Kofa Butte - KOFA • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Jan 14 2017

Tough_Boots

Routes 67
Photos 2,708
Triplogs 755

89 male

Joined Mar 28 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Hiking		Jan 14 2017
		Tough_Boots • Triplogs 755

Hiking	7.16 Miles	1,948 AEG

Hiking	7.16 Miles	4 Hrs 54 Mns	1.78 mph
	1,948 ft AEG	53 Mns Break

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chumley

DallinW

This was the first day of a pretty great weekend. It was my first time in the Kofa and I was not disappointed. Chumley came up with a pretty good route since trails apparently aren't a thing out there. The summit wasn't too rough though Lily was more than a little beat on the way down. After a morning on that course rock and unsuccessfully dodging cholla, she was pretty done. We dropped into one of the washes and Chumley and Dallin decided to check out Kofa dam and some narrows. I decided to shortcut it cross country with Lily. I probably ended up taking a rougher route and only beat them to the car by about 20 minutes.

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Jan 14 2017

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Hiking		Jan 14 2017
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	8.24 Miles	2,118 AEG

Hiking	8.24 Miles	4 Hrs 56 Mns	1.84 mph
	2,118 ft AEG	28 Mns Break

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DallinW

Tough_Boots

The Kofas are a long drive from the valley (but not as long as most people seem to think), and a day trip is best served by a few more miles than one of the many excellent peaks. Of course, an overnight makes it even better!

Kofa Butte isn't too long of a hike mileage wise, so I put together a route for some more exploring in the area. We ended up taking more mileage than expected to get up and down the butte, and decided to eliminate TWO separate options resulting in a fairly short day. But I'd like to explore more out in this part of the range. Some of these canyons are really special.

We started at the wilderness boundary at the end of Yaqui Wash and headed east around the north side of butte, having read that the only possible approach is from the east side somewhere. This was a bit of a butt-kicker. I usually prefer to go straight up or down a slope rather than fight against the fall-line. We found a good break and traversed some more before having to scramble a bit to get up on the plateau. From there we took the leisurely route, circumnavigating almost the entire plateau. The views are great and those walls are vertical and very high up!

When we finally pushed for the summit, we realized there were two options, and the topo map is totally inaccurate. But we got to explore the top for a while. The southern end is the high point and there's a very impressive summit cairn there. Barbara Lilley and friends placed the register in 1982, and it has received far fewer than one entry per year. We were the first in two years.

On the way down we tried to find another route, but for fear of cliffing out, we cut down not far from where we had come up. As we hiked the flatlands below, it was apparent that there was a good break and route on the east/southeast just below the cliff (see my photos).

We got down to Moonshine Gulch and headed for Kofa Dam, which is a fascinating structure. I would have loved to see the "lake" filled up behind it! From there we headed downstream back toward the truck. The canyon narrowed and got rough, and we had to bypass a huge 50+ foot dryfall. I don't think water runs here very often, but that one would be amazing to see.

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Natural Arch

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Kofa Butte Kofa Dam Kofa Dam Wash Kofa Mountains Moonshine Gulch Yaqui Wash

	Kofa Dam Wash	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Hadn't rained in at least a week, but pools in bedrock

	Yaqui Wash	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Hadn't rained in over a week, but pools in bedrock

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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

1 archive

Jan 14 2017

DallinW

Guides 1
Routes 105
Photos 1,740
Triplogs 228

33 male

Joined Feb 26 2015
Gilbert AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Hiking		Jan 14 2017
		DallinW • Triplogs 228

Hiking	8.24 Miles	2,118 AEG

Hiking	8.24 Miles	4 Hrs 56 Mns		1.84 mph
	2,118 ft AEG	28 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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chumley

Tough_Boots

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Jan 26 2016

dwightnancy

Photos 104
Triplogs 13

65 male

Joined Oct 26 2012
denver, co.

