Cookes Peak from 4WD TH • Hike • New Mexico • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Mar 14 2023

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,486
Photos 16,077
Triplogs 1,376

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Cookes Peak - Luna County HP, NM

Hiking		Mar 14 2023
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,376

Hiking	7.25 Miles	2,745 AEG

Hiking	7.25 Miles	5 Hrs 16 Mns	1.60 mph
	2,745 ft AEG	44 Mns Break

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Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Cookes Peak

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I wasn't real sure what to expect on this hike, but I decided to give it a shot. Cookes Peak (elevation of 8,408 feet and prominence of 2,568 feet) is an impressive and imposing-looking peak that is a visible landmark that can be seen for miles around.

The dirt road drive was great until you got to the ranch. The BLM bypass of the ranch was a lesser road, and after a half mile I would think that you need a high clearance vehicle. The going got much slower once I got to the 4WD road. I was going 0-2 mph and figured that I could walk faster than that, so I just pulled over and parked after going 0.4 miles or so. Naturally the road improved once I started hiking, and I thought about going back to get my truck; but I decided to leave well enough alone so I continued hiking on the road.

I hiked about 1 mile on the road, and then turned off the road and hiked on an old road bed that headed up a canyon. The road bed turned into a really nice use trail that mostly went alongside a wash. The use trail was generally easy to follow and there were lots of cairns. The trail led out of the canyon up to a ridge, and then followed the ridge to the SE side of Cookes Peak. There was a fun class 2 scramble to get up to the summit. The summit is a nice area with great views, so it was nice to hang out there for a bit while having lunch.

I descended that same way that I came up.

This turned out to be a great hike that was easier than I thought that it might be. There was a good trail the whole way, and the peak was visible the entire time. Once on the ridgeline, the route to take up was quite apparent when viewing it from a distance. The scramble up was fun and to me was not sketchy at all.

If I lived in the area I would do this hike at least once a year. This was the first time since October that I had been over 8,000 feet, and it was nice to not feel like a flatlander!

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cookes Peak

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

Aug 24 2016

JuanJaimeiii

Routes 596
Photos 9,604
Triplogs 2,400

58 male

Joined Jan 30 2011
Chandler, AZ

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Hiking		Aug 24 2016
		JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400

Hiking	5.64 Miles	2,623 AEG

Hiking	5.64 Miles	2 Hrs 33 Mns	2.33 mph
	2,623 ft AEG	8 Mns Break

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Today I had to go to Hatch, NM to make a Chile run. On several previous trips over and back I have eyed Cookes Peak and this time I decided to add it to the days journey. I left Phoenix a little after 7am in my Enterprise Rent-a-Van. Got to Hatch, loaded up on Chiles and then had lunch. Afterwards it was a 32 mile drive down the Hatch Highway to where I made my turn onto a very nice dirt road. The road number is A019 and is in-between Mile Marker 14 and 15.

This road heads west towards the Peak. After about 13 miles you get to a left turn and that is what is considered the 4WD road. I drove the van up the road about a mile and a half towards the trailhead. At this point I decided it would be best to just park it and start hiking. The total distance to the TH from the turn is 2.2 miles so I didn't have far to go.

Once at the trailhead I followed the faint trail which winds in and out of a ravine up the hill. After a good mile or more I lost the trail and just headed straight up a scree slope towards the eastern face of Cookes. Once at the base of the rock face I just started to scramble up the side taking the best route I could find. This went well except at one point some rock pulled away and almost took me with it.

Pretty sure that is the fastest my heart has beat all year long. Once I was back to a normal heart rate I continued up the side of the rock. Shortly thereafter I topped out and from there it was an easy walk up to the highpoint. The summit has a stack of rocks and an old register.

Seeing rain in the distance I didn't stay long. The route back down was easy peasy since I stayed on the actual trail the whole time.

I got a late start on this one today. Didn't get going until 3:44pm local time. It took an 1:23 to reach the summit and 1:10 to return. Back at the van I notice the remains of an old rock house. Great summit with killer views in all directions.

Maybe I will hit the Florida Mountains on my next trip? They always look cool to me. Very rough and jagged.

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Jan 19 2013

Pivo

Guides 2
Routes 512
Photos 5,579
Triplogs 4,278

69 male

Joined Mar 01 2009
Aztec, NM

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Hiking		Jan 19 2013
		Pivo • Triplogs 4,278

Hiking	4.89 Miles	2,586 AEG

Hiking	4.89 Miles	5 Hrs 4 Mns		1.63 mph
	2,586 ft AEG	2 Hrs 4 Mns Break	28 LBS Pack

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Baja Arizona Hiking

	Floridasunshine	MyRudy
	RedwallNHops	vagabondjeff
	wooozie

We started out with very cold weather from that slow moving storm that was in AZ days before. A low 20's wake up, but, after lots of crappy cheap hotel coffee, and an actually good breakfast from the Grand Inn in Deming we were on our way. It took about an hour and half to drive to the TH, slow going on dirt roads. High clearance is recommended. Modest elevation gain for the first half mile or so, was welcomed as a warm up, then as we entered an unnamed canyon we started seeing snow on the ground. Just the right amount to add a bit of fun and difference to the hike.

