DESTINATION Diablo Mountains High Point 1 Photoset
2025-12-12 | |
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| Hiking | 3.37 Miles |
1,246 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.37 Miles | 4 Hrs 29 Mns | | 1.36 mph |
| 1,246 ft AEG | 2 Hrs Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After breakfast, Brian and I drove the van from the Twin Peaks campground over to the Estes Canyon - Bull Pasture trailhead. On the drive over we were looking at the cliffs on the West side of this high point and they looked impassible without ropes. But, apparently, there was a canyon that could be climbed from the Northwest side of the peak. Along the drive, we saw Tillotson peak which is another peak we would like to hike someday.
We parked at Bull Pasture trailhead and started our hike around late morning, following the route posted by Matthias S. Thanks to Matthias for posting a route. We ended up using his route as a general guideline. Along the route, we found a large rock overhang and decided to take a break at this point in the shade after hiking a total of about 0.65 miles. It was hotter than expected in December.
After the break, we kept following the ridgeline up and after we reached a total of about 1.4 miles, it was already 12.30 pm and we decided to stop in the shade to have lunch. There was a smaller rock overhang here and evidence that animals were here at some point. It may have been bighorn sheep.
After lunch we continued for another 15 minutes to reach the top. We took 2 rather long breaks before summiting which we normally don't do because it was quite hot and we were ready for lunch. At the summit we found a rock pile with a registry. From this point we had excellent views of Mt Ajo, Mt Tillotson and other nearby points. We could look South and see the border wall and parts of the town of Sonoyta, Mexico. Looking Northwest we could see a long rugged canyon which we believed was a possible route, but must have been more difficult than the ridgeline.
We decided to take a more direct route going East down to the road just because it looked possible. This route proved to be a bit more challenging than our route going up. There was more route finding involved. and there were some cliffs to avoid. We had to us our hands in a few spots but most of the hike down was nothing over a class 2. Once we hiked to the road, we just had to walk the road to get back to where we parked.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 3.37 miles
AEG: 1,246 feet
Strava moving time: 1 hr 48 mins
Strava elapsed time: 4 hrs 29 mins
Driving Directions:
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From Why, AZ...
Head southwest on AZ-85 S for 22.1 mi
Turn left onto Ajo Mountain Dr
Continue for 10.9 mi to Estes Canyon - Bull Pasture Trail Head
Note: Ajo Mountain Dr is a loop that becomes one way after the first 2 miles
There is a picnic area here with some shaded tables.
You will need the US National Forest pass for this area. |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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