Baboquivari - Western Approach • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

[ checklist ] Baboquivari Mountains Baboquivari Peak Baboquivari Peak Wilderness Kitt Peak Mount Lemmon

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 08 2025
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	10.06 Miles	4,318 AEG

Hiking	10.06 Miles	8 Hrs	1.63 mph
	4,318 ft AEG	1 Hour 49 Mns Break

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

Baboquivari has been on my radar screen for a long time and I was finally able to go with someone who could get me up the ladder pitch.

We parked at the Baboquivari Campground and took a good, maintained trail to a ramp that goes up to the base of the ladder pitch. The ramp was a mix of class 2, 3, and 4 and the top of the ramp itself was a worthy destination.

I would not have been able to free climb the ladder pitch, but getting belayed up was not an issue. Once at the top of the ladder pitch there was some scrambling left to do to get up to the summit. There were great views at the summit, so we hung out there for a bit before heading back.

We rappelled back down the ladder pitch, went down the ramp, and then made the steep descent on the trail back to the TH.

This was an awesome hike/climb and I am glad to have finally been able to do it!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Rainbow Cactus

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Telescope

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Named place [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
There were some ocotillo flowers but that was about it

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

Apr 15 2020

DennisWilliams

Photos 490
Triplogs 189

69 male

Joined Feb 06 2012
Mesa, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hike & Climb		Apr 15 2020
		DennisWilliams • Triplogs 189

Hike & Climb	9.00 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hike & Climb	9.00 Miles	7 Hrs 50 Mns		1.26 mph
	4,254 ft AEG		20 LBS Pack

Solo I • 5.2 Granite Good • 100 Feet 1 Pitch

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Babo el viejo solito.

This one had been on my radar for years but the distance from home and the technical section had allowed me to put it off. Having the taxes done and yielding to pressures to isolate (not much of a pressure for me) I decided that today was the day.

It is a 3+ hour drive from my house to the TH. Reveille was 0330. Driving by about 0415. Still dark enough to clearly observe Jupiter but also a faint Saturn and Mars next to a bright half moon. I took the western approach out to Sells. No need to visit Tucson. Arriving at the turn off from IR19 there was a sign stating Park Closed, but heck, the road wasn't closed, so I figured I'd proceed the final dozen or so miles to the park. Besides, having driven well over 2 hours I wasn't going to be stopped quite so easily. At the park entrance was an identical sign, this time located in the middle of the road. I could see the picnic tables and restrooms just beyond, so I reversed course for a couple hundred yards and found a pull off and parked there, interpreting "the park" to apply only to the immediate environs. Shortly thereafter a nice gentleman in a pickup with his dog pulled in behind me. Some years past I would have said "nice older guy" but now I need to be careful. We seem to be about the same age.

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting."

"I live here, right over there. Did you see the signs?" (His house cannot be seen from the road but can be from high up on the trail)

"Yes. I saw that the park is closed, but the road isn't closed, so I thought I'd hike around a bit. It is beautiful here. Am I parked in your driveway? Very sorry. Would you like me to leave?"

"No. I can pull around you. There is a guy from Sells at the Indian Bureau that comes out to check the park. He might have something to say. I've seen some people come out, just for the day."

"Do you mind if I park here?"

"No. Have a nice day."

Parsing my language I concluded our conversation had provided tacit approval, at least from a local person, to be there "outside the park". I began hiking around 0800. The trail goes up. I would guess that over the entire distance the total trend downward might add up to a negative 100 feet. For the most part it is nicely switched back, varying from loose and rocky to pleasantly soft, but up. The trail is easy to follow and refreshingly free from cairns. At the higher elevations just below the Great Ramp it is steeper and there is some dead-fall but the direction is never in doubt. Eventually it deposits you at the ramp, a steep gash angling up and to the left. Scramble up this and find the bottom of the the only real technical pitch: the Ladder Pitch.

I had brought a light 8.0mm X 60m rope, super light harness, a couple carabiners and a belay device. Reports had indicated the route was easy class 5 climbing, possible to solo, but I didn't want to get all the way there and be turned back for want of gear. The plan was to solo up and use the rope to rappel the harder bits on the way down. I tied the rope on my back, slipped on the harness, stuffed everything else into my pockets, and began to climb. I would rate the Ladder Pitch as slightly riskier than the first pitch on the east C4 route of Weaver's. After the ladder the route exits to the right and follows a path along the base of the rock face to find a 10 foot face. It took a little while to find this spot but eventually got it. The climbing there is easy to scramble up and back down. The next section is in a brushy chute with a few cairns leading the way to the summit. All pretty easy to follow but do take mental note of your route. I think if you got even a little bit off on the way down you might be in big trouble.

