another direction. I got lucky to not get caught in a downpour. This marks the end of another successful hiking day. I didn't have time for Candelerio today, but I will have to go back and hike that one someday.
Note: my times include summiting Copper Mtn before going to Ashburn mountain.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 9.3 miles
AEG: 2,903 feet
Strava moving time: 5 hrs 33 mins
Strava elapsed time: 8 hrs 22 mins
Driving Directions: see my route. Take I-10 to Rt 83 South. Drive approximately 25 miles to get to Sonoita. Cross Rt 82, continuing South on AZ-83. About 0.5 miles after mile marker 24, make a right turn off of Rt 83. Then, follow the driving portion of my route. From the turnoff, the 4.6 mile drive took me 21-25 minutes. I did not need to enable 4x4 mode. You will need a high clearance vehicle to get to where I parked. There is one unlocked gate to go through during the drive. Watch out for a stop sign on the dirt road ONLY coming North on the return drive where my route intersects Vaughn Loop rd. Having a stop sign here way out in the middle of nowhere is just unnecessary and annoying. I didn't see any cars on the road both ways once I got off Rt 83. If anything, the sign should be a YIELD, not a STOP. I don't think anyone actually comes to a complete stop at this intersection and there's no need to because you will be driving 15-20 MPH and you'll have plenty of time to scan the intersection well before you even get there. This sign may be a TRAP!!! While I rolled through at 10 MPH, I looked to the West and I did see a sheriff or police vehicle which makes me believe it's a TRAP. Either the officer wasn't paying attention or knew this stop sign is an absolute JOKE. I'm a law abiding person, but some laws are absolute CRAP!
Route Note: my route includes 2 segments including the drive in and the hike. Hopefully when you download you will be able to see both segments separately and in different colors. I parked at the waypoint labeled 'park here'. Read my other waypoints for other info. |
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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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