Mustang Mountains High Point 6469 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Feb 16 2025

pseudalpine

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

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Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Feb 16 2025
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

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Peak 6281 - Mustang Mountains

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Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Pronghorn

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[ checklist ] Huachuca Mountains Mount Bruce North West Dome

7 archives

Oct 08 2023

Mike_W

Guides 104
Routes 256
Photos 16,118
Triplogs 528

53 male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 08 2023
		Mike_W • Triplogs 528

Hiking	3.92 Miles	1,416 AEG

Hiking	3.92 Miles	3 Hrs 40 Mns	1.07 mph
	1,416 ft AEG

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I started at a slightly different point than I planned because I took a wrong turn. Later, I realized it would have been better to park in the other place. My route added a total of 2/3 of a mile to the roundtrip distance of my hike.

Tim T and I arrived at a good starting point around 9 am. We started off heading East across an open field. This was the "Open Country" part of the hike and it was fairly easy. Within the first 15 minutes, we crossed 2 or 3 washes and some were not trivial. After about 15 minutes, we found some very good cattle trails and followed them for roughly one mile. After hiking a total of 0.5 miles, we saw a good sized concrete dam with a pond behind it. It looked like cattle were hanging out in this area but there weren't any cattle when we passed through. Up ahead, we saw a canyon to our right and the trails seemed to drop down into the canyon a few times. The trails starting heading up and after hiking a total of 1.3 miles, we were on the ridge we wanted to be on. From here, there was no real trail leading up. We just bushwhacked up a steep slope, weaving through rock formations and brush. Higher up there were more trees - pines, oak, etc. and the brush got progressively thicker and the slope got even steeper. The last push near the top was quite steep. There were many holes which appeared to be dug by animals but we weren't sure what. Those holes did help us a bit because they provided a place to step at times. After getting to what we thought was the top, we had to hike another 0.1 miles to the summit, zig zagging through a dense, messy forest of brush, mostly dead or burned trees.

At the summit, we found a registry which we signed. There was a bit of a breeze which made it feel comfortable, and the air temp felt like upper 70s at over 6 K feet elevation even though the high temp for Tucson was 95 this day. It's been a HOT summer and hopefully we will settle down into the 80s SOON...

On the way down, we basically, followed the same basic route, but took a more direct route down. Overall the bushwhack was pretty rough with a lot of loose rock, some very steep slopes where we had to use our hands. The cattle trails on the lower section made that part a bit easier.

Roundtrip mileage = 3.92
AEG = 1,416 feet
Strava moving time = 2 hrs 20 mins
Strava elapsed time = 4 hrs 18 mins

_____________________

Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us

Dec 11 2022

DixieFlyer

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

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Dec 11 2022
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,376

Hiking	3.05 Miles	1,418 AEG

Hiking	3.05 Miles	3 Hrs 32 Mns	1.14 mph
	1,418 ft AEG	51 Mns Break

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

This was my last of 3 hikes in the Tucson area over the weekend. This one was to the Mustang Mountains highpoint (elevation of 6,469' and prominence of 1,544').

I drove to about 600 feet before the end of the road and parked at a pullout.

In a recurring theme over the weekend, this was another hike through grass that was knee to waist high. Unlike the other hikes, this one had some thorny vegetation and loose rocks to deal with.

As I started the ascent I got into an area that I think had been burned by the Elgin Bridge Fire in May of this year. The grass was not as high in the burn area. I noticed some partially burned indocumentado backpacks, so it must not have been a high intensity fire.

There were some pinon pine and juniper trees in the final part of the ascent, so I had to spend some time weaving around these, in addition to dealing with some rocks from a landslide. I really can't say what I did to get to the top, other than keep going uphill and trying to take the path of least resistance. There were some really nice views at the summit, so there was a good payoff for my effort to get up there.

I saw some blankets and clothes at the summit, so apparently indocumentados know about the place.

The descent from the summit went better than the ascent -- I could look down and see gaps through the trees, and other than being crazy steep coming down the mountain wasn't too bad.

Once I got past the trees into grass, the going was pretty slow -- I had to pause with each step through the grass to see what it was that I was stepping on. It was a bit demoralizing going so slow.

Synopsis
There were great views at the summit, but it was type 2 fun other than that.