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Kofa Butte - KOFA

Southwest, AZ

Hiking		Jan 26 2016
		dwightnancy • Triplogs 13

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We arrived in King Valley Tuesday morning via McPherson Pass in the Castle Dome Mountains. Soaking in the beautiful, sunny & warm January day as we drove the dusty roads north across the wide open valley. The KOFA Range spread out in front of us, covering the horizon. What a rugged range. Some of the most austere and difficult terrain in Arizona. A huge bookend to the southwest, KOFA Bute looms over the valley floor below. How can something that imposing not be on your bucket list?
I spent Tuesday afternoon doing recon, making it to within a hundred vertical feet of the edge of the top. It looked to me like one might start from the end of the road and work directly up a series of ledges and ramps all the way up to the base of the final rampart. Siege-style. Epic fail. The ledges and ramps proved sketchy and steep and the cliffs were a hundred feet of dead verticality. Nice to explore, but I'm soooooo glad I didn't have Nancy and the dogs. This is why one does recon.

Every intersection in The KOFA is numbered. What a brilliant idea! Our approach road is the road that heads Northeast from intersection number 21.   Wednesday morning we set out to do a light recon walk.   Thus we only brought 1.5 liters of water. 6 liters would've been about right. Also, this is a tough hike for dogs. Our young guy, Pico did fine, but I ended up carrying our 10 year old boxer mix through much of the steeper and cholla infested sections. Typical for us. A stroll ends up in a summit push.

We took the wash that angles to the right from the end of the road.   It snakes it's way through the most ghoulish and gnarly rock formations for perhaps twenty minutes of easy walking. Look for our cairn on the right at a side wash. The entire route is sparsely cairned but the cairns are big. KOFA Bute will now be more or less south of you and the remainder of the hike takes you up to a series of ridges that run up the northeast corner of the formation to the one weak spot in the upper cliffs. This "weak spot" is on the eastern edge of the bute where the rampart has tumbled enough to allow class 2 access to the top. Basically, the hike takes you around the formation clockwise along the north and then northeast flanks for about 180 degrees on the compass.

From where the small wash leaves the main wash you should likely be able to see where it breaks through a 30 foot headwall. The idea is to leave the main wash and hike up the small wash through this break and continue up to a ridge on the northeast slope, then work your way up and across several ridges trending southeast until you see one ridge that leads up the slope past a small (15 foot) ledge.   You will easily pass this small ledge on the right end. This will deposit you on the talus just below the the final tumbled cliff band. You are now looking up at the tumbled cliffs along the top of the mesa. Work your way left cross-hilling, staying low until you can see the first broad and open access point through the tumbled cliffs above you. "Top" is relative. Once on top of the mesa, you'll see the summit about a half mile away to the south. From here you simply beeline to the easy valley between the two prominences. As you reach the saddle at the top of the sloping valley you'll get a drop-away view of the entire King Valley. The actual summit well be the one on your left. Big cairn, 360.
Our return went much smoother although we were pretty dehydrated having given the dogs most of our water.

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Jan 23 2012

Dave1

Routes 29
Photos 1,548
Triplogs 1,802

49 male

Joined Jan 25 2009
Phoenix, AZ

Kofa Butte, AZ

Hiking		Jan 23 2012
		Dave1 • Triplogs 1,802

Hiking	5.07 Miles	2,410 AEG

Hiking	5.07 Miles
	2,410 ft AEG

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Kofa Butte - KOFA

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Car camped in Yaqui Wash at the base of KB the night before.

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Feb 02 2008

Dave1

Routes 29
Photos 1,548
Triplogs 1,802

49 male

Joined Jan 25 2009
Phoenix, AZ

Kofa Butte, AZ

Backpack		Feb 02 2008
		Dave1 • Triplogs 1,802

Backpack	9.00 Miles	2,500 AEG

Backpack	9.00 Miles	2 Days
	2,500 ft AEG

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Kofa Butte - KOFA

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Started from near the old post office/North Star Mine. Spent the night below a cliff band on the side of Kofa Butte. Woke up in the morning to find my camp in a big pile of BHS scat. Climbed up the butte on day 2.

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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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