At the summit I paid my respects to I'itoi and deposited my offering, adding to the many already there. Kitt Peak is plainly visible to the north with it's many gleaming white instruments probing the mysteries of the universe. The views in all directions exceed 100 miles. I also took a moment to celebrate the occasion with a couple mouth-fulls of Lagavulin 16 year old.

The descent was straightforward. I set up the rappel at the chains at the top of the Ladder Pitch. The 60m rope ends just make it to the bottom. The hike out was uneventful and fairly rapid. The truck was where and as I left it and no official had posted any invitation to court. All day long the gentleman in the truck was the only human being I encountered between leaving and returning home just before 1900 hours. I had the entire place to myself. I'itoi must have been pleased with my offering as no calamity had been visited upon me and the day was splendid.

Post script: I have appended the photo set with an image of the ladder taken in the autumn of 1951.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

_____________________

"Aequanimitas."

- Antoninus Pius

2 archives

Jan 20 2019

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 20 2019
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	10.00 Miles	4,300 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles	7 Hrs 6 Mns	1.53 mph
	4,300 ft AEG	33 Mns Break

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Blanco

chumley

This was a fun little intro into some more adventure climbing oriented fun. The technical part is a pretty light lead, but a strip of slick rock down the middle of the climbing route made it interesting. But at least it was not ice. There was some snow around the base of the ladder route, but there was nothing impeding the climb or scramble to the summit. @Chumley didn't think it would be a good idea to bring a belay device, so we had to be a little creative to set up a top belay, but we got it done. The summit was real cool and it was a great feeling to be on top of such a predominant landmark. We descended after only a few minutes on the summit because Blanco was waiting patiently for us at the base of the Ladder Pitch. After a quick break, we were headed back down and priming our legs for the relentless descent.

It was great to finally knock this southern Arizona icon off the to do list. The climbing portion was not overly difficult, but the big mileage and AEG numbers coupled with carrying a 70m rope definitely served as a good training run for some of the things I want to do in the Grand Canyon this spring.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

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Jan 20 2019

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 20 2019
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	10.00 Miles	4,300 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles	7 Hrs 6 Mns	1.53 mph
	4,300 ft AEG	33 Mns Break

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Blanco

FOTG

Lee has been itching to lead this one and finally our schedules aligned. I'd done it once before, but really enjoy the trail and views (even without the climb to the summit), so it was an easy decision for me to do this one again.

It was actually borderline warm a couple of times on the day, though there was some snow and ice hanging on in sheltered areas near the summit. Some of that snow was melting, which made parts of the climb a little wet. Otherwise it was an uneventful trip. Blanco rocks, but it has to be stated that he didn't actually summit. #nopeakforyou!

Pretty good views across southern Arizona today. The snow in the Pinalenos looks deep! (But it's probably because the top of the mountain has so few trees after the Frye fire.)

There's a lot of border patrol presence on the Tohono O'odham reservation.

Found some nice rock art out there too. All-in-all, a great day!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

_____________________

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

Feb 18 2018

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Feb 18 2018
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Hiking	8.80 Miles	3,356 AEG

Hiking	8.80 Miles
	3,356 ft AEG

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A few of us attempted to summit Babo. The rain from before was sufficient for a small creek to be running off Babo. We were getting near the technical section when a drizzle blew in from the south. As things got wet they got slippery. Since the ladder pitch is typically free soloed by the leader we felt it was slippery enough to bail. Nice hike though!

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Dec 09 2017

jladderud

Guides 1
Routes 12
Photos 17
Triplogs 80

35 male

Joined Oct 05 2017
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hike & Climb		Dec 09 2017
		jladderud • Triplogs 80

Hike & Climb	9.50 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hike & Climb	9.50 Miles	9 Hrs 15 Mns	1.52 mph
	4,254 ft AEG

Solo I R • Sport • 5.6 • 1 Pitch

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A beautiful hike! We made plenty of stops along the way, including a long break at the summit. The trail was easy to follow, except for finding the start--the gpx track helped with this. Not unexpectedly, we didn't see any other people the whole time!