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[ checklist ] Apache Peak Castle Dome Huachuca Mountains Josephine Peak Keystone Peak Mount Graham Mount Hopkins Mount Wrightson Mustang Mountains Santa Rita Mountains Whetstone Mountains

_____________________

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

Dec 05 2020

KingLeonidas

Guides 33
Routes 286
Photos 445
Triplogs 251

35 male

Joined Oct 23 2017
Tempe

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Dec 05 2020
		KingLeonidas • Triplogs 251

Hiking	5.51 Miles	1,792 AEG

Hiking	5.51 Miles	4 Hrs 11 Mns		1.52 mph
	1,792 ft AEG	33 Mns Break	8 LBS Pack

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

This one was a whopper! Victoria and I did Mustang Mountains High Point 6469 as a bit of morning entertainment prior to our day of wine tastings in Sonoita. It was supposed to be a quick hike before lunch but ended up taking far longer and being far more difficult than we expected.

We were able to find the spot pretty easily. We parked at the 3rd gate and walked from there even though we could have easily driven another ~1-1/4 miles. It was a beautiful morning and we didn't want to make the hike too short (I know, more the fool us). The dirt road was passable for our small 2wd pickup although we did go slow and have to maneuver carefully around some larger rocks. After walking to the end of the dirt road we came across a camper that was the temporary hunting lodge for a group of quail hunters as well a a pickup and side-by-side that was transportation for a group of deer hunters and their guide.

Shortly after beginning the trail in earnest (marked by a sign indicating that no motor vehicles were permitted past this point) we came across the deer hunters. They had several sets of binoculars on tripods set up on a small rise and were glassing the area for deer. They had seen some and the guide and one of the hunters had gone down into the valley to attempt to get an angle on them. The hunters were not pleased to hear that we were intending to go hiking through their prospective firing range and we hung about for a few minutes waiting for the guide and hunter to return so that everyone could get on the same page. The guide was less concerned, they had scared up the deer which had left the immediate area we were going to be hiking and he was planning on relocating the party anyway. We were also wearing bright colors (white and blue) so there was little chance of being mistaken for a deer. After discussing and showing the guide our planned route we parted ways and had no further issues with the hunting parties. Their preferred scouting position is noted on the route.

Continuing on, we decided to explore the old dam before starting the ascent. We quickly found that the trail was more of a vague suggestion than a route. There were numerous very faint an non-continuous paths that were likely either game trails or social paths carved up by hunting parties but no actual trail was apparent to either the dam or the summit. It was almost entirely bushwhacking (off trail hiking) but there was relatively little in the way of foxtails or other prickly vegetation (by Arizona standards) so this aspect wasn't terribly unpleasant (at least initially).

Navigation was fairly easy but somewhat misleading. We found the dam without issue using the posted GPS route but during the ascent it was less useful. Attempting to follow the exact path was not practical or particularly efficient as it meanders around thickets and other obstacles. It is much easier to simply target the peak and pick whatever path of least resistance presents itself. We attempted the "nose in the GPS" method for the first part of the ascent in the hope that some semblance of a trail would present itself, to no avail. When we abandoned attempting to follow the precise GPS route things went a bit faster.

The initial ascent out of the valley was straightforward and, despite the lack of a clear trail, not to difficult. That changed about halfway up. The angle of the slope increased significantly and at the same time the terrain became much more difficult. What was previously well secured dirt became a combination of very loose dust and scree on a 30+ degree angle. Each step was likely to dislodged rocks and dust and send a hiker sliding sliding anywhere from a few inches to a few feet back down. Testing each foot placement was necessary and even then was not a guarantee of success (some rocks would hold your full weight only to give way as you were testing the foothold). We basically had to step-kick our way up the peak and later semi-glissade our way down. Both of us took minor spills, acquiring scratches and bruises, on multiple occasions on both the ascent and descent of this section.

There was also a high concentration of dry shrubs and trees near the summit that added to the misery. The branches were generally too large to simply push through but at the same time too small and dry (liable to snap) to be useful as handholds. Each thicket had to be either navigated around (where possible) or carefully climbed through (adding stepping over and under branches to the unstable ground challenges).

