DESTINATION Peak 2976 - Little Ajo Mountains 1 Photoset
2025-12-09 | | -
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| Hiking | 4.30 Miles |
1,375 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.30 Miles | 5 Hrs | | 1.56 mph |
| 1,375 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | We left Tucson around 9 am, and arrived at the Desert Diamond Casino/store in Why, AZ on AZ-86 just East of AZ-85 around 11.30 am. It was almost lunch time so we decided to eat there. There were a few table outside that were poorly shaded but it was OK in December. In summer, it would not be a great place to picnic unless the sun is behind the building. After lunch we drove to the starting point and planned on using the route provided by Matthias S. Thanks to Matthias for uploading a route. We ended up taking another route but we used the same starting point.
We noticed a gate that was a few hundred feet from our parking area, further up the road. We did not see a 'no trespassing' sign and we even saw a place where it was possible to step through the fence next to the gate. It appeared to be private property, but nobody was there at this time. We saw some nice organ pipe cactus on the property and also along the hike. We found a rusted old car near the side of the road and stopped to get photos. We walked by an old house and got a better look at the summit and the best way to get there.
We looked up and saw a small saddle so we decided to walk there. There wasn't much brush the the incline was not steep. After reaching the saddle, we could see the summit better and there were a few ways to get there. We could either stay on the same ridgeline or drop down and pick up another ridgeline heading in the direction of the summit. But, we felt it was probably more direct to stay on our current ridgeline to get up to the main ridgeline. When we got to the main ridgeline it got quite rocky but we were able to follow it upwards. There was one section up ahead that we could not clearly see. It turned out to be fine. Nothing over class 2.
After 1.1 miles, we unexpectedly ran into a good trail! This was a pleasant surprise! A few minutes later we ran into another hiker coming down. She was from Washington state and in the Ajo area visiting a friend and hiking. We traded a few stories and talked for about an hour! After that we continued on the well-maintained trail and that took us all the way to the summit. At the summit, we found a registry with about 20 pages of entries going back about 11 years. We signed the registry, had a snack and decided that we would take the trail all the way down on the way down.
From the summit, we could see most of the town of Ajo, the mine, and the mine tailings. Looking Northwest we could see Childs mountain which had an antenna tower on top. This is another 1K prominence peak that I would like to hike someday.
We didn't know exactly where the trailhead was or if there even was one. But, the trail going down was very well-maintained. Near the bottom, we saw some building and we could not tell if those buildings were commercial or residential. There were some branches but we decided to stay on the main branch of the trail. The main branch of the trail led us into private property, but we were not aware that it was private property until we saw a 'no trespassing' sign on the North end of the property. There didn't seem to be anyone there.
It would have been better to take one of the right branches of the trail on the way going down. I traced what I believe was a better route and plotted it on my GPS track. See 'alternate starting point' on route. It would be possible to park here and start from this point. Then, you would have a really nice trail that would take you all the way to the top.
Route notes:
1. Rectangular boxes are private property
2. Southwest of the 'alternate starting point', the topo map shows a 4x4 road. This road appeared to be blocked.
3. There are multiple track segments. Why can't they be shown in different colors?
Stats
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distance (round trip): 4.3 miles
AEG: 1,375 feet
moving time: about 2 hrs 45 mins
elapsed time: 5 hrs (2 long breaks)
Driving directions: See my route. Parking spots are marked on the route. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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