As to the climbing element--we opted for the single-pitch forbes route (https://www.mountainproject.com/route/1 ... t-approach). My partner and I felt confident free-soloing the ascent. There are two bolts along the way and no obvious places to place trad gear. The bolts are of questionable quality but the anchors at the top are competent. On the descent I lowered my partner to the base of the pitch and then rappelled myself. We only brought a 40m rope in order to save weight (knowing full well beforehand that this would not allow me a full rappel) and thus I free-solo down climbed the last 20 feet or so. I suspect that a 60m rope would allow for a rappel of the full pitch.

There is a very nice campground at the base of this route. It had flush toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings. What's more, it was totally free! Just be sure to contact the Baboquivari district office beforehand (520-283-2366) to get permission and file a permit. It would also be appropriate to ask whether or not fires are permitted at the time (we were able to have a campfire!).

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Nov 27 2015

rvcarter

Guides 36
Routes 310
Photos 2,235
Triplogs 241

79 male

Joined Mar 27 2008
tucson, az

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Nov 27 2015
		rvcarter • Triplogs 241

Hiking	8.50 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hiking	8.50 Miles
	4,254 ft AEG

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Babo from the west has been on our radar for a while. Mike, Frank and I decided to bite the bullit and get it done before it got too cold. Mike had done the SE Arrete a few years back, coming up from the east side and really wanted to try the Western approach. In brief, getting to the TH means going to Sells, AZ, going south about 8 miles on Hwy 19 past Topawa, then east about 10 miles on Hwy 10 (dirt road) to the Tohono O'odhum Nation picnic camping area (restrooms with running water!). The trailhead is at the east end of the CG. We had little trouble up the relatively good, easy-to-follow trail, although there was a lot of grass (mostly trampled down) which hid the little "roller" rocks. The Western approach usually involves the Forbes Ladder route, although one could still split right at the bottom of the ramp and get over to the start of the Arrete route (as trekkin gecko did). Forbes is a much easier, single pitch, 100 foot climb in the 5.5-5.6 level of difficulty. It seemed harder on this day because of the cold temperature and wind.

I highly recommend using one of the very good HAZ GPS tracks shown on the description for this hike. I didn't even post mine, which was crappy because I left my GPS in my stashed pack a short way up the ramp, when we geared down for the ramp climb. The scramble up the ramp is not to be underestimated. It involves some serious class 3 scrambling; the downclimb will take most people a while. Repeating what some others have posted, the technical part is at the top of the ramp, just around the corner of the cliff, up a black stained area. Remnants of the ladder can be seen up the route. There is a bomber set of anchors with nice chains at the top of what is exactly a 100' pitch from the base. Not much to set pro with on the way up, one 1/4 eyebolt and a few pieces of iron left over from the ladder (which was taken out by rock fall a long time ago). Mike took his time and got up ok and we followed. I've seem some triplogs describing some people doing the up and down without protection. I personally wouldn't take the chance, especially on the downclimb which is always harder. Recommend using climbing shoes but take your boots to change into for the several hundred foot scramble to reach the top. At the top of the technical part (which is on the north side toward Kitt Peak), go right initially then look for the easily visible path up and then left. The final part actually comes in from the east. Look at sbkelly's triplogs for info on gear. We used one lightweight 60 m rope, about 3-4 quickdraws, and 2-3 slings to connect to parts of the old ladder still embedded in the rock. Everyone in the group needs a harness and helmet. Frank and I will be forever grateful to Mike for carrying the rope up.

The views along the way and from the top are incredible. This is a great time of year to do this hike/climb, but it gets pretty cold at 7700 feet, especially if there is some wind. My toes were numb on the technical climb, which is in the shade. Check the weather before committing to this one. We saw exactly NO ONE the entire hike, and only one person in the CG. The hike took us 15 hours, 5 of which was driving time from Saddlebrooke. We left at 4:30 a.m. (yikes!). We took our time, with lots of stops, but the 4200+ feet of aeg is real.

Remember to call about the free permit (520-383-2366). Alternatively, you can obtain a permit from the Baboquivari District Office at the intersection of Routes 19 and 10, during business hours. Camping is also free.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

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Check out my Instagram posts at "cartershift", and videos on my Rumble channel "rvcarter".