The only thing that went relatively well on this portion was that the terrain was so uneven that whatever large rocks you did manage to dislodge did not go far and present a hazard the the person following. We were able to avoid rockfall issues by maintaining a spacing of ~10-15'.

It took us so long to ascend that we did not stay long at the summit to enjoy the view of Sonoita (the view was quite nice). The aerostat that is stationed over the border in this area was also clearly visible from the summit as well as the whole of Sonoita Valley and the surrounding areas.

We made a beeline down the peak to start our wine tasting tour (quite belatedly). On the way out we passed by the quail hunter's camper where they asked if we had seen any quail on our hike. This was a bit surprising considering the number of shotgun blasts we heard on the ascent, we figured they had been pretty successful. We hadn't seen any quail (that I could tell) but had scared up numerous other birds. A bit later, while walking on the road portion back to the truck, we heard 3 rifle shots in quick succession (the first we heard that entire day). So the deer hunters we inadvertently displaced might have been compensated later on as well.

I don't think we would do this hike again, mostly because Victoria doesn't like off trail hiking. It would definitely be a good idea to check to see if there is a hunting season in effect when you want to hike this peak so that you can avoid possible issues of that sort. As far as off-trail hiking goes this was probably a good introductory route. If you drive all the way to the end of the dirt road the actual route is quite short. Even though the terrain is steep and challenging it isn't ridiculous or terribly dangerous. The nuisance factor of foxtails or prickly vegetation is also minimal so it's not a bad place to get your feet wet. The dams (both the old one we went too and the two newer ones we skipped) make potential points of interest or places to explore along the way. So this is a solid off trail hike option for those looking for that sort of adventure.

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Nov 24 2016

AZHiker456

Guides 28
Routes 199
Photos 7,422
Triplogs 188

female

Joined Nov 07 2015

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Mustang Mountains High Point 6469

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 24 2016
		AZHiker456 • Triplogs 188

Hiking	5.55 Miles	1,558 AEG

Hiking	5.55 Miles	4 Hrs 7 Mns	1.39 mph
	1,558 ft AEG	7 Mns Break

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The Mustang Mountains Highpoint has been tempting me since I moved in to my new home in Elgin just under a month ago. It is the first thing I see when I look out the window where my desk is, [and even when not looking out the window, it’s very noticeable out of my peripheral vision, being under 4 air miles from my front door]. Needless to say, it was the unquestionable summit of choice for my first hike in the Mustang Mountains.

Before hitting up the peak however, I made a slight detour to check out something I spotted from satellite imagery while planning my route, which looked rather bizarre to me. My best guesses were: a very large piece of airplane, vehicle, or other type of metal wreckage, some sort of water tank [or the remains of one], a dam, or the foundation of an old building/other structure. It proved to be a dam, and a rather neat one [built back in 1955], as I noted in the Description.

Although the ground visibility was much better on this adventure than my previous one, there were still a few stretches, [the final part of the ascent / beginning part of the descent from the peak] were the footing was *horrendous, [*at least in terms of high potential to twist / break an ankle]. Go figure, my first two hikes back to action would be ones with this kind of footing. Nonetheless, I made it back once again in one piece, without taking a single misstep, and I had a wicked good time.

I was tempted to do an ‘up and over’ type of route [i.e. up the peak’s Northern ridgeline and down via the badass, craggy-looking S/SE ridgeline; but the bee that “greeted” me, [and then “escorted” me the final 100 feet to the summit], did not exactly give me a warm welcome. And given the fact that I was alone, still in the recovery process from multiple injuries, and not even 100% certain if the fun-looking rock crags would suddenly turn to shear cliff, I decided to play it safe and opted for an out-and-back.

I’d noticed the second dam sometime during my ascent/descent, and it was practically right on the way I needed to go to get back to my vehicle. Unlike the first one, [which had no water on either side], this one had a large pool of water on one side. It made for some really awesome distance photos and was fun the check out. I’d actually noticed this dam as well on satellite imagery but hadn’t way-pointed it since it didn’t look as interesting [kind of looked like a black hole, which I guessed was either water or a mine].

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Summit Register Log

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mustang Mountains Mustang Peak Santa Rita Mountains

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God save the Prom Queen, cuz [reality check!] AEG's King...!

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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