As we made our way up the often snow covered trail; at time going off on game trails we all finally regrouped on a saddle before making our final approach. There was some class 3 scrambling before the summit; thankfully there was full sun exposure with zero ice and water to add worry.

We were rewarded with awesome views, and the peak to ourselves. After spending a lazy hour and half at the top we slowly and carefully made our way down and back to the trucks.

On the way back out to Deming one of the trucks had two simultaneous flat tires. WTF?? All ended well, with some teamwork, and a very, very handy tire plug kit. Everyone made note of that, and is going to the Dollar Store to buy one just to keep in their truck's.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cookes Peak

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Jan 19 2013

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Hiking		Jan 19 2013
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Hiking	4.89 Miles	2,586 AEG

Hiking	4.89 Miles	5 Hrs 4 Mns	1.63 mph
	2,586 ft AEG	2 Hrs 4 Mns Break

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Fabulous peak!

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Jan 19 2013

MyRudy

Photos 3
Triplogs 106

26 male

Joined Apr 23 2012
Tucson, AZ

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Hiking		Jan 19 2013
		MyRudy • Triplogs 106

Hiking	5.00 Miles	2,586 AEG

Hiking	5.00 Miles	5 Hrs 4 Mns	1.67 mph
	2,586 ft AEG	2 Hrs 4 Mns Break

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Baja Arizona Hiking

	Pivo	RedwallNHops
	vagabondjeff	wooozie

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Mar 26 2011

walkalot

Photos 28
Triplogs 36

63 male

Joined Dec 05 2010
tucosn, az

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

Southwest, NM

Hiking		Mar 26 2011
		walkalot • Triplogs 36

Hiking	5.00 Miles	2,368 AEG

Hiking	5.00 Miles	3 Hrs 30 Mns	1.43 mph
	2,368 ft AEG

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I did the route from the 4WD trail head to the summit. The route description and trail head description is available with a Google search.

Steep route that includes a class II scramble near the summit. Chilly & windy, but worth the effort. :y:

UPDATE (4-4-11; revised AEG from 2600 and added the following): The route description I found through a Google Search (search: 'Cooke's Peak NM' read the climb.mountains.com by Gerry Roach)

Gerry's description to the 4WD trail head route is accurate, but you DON"T have to call the Hyatt Ranch. I did, and like most folks in rural NM, they were friendly. The road has been re-routed so no more locked gate. The mileage calls still seemed close enough to get me there.

I don't drive dirt roads like a 'Raped Ape' (hopefully; you don't either) and it took an hour once I left the pavement to get to the trail head. I have a 99 F-150 4WD and I don't recommend driving the last two miles, unless you have a high clearance vehicle at the very least. I didn't see another person the entire time I was off pavement.

I did get off the correct trail on my descent, once I got near the fence he describes (only fence I saw and I had to admire the hearty souls who erected a fence in that location).

I recommend you pay close attention to the ridge as you ascend. Orient yourself at the first saddle as you ascend (particularly your relationship with the east face of the summit pyramid). From that first saddle, the trail traverses a steep slope towards a higher ridge to the south. Once on the higher ridge, you will cross through an opening in the fence. There are many faint but visible trails in this area and where I got confused on my descent. The route marked on a topo map in Gerry's description was very helpful, since I don't use GPS when I hike. Gerry's narrative of the route was also helpful. If you use GPS when you hike, I recommend you mark a few 'way points' on your ascent as you traverse the steep slope.

Once you get on the upper ridge, you begin to see more of the summit pyramid. The exposure was awesome and once I got to the base of the 5.2 pitch, it was obvious I had arrived, based on the narrative. The 5.2 pitch was fun and in my opinion, properly rated. It is an easy hike, so long as you are acclimated to steep ascents. If not, you may want to upgrade the rating and be prepared. Blackett's Ridge and the standard Pusch Peak route are going to work well if you need to train for this hike.

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1 archive

Oct 16 2004

rwstorm

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 22,415
Triplogs 1,041

77 male

Joined Feb 28 2003
Tucson, AZ

Cookes Peak

Southwest, NM

Cookes Peak

Southwest, NM

Hiking		Oct 16 2004
		rwstorm • Triplogs 1,041

Hiking	11.50 Miles	3,028 AEG

Hiking	11.50 Miles
	3,028 ft AEG

no routes

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Cookes Peak from 4WD TH

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A hike to the top of the very distinctive peak northeast of Deming in the fall of 2004. Proper spelling is Cookes Peak. Summit elevation is 8408 feet. We camped at Cookes Spring and the site of old Fort Cummings the night before the hike. The fort was established in 1863 and manned by Buffalo Soldiers to protect wagon trains traveling between Old Mesilla and Tucson from Indian attacks.

This is a fairly tough hike with some scrambling and minor exposure. We followed an old mining road and bushwhacked on the way up, but were able to find an old trail on the way down, which got us back to the vehicles via another canyon.

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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