Apr 18 2015

BobP

Guides 2
Routes 251
Photos 4,593
Triplogs 3,212

63 male

Joined Feb 26 2008
Scottsdale, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2015
		BobP • Triplogs 3,212

Hiking	10.00 Miles	4,100 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns	2.26 mph
	4,100 ft AEG	2 Hrs 20 Mns Break

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	chumley	joebartels
	JuanJaimeiii	sbkelley

Have you ever found yourself perched upon the back of a Tural? The tural is a bird that carries a sword in its talons. Is it a hawk or an eagle or a falcon? Maybe it’s the best parts of all three. I recently sat on the back of a Tural.

The tural was perched on one of the highest branches of the tree of life. The tree was easily climbed and the tural was calmly waiting for me to finish the final pitch. A high pitched screech was heard and I knew I was getting closer. My anticipation was becoming apparent as my heart began to beat faster. It was a long journey to get here but the journey had just begun. The tural would be my guide but it did not speak in a language I could understand. I felt at ease when I finally reached the pinnacle and the tural dropped its wing so I could climb on board. My trust and life were now in the hands of this majestic creature. We soared for 8 hours and finally landed in a small settlement along the Bittva stream. It was the 19th century and there was a wedding taking place. Life passed by in a blink of an eye but the tree and its branches remained fruitful and strong.

Ouch …that’s gonna leave a mark. Why is my neck wet? What just happened? Back to reality,…In layman terms, I bruced. Brucing happens sometimes on hikes. It’s when a red substance leaks from your body usually as a result of a fall. This was my second Brucing where the phlebotomy was the result of head trauma.

Dave1 once again came to the rescue with the white Diablo bandanna he had given me. The fountain was slowed to a trickle and onward we went.

It would have been nice if Abercombie had given me a “heads ups”.

This hike/climb is frickin awesome. Thanks for Scott for leading it and thanks to Chums and JJ for driving.
All around fun group.

At the end of the hike, we enjoyed another red substance. Its wetness was enjoyable. My tongue was treated to an explosion of eukaryotic microorganisms. My parietal lobe danced with joy as modalities were feed an endless supply of unbound spirituality.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Baboquivari Peak

Wildflowers Observation Light

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https://www.seeitourway.org
Always pronounce Egeszsegedre properly......
If you like this triplog you must be a friend of BrunoP

Apr 18 2015

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2015
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	10.00 Miles	4,100 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns		2.26 mph
	4,100 ft AEG	2 Hrs 20 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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	BobP	chumley
	JuanJaimeiii	sbkelley

Great to meet the cool, calm, collected sbkelley after eight years on HAZ. Starting in the morning the hike up was shade most of the way. Bob lost a half pint of blood headbutting a tree. All those trophies in his garage speak volumes for the man's ability to get beaten to a pulp without a whimper.

Despite 90 something in the Valley and late April I was shivering like an ice cube by the time we reached the pitch. Scott was kind enough to share his fleece with the group. Everyone got up pretty easy save myself. It wasn't pretty but I got it on the second attempt with Scott belaying from the top. CHUMS came up last with his pack filled for the group. Outta my league, wtg! Lee couldn't carry the rope, I mean join the group so Scott lugged the weight. Think that always deserves recognition, most appreciated!

The summit was great. Very different than anticipated. On many southern AZ hikes I've admired Babo in the far distance. You get the sense of it's grandeur heading up. Once up top it does not give gut wrenching feelings of being perched up in the sky on a pedestal. Awesome views makeup for the anti climatic ending with 360 degree views. Most notably what I understood to the east... an unmatched view of Tucson and it's sky island mountain ranges.

The hike down was toasty. Along the way we shared embroidery pattern secrets and met for tea in Tucson to reminisce.

Took 3 quarts water, 2.5 back home. Ironically borrowed half a quart from CHUMS :-k

Wildflowers Observation Light
poppies on the return, a sprig of Larkspur and a slope of blooming ocotillos took the show

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- joe

Apr 18 2015

JuanJaimeiii

Routes 596
Photos 9,604
Triplogs 2,400

58 male

Joined Jan 30 2011
Chandler, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2015
		JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400

Hiking	10.00 Miles	4,100 AEG

Hiking	10.00 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns	2.26 mph
	4,100 ft AEG	2 Hrs 20 Mns Break

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	BobP	chumley
	joebartels	sbkelley

I'm glad we finally got this one done. I believe it was weather last year that threw a wrench in our planned trip. We met around 5:31 or 5:32 at Ray and I-10 and headed out. By 8am we were hiking on a well groomed trail up to the base of Baboquivari.

