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| Peak 5414 - Catalinas, AZ | |
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| | Peak 5414 - Catalinas, AZ | | | |
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Peak 5414 - Catalinas, AZ
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| Hiking | 10.32 Miles |
2,278 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.32 Miles | 9 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.53 mph |
| 2,278 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Brian invited me on this one which he hiked in December but only hiked to the base of the rock formation. This time we decided to bring some rope and paracord.
I knew about this peak after I saw a very well done writeup from over 10 yrs ago.
https://www.desertmountaineer.com/2014/06/07/peak-5420/
At that time, the peak was known as 5420. After Lidar data was made available, this peak has been determined to be 5414 feet elevation.
We started out at the well-known Gorden Hirayabashi campground at just below 5,000 feet elevation. We hiked on the well-known AZ trail for the first 2 miles before getting to Sycamore reservoir. It was nice to see a lot of flowing water in this area. In a few places we needed to step on rocks to get across some of the streams along the way. After another 1.4 miles, we turned left, getting off the AZT at an unmarked junction. This trail is the one that heads South toward Thimble peak, runs into the Bear Canyon trail, and down into Bear canyon eventually. None of these trails are marked in this area, but with all of the technology we have today, it's not really critical to have a sign, assuming most people know where they are going.
We continued along the upper Bear canyon trail and after hiking about 4.2 miles total from the start, we started looking West for an easy way to cross the wash below us. This is where we started our off-trail portion of the hike. From here it's about 0.7 miles to the summit. We found a good way to cross and then hiked West to get to a saddle. At times it was quite steep but nothing over class 2. Then we went North to get up to a high ridgeline. Once on the ridgeline we needed to weave around rock formations but we finally made it to the base of the high point. I was expecting it to be 20 feet high but it seemed to be only about 12-14 feet high, not as bad as a thought. But, getting up safely was a bit of a challenge. We read about the 'chicken head' in the front and found something like that but felt it wasn't a safe enough place to tie onto. Then, we discovered a possible climb area on the left side with some exposure. We both stood over and looked at it. I felt that I could climb it but if I did, needed to absolutely sure I had good foot and hand grips. The foot grips near the very bottom were small. I only found one good hand grip to my right. I noticed that if I could get a few feet up safely, there was a wider ridge to step on. I could see that after that it flattened out and there wasn't any more exposure and I could see a safe way to get to the summit.
Brian was tying a rock to the rope and tossing it up to the summit. He got it to land a few times but the rock would break apart, sometimes leaving the rope laying across the top. His goal originally was to hook it around one of the rock formations. I decided to free climb the way we found on the left side. I had to totally focus on this because it was a bit dangerous and I only had ONE chance on this. I took a few steps slowly and within about 30 seconds I was on the summit. I found a registry up there which had 3 other names in the last 12 months. Jack Murdoch was the last person to sign the registry in Dec 2025. After getting up there, I was able to grab the rope that Brian was throwing and draped it securely around a 500 pound rock. Then, I draped it down the left side where I came up and tied 4 handles. I ate part of my lunch at the summit and stayed up there for what felt like about an hour. We had to hoist up my backpack using the rope. I felt it was better to climb without the pack to make things easier.
Eventually I climbed down and for me it seemed harder because it was difficult to see the footholds. I used one of the handles on the rope for added security and I'm glad it was there. Always remember, just because you CAN go up, doesn't mean it's as easy coming down, and this day confirmed that again for me. As I was climbing down, Brian was there to tell me where to put my feet since it was very difficult to see going down. After I got down Brian looked at it and didn't quite feel comfortable going up (yet). We took another break and signed the registry at the base of the rock formation which Brian left there in December 2025. Brian wrote that he did not officially summit, then handed me the registry to sign. As I was writing my name in, Brian went over again to the rope area. I turned my head, then looked back and he was halfway up, beyond the 'danger zone'. I knew he was home free at that point, so I said -- 'guess we need to cross off your message that you did not summit!'. So I did that and was glad that we both made it. After a few photos, Brian climbed down and I helped him find a few footholds and we were both relieved at this point.
We left the black and orange braided rope as we left it for any future climbers. I would suspect it would last a few years but with the AZ sun and weather, it's hard to tell. I will add that we are not expert climbers by any stretch of the imagination. I've only done a few class 4 climbs in my lifetime and I'm fine with Class 1, 2 and 3, and have little desire to do more class 4 stuff, especially when there is risk involved or tiny grips for hands and feet.
We headed down using basically the same route. On the way down we saw an amazing hoodoo with some larger gaps between the various sections. It was hard to believe this one didn't fall over yet. We stopped to get photos of the hoodoo itself and with us standing next to it. Then, we continued down. Not long after this we needed to look for a somewhat hidden slot in the rocks which was one good way to get down. I'm sure there were other ways but this worked out great for us on the way up and down. We got down and crossed the small wash to get back to the trail, reaching the trail at a point that was probably 500 feet Northeast of where we crossed earlier. Once on the trail it was smooth sailing to get back to our starting point.
Stats:
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Distance (round trip): 10.32 miles
AEG: 2,278 feet
Strava moving time: 4 hrs 38 mins , Note: our moving time was probably closer to 6.5 or 7 hrs. We took a few long breaks near the summit.
Strava elapsed time: 9 hrs 14 mins
Driving directions:
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Travel East on Tanque Verde Rd in Tucson (Northeast side of town)
Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto E Catalina Hwy, continue for 4.5 mi
Continue onto E Mt Lemmon Hwy for 7.3 mi
Turn left onto N Prison Camp Rd
There is a new lot for trailhead parking
Follow signs for the Arizona trail
Gordon Hirabayashi Campground
N Prison Camp Rd, Tucson, AZ 85749 |
| _____________________
Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us
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