The area and the hike are worth the trip itself. Very scenic and enjoyable. Then up the great ramp is a fun scramble with rewarding views up top. Around the corner is "the ladder" which derives it's name from once having an actual ladder there made of steel and wood rungs. Here is the only technical part of this route. Bob and I managed to climb it without gear. Scott followed and set up the rope and Joe and Chumley followed shortly thereafter. From this point we made our way up the rest of the route to the summit.

Views up top are excellent as this one stands mighty tall. I soaked up some rays while the boys had a quick bite and then we exited the way we came.

On the way down I attempted to down climb "the ladder" without any protection or aid. I made it to about 15 feet from the bottom and just couldn't get that last part done. I grabbed the rope that they were using to rappel and with some help from Bob I finished that last piece of the puzzle. I may try again someday?

We enjoyed a nice warm hike back to the vehicles and then it was off to Tucson for some delicious Tacos at one of my favorite haunts. BK's Taco shop on 12th. For the grand finale we hit DQ at Picacho Peak for Cherry Dipped Cones.

Good stuff and good times with a great group!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ - Hike HAZard

Wildflowers Observation Light

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1 archive

Apr 18 2015

chumley

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

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

[ checklist ] Baboquivari Mountains Baboquivari Peak Baboquivari Peak Wilderness

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2015
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	9.50 Miles	4,449 AEG

Hiking	9.50 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns	1.58 mph
	4,449 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

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	BobP	joebartels
	JuanJaimeiii	sbkelley

It was great to summit this iconic peak :y:

Thanks to Scott for leading and doing all the work for the climb and rappel.

I think if Bob, Joe, and JJ were in charge, the Earth would make a complete rotation in about 17 hours. Not sure they know what the word "slow" even means. : rambo :

I was happy to have a poofy coat and gloves with me as it might have been in the 40s in the shade. But then it was a toasty oven not much later.

BobP made a donation to I'itoi a little sooner than planned. Perhaps keeping the helmet on all day is a better plan for next time. :M2C:

About two hours into the hike JJ was already planning for tacos afterward. [-(

It was also nice to see that JJ is in fact sort of human. Not sure he'll ever really grasp the concept of using a rope though. :roll:

Up top we had lunch and a beverage. Good thing the traveling Chumwagon was up there or the only eats might've been the hard candy in the summit register. :roll:

On the rappel, Joe executed a perfect Forward 9L, and wasn't shy about doing it again either!

We went in search of the beautiful Babo Blonde, but ended up with some Wet Beaver instead. Not fully satisfied, JJ convinced us that driving 47 miles out of the way would only take 10 extra minutes and be worth it. The time might have been off a little, but it was definitely worth it! Great to top off the day with some BK and DQ.

All-in-all a pretty good day!

Two minutes of Joe on the ladder: https://youtu.be/f3 ... FPlg

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Cag Shot HAZ - Hike HAZard HAZ Food

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
nice ocotillo forest lower 1/3rd

_____________________

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

1 archive

Apr 18 2015

sbkelley

Guides 6
Routes 13
Photos 1,377
Triplogs 184

41 male

Joined Mar 29 2007
Reno, NV

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Apr 18 2015
		sbkelley • Triplogs 184

Hiking	9.50 Miles	4,449 AEG

Hiking	9.50 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns	1.58 mph
	4,449 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

no routes

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	BobP	chumley
	joebartels	JuanJaimeiii

Not much to add to what the rest of the group said, but it was great to finally hike (and climb!) with Joe, who wouldn't take my recommendation to lift his leg up to shoulder height to surmount the crux move

A few other observations from the day:

1) This mountain never gets old, and the Ladder Pitch is a fun lead.

2) It was a challenge keeping up with this lightning-fast crew, but the terrible song stuck in my head kept me moving. Thanks for the pump-up music on the pitch, guys!

3) I've been telling people that this route generally takes 10 hours round-trip. I think I need to reconsider that.

4) Always trust JJ's taco shop recommendations

Great crew, great day.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Apr 11 2015

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Baboquivari Southeast Arete

Tucson, AZ

Hike & Climb		Apr 11 2015
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hike & Climb	9.40 Miles	4,500 AEG

Hike & Climb	9.40 Miles
	4,500 ft AEG

Second III • 5.6 • 6 Pitches

no routes

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baboquivari has been on my bucket list for a few years, really ever since i started climbing with johnr1
fletch and mike proposed climbing the southeast arete, which is a classic route
left town friday afternoon and decided to go in from the west at the last minute
camped at the reservation campground
up early saturday morning and set out around 6:40
fletch wasn't feeling well but she thought she would try it
started hiking up with us, but had to turn back after about a mile
mike and i redistributed gear and continued
nice cool morning for a good amount of elevation gain
there is an established trail in excellent condition from the campground up to the base of the peak
the peak doesn't come into view until about halfway up
beautiful country on the west side, and the entire mountain range provided great scenery along the way
arrived at the intersection of the great ramp and the lion's ledge
took a few minutes to drop packs, bringing only the essentials for the climb
still had to bushwhack along the lion's ledge to the start of the southeast arete
might have been nice to have long pants on this part
a little tricky to find the climb
mike led all pitches; i followed and cleaned
the first one was relatively short
the second and third provided challenging climbing and some exposure
the fourth was another short one
next came a couple hundred yards of scrambling up to a notch
mike gave me a hip belay down the notch, but it wasn't necessary
one more short technical pitch, then a longer scramble to the summit
i may not have these in the correct order
topping out was quite a thrill

good sized summit area with the tribute to i'itoi, two ammo boxes and metal remnants of a fire tower base
views were incredible!
kitt peak, santa catalinas, santa ritas and other mountain ranges i'm not familiar with
we read through the summit logs, snacked and took photos for awhile
descended the forbes route, downclimbing, then rappelling the ladder pitch
the only struggle i had all day was coming down the great ramp; i was just very slow
sometimes a bit of a struggle is part of backcountry climbing

hit the trail, packed up and hiked down
arrived at camp around 5:30
a great day and an awesome climb
camped another night, intending to hit mt. lemmon sunday, but with fletch under the weather, headed home sunday
it rained much of the night, and we were grateful for such good weather saturday
random thoughts:
climbed in a long sleeve tech shirt and shorts, which worked out well - still hard for me to know what to wear/bring sometimes
had to bring our hiking shoes for the long scrambles
if you want to summit the peak, the forbes route from the west side seems like the quickest way to do it
mike has a very good knowledge of this complex mountain, and as always was generous in sharing it
there is a nice little campsite about 3/4 way up the trail
we saw a good-sized party there, planning to summit the next day
heard them in the parking lot at 6:00 a.m. after getting rained out - that would have been a miserable night
heard two girls coming down at 8:00 friday night, saw their names in the summit log, a long day
felt fortunate to finish well before dark, as i've read many triplogs and heard stories about long days and late nights on the mountain
lots of blooming ocotillos on the west side - simply beautiful
mike and i took pictures with his camera, so it will be a few days before i can post them
stats are from neurolizer's gps route: [ gps route ]
this experience ranks in the top four of my arizona adventures so far
:y:

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Summit Register Log Trash Hauled Out

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Baboquivari Peak

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hazhole

2 archives

Oct 25 2014

sbkelley

Guides 6
Routes 13
Photos 1,377
Triplogs 184

41 male

Joined Mar 29 2007
Reno, NV

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 25 2014
		sbkelley • Triplogs 184

Hiking	8.50 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hiking	8.50 Miles	9 Hrs 45 Mns	0.87 mph
	4,254 ft AEG

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It's amazing to see how this mountain never looks quite the same. With all of the recent rains, erosion has done a number on the trail, and tall grass now obscures it for much of the ascent. The creek was actually running quite well through the campsite/trailhead, and that's the first time I've seen running water on this mountain. Shorts were retrospectively a bad move, at least on the part of Adam and myself. Taylor and Sam were much wiser, and didn't come away with a few dozen catclaw souvenirs, but who knew the normally-dry Baboquivari would turn into a "jungle"?

3 hours(ish) to the base of the Ramp, and a few scrambling minutes later meant it was time for a reprieve of the Ladder Pitch. Nerves are progressively getting less noticeable each time leading it, but still gets the adrenaline going a little, which is probably healthy. First-time outdoor climbers Taylor and Sam breezed up the pitch, and I think I probably worked harder trying to belay them than they did ascending. Amazing! Adam followed in similar fashion. Now well ahead of schedule, up the trail we went. Well, I think it's a fine trail, but others took issue with my choice of descriptive words for this part of the trip....The sunny, breezy top is always a great perch, and the summit log offers entertainment, although we were joined by about 50,000 unidentified insects that had claimed the summit area for their, uh, summit activities.

Down to the rappel spot and 3 failed throws later (hey, 2/5 gets the job done in the end), we reconvened at the base of the Pitch with nothing but a sunny hike downhill to go. It's always about this time of day that the words "cooler" and "beer" dominate small-talk. It happens.

Great group, very smooth day, and the sunset light show on this descent is always a great finale. Hope to see you again, Babo!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Grasshopper

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Baboquivari Peak

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Oct 19 2014

iborrego

Triplogs 348

32 male

Joined Oct 13 2012
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Oct 19 2014
		iborrego • Triplogs 348

Hiking	7.50 Miles	3,300 AEG

Hiking	7.50 Miles
	3,300 ft AEG

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Apr 07 2013

DBmooner

Triplogs 100

40 male

Joined Jan 03 2011
chandler, Az

Tucson, AZ

Hike & Climb		Apr 07 2013
		DBmooner • Triplogs 100

Hike & Climb	8.50 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hike & Climb	8.50 Miles	11 Hrs	0.77 mph
	4,254 ft AEG

• Toprope • 80 Feet 1 Pitch

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we pull into the camp ground around 10 pm the night befor expecting the camp ground to be empty but we are greated by 2 guys that we went to Zion with last year they planed on doing the east arete but they had came with 4 people who were takeing the same route as we were so they kindly offered to carry the rope for use. we started off at 7 am the next moreing for the hike in. the trail was easy to follow .once you make it to the grate ramp you have to climb a 100 foot long class 4 climb that used to have a ladder there but it it is now in pices at the bottom of the climb. after you get to the top of the climb you have to work your way up the great ramp to the ladder pitch witch is a very easy 5.3 80 foot long pitch. by the time i made it to the pitch the people we meet in the parking lot had allready set a top rope and only half of them had made the climb so it gave me a nice long over due break. after you get to the top of the ladder pitch there are only 2 class 4 climbs left 1 is really easy and the other one is a little akwared but really short and once you get on top of the boulder you have a short hike to the summit. spent about 30 mins on the top eating lunch and reasting the legs for hike out we all left a little offering for our safe journy off the mountian and then started back to the truck . made it down just as the sun was setting.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Apr 06 2013

desert_boonie

Guides 2
Photos 1,691
Triplogs 212

45 male

Joined Aug 05 2004
Peoria, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hike & Climb		Apr 06 2013
		desert_boonie • Triplogs 212

Hike & Climb	8.50 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hike & Climb	8.50 Miles	10 Hrs	0.85 mph
	4,254 ft AEG

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sbkelley

Tmkelley

I really cannot say anything about this mountain that hasn't been said on here before. It is a very beautiful and scenic range that I have finally gotten to experience and hope to experience again in the future. Having finally stood on the top of this great peak I can only be grateful to my friend Scott for setting this up and not doing this trek without me when problems arose with my schedule and we couldn't go for it last weekend. It was good to meet some new people that I did this with and would have no problem going out on another adventure with them again. My love for southern Arizona is as great as ever and seeing the impressive views from up on top of this one only makes me yearn for more.

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"Never Satisfied"

Apr 06 2013

sbkelley

Guides 6
Routes 13
Photos 1,377
Triplogs 184

41 male

Joined Mar 29 2007
Reno, NV

Tucson, AZ

Climbing		Apr 06 2013
		sbkelley • Triplogs 184

Climbing	8.50 Miles	4,254 AEG

Climbing	8.50 Miles	10 Hrs	0.85 mph
	4,254 ft AEG

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Ah, Baboquivari: one of our state's finest mountains. On this trip, we brought a relatively large group of 6: 2 of which (eric and richard) were to split off and climb the SE Arete, while the other 4 of us were to ascend the Ladder Pitch. The plan was to meet on the summit, descend the Ladder Pitch, and hike down together.

We drove in Friday night, and when I parked at the campsite, I noticed the CR-V was riding pretty low in the back. Flat tire! (well, almost...but it was completely flat by the time we got out). One extra chore to take care of: ah well, just added to the adventure. But there was more! Right as we laid down for an early night, a truck rolled into camp and the two inside knew Richard, Eric, and Alana from previous trips. Small world.

When we awoke in the morning, Richard and Eric took off before us to get a headstart on the Arete, while the other two outside our group - Joe and Devin - asked if they could use our rope and have us belay them up the pitch. Training for Denali means that I'm required to carry heavy packs these days, so they lucked out

At 7 a.m., off our group of four went (Ken, Tanya, Alana, and I) while the other two followed later. We hiked up the beautiful trail and made it to the pitch in about 3 hours. Sidenote: the forest fire burn is extensive on the west approach and that upper forest is heavily charred.

I have to confess: I'd never truly led a full pitch before, but this one was a great starter. It's not difficult, though protection is spotty: I used 2 quick draws on the pitch. I climbed up to the anchor bolts up top and talked through building the anchor with Alana and Ken below. It was actually pretty chilly there in the shade, and I found a nice spot to belay, which was good, since I ended up belaying five people to the top!! Most of our team were pretty chilled, having to stand still for awhile while waiting their turn to climb. The two others had caught up by the time our last climber (Ken) was about to go, so the transition was seamless. All did great on the climb, and we reconvened to finish together.

By this time, Eric and Richard had summitted and scrambled down to check on us. All 8 were now together as we made our way to Babo's expansive summit. Gifts to I'itoi were plentiful, and swallows buzzed our heads. We lounged for awhile, finally leaving by 2 p.m. to start the descent. Joe set up the rappel, and we all made it to the base of the Ladder pitch by 3:30 p.m. That meant the chances of finishing in the dark were slim - nice! Ken and I hoofed it back quickly so that I could start changing the flat a.s.a.p while the rest of the group could enjoy the sunny, breezy, and flower-heavy descent. By 5:00 p.m., Ken and I had the flat changed and cold beers in hand, as we gazed up at beautiful Babo. What a day and great work by the whole team! Now I need to get that SE Arete done...

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Nov 03 2012

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ

Hike & Climb		Nov 03 2012
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Hike & Climb	10.00 Miles	4,254 AEG

Hike & Climb	10.00 Miles
	4,254 ft AEG

IV • Trad • 5.7 Good • 6 Pitches

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We did Babo as a backpack. We had a slight mishap in which one of the party's car got a hole in their oil pan from the road in. This caused two not to be able to participate. Which in the end turned out to be a good thing since two more climbers would have stretch out the length of our climb.

We initially were going to do the "typical" ascent up Babo on Saturday followed by the Southeast Arete on Sunday. With the mishap, we ended up just going to our base camp on Saturday.

The hike in was pretty easy except for the fact that I was carrying my backpacking gear, 10 liters of water (dry camp), harness, helmet, PAS, and a 20 lb rope. We took numerous breaks because we were "waiting" for the crew that was helping out the oil pan people to join us. We still managed to get to camp before they did.

We had an awesome happy hour at our camp. Someone brought bacon! I don't eat bacon in the real world but I could not resist trying it since I had kind of skimped on our food (blame it on having no time to pack). It was AWESOME!!!! We also had wine, cheese, and crackers. I can't believe that people would bring such things to share while carrying heavy loads - I guess not everyone was carrying rope

In the morning, we left camp around 7:30 AM. We headed up the trail. We entered into the area that was most affected by the fire in the early summer. We left the trail to bushwhack over to the SE Arete.

Our party consisted of 6 climbers. We had two ropes. One of our leaders was very experienced and then other was not as confident. The climb up was 6 or 7 pitches.

We had a lot of time to chill while waiting on the other climbers. One of my favorite activities was to watch the ravens. There were perhaps hundreds of them flying around. Sometimes in pairs. Sometimes in groups. Sometimes all of them. Very awesome!

On one pitch I was the last one to leave. The two girls before me had some "moments" which were a bit unnerving. I was able to separate myself from that and just focus on the task at hand. I was also able to look down which was several thousand feet compared to what is normally just maybe 60 feet. It was very thrilling.

We summitted as the sun set. It was pretty cool since Joel and I are usually very conservative and never run out of daylight on hikes unless it's planned. But then again, I suppose this was kind of planned.

We took the typical route down. Which if you've never been there before is pretty intimidating in the dark. The trek down included very steep slopes with a lot of rocks just ready to roll. It also included a pretty long rappel down the Ladder Pitch in the dark! I found that pretty exciting!!

We got back to camp, had a break and a snack. Then headed back to the cars. We got to the cars about 12:30 AM. Talk about a long day! Then we drove back home. I think that we arrive home near 3 AM. I was glad that my flight wasn't until the afternoon on Monday.

That was our first big mountain climb! Hopefully there will be more to come...

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Apr 15 2012

Tmkelley

Photos 29
Triplogs 1

39 female

Joined Jan 25 2012
Tempe, AZ