Mike_W's Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Mar 01 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Paddy Benchmark (7401) Galiuros, AZ

Hiking		Mar 01 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking

Hiking

Linked

linked

High Creek Trail #290

East Divide Trail #287 - Galiuro

Partners

none

no partners

(See triplog for Sunset peak for the stats)

Francisco invited us to visit his family's Buckskin ranch over the weekend, so we decided to plan this hike. Thank you to the Simpson family for allowing the 4 of us to stay at the historic Buckskin ranch. It was a great experience, the ranch is truly an amazing place, and Francisco cooked some amazing food for us during our stay. We noticed that the road getting out there was maintained better this time than our trip last August.

Note: We did Paddy BM in conjunction with Sunset peak. For all stats, see my trip report for Sunset peak.

Right beyond where we parked, the road got a bit worse and was too much for my 4x4 Chevy Colorado. We started hiking up the road and within about 5 minutes, the road ended and the trail continued from this point. We didn't see any trail signs anywhere, but this trail could have been referred to as the High Creek trail since it follows High Creek. The trail crossed the creek a few times. On Mar 1st, we saw water in maybe 3 of the water crossings but it was dry in the other 2 to 3 creek crossings.

Along the trail, I only remember one spot where there was a bit of confusion on where to go, but aside from that, the trail was easy to follow and in good condition overall, in my opinion. In a few areas of the trail there was some minor overgrowth, but it really didn't slow us down at all. The trail was steep in a few areas and we took it all the way to the high saddle Southwest of Paddy BM. It was about 2.6 miles to the saddle and there was a metal locked box on a post here. Not sure what it was used for or why it was here.

From the saddle, we saw a clearing and started going up toward Paddy BM. Near the bottom, we needed to climb over some rocks but there was nothing over class 2. In a few places, we needed to use our hands for stability. After getting higher up, there were some trees we needed to hike around - juniper, oak, etc. We found a few clearings but not one distinct trail going to the top, but the hike was fairly easy.

Near the summit, we found a small glass jar. About 50 feet away we found a rock pile and another jar that was rusted shut. Neither of the jars were shaded or secured. We were able to open the old jars and many of the registry entries were unreadable. We took photos of what we could read, signed where there was room, then created a rock barrier to keep as much sun off as possible.

We walked to the Southeast end of the peak where there was a clearing and we took some photos looking Southeast toward Buckskin Ranch. After doing a group photo and a summit video, we hiked back down to the saddle, taking a slightly different route. We believed that our group going up was slightly better. After getting to the saddle, we continued down to the trail junction heading to Sunset peak. Brian C took off at this point because of time constraints, and the rest of us continued our hike to Sunset peak from here. See my trip report for Sunset peak for the rest.

Driving Directions:
--------------------
From Willcox, AZ
Take I-10 East toward Willcox.

Take exit 340 for AZ-186 E/Rex Allen Dr/Fort Grant Rd
0.3 mi

Turn left onto AZ-186 W/Fort Grant Rd/W Rex Allen Dr
Continue to follow Fort Grant Rd for 14.9 mi

Continue onto S Brookerson Rd for 3.0 mi

Turn left onto W Ash Creek Rd for 17.2 mi

W Ash Creek Rd turns slightly right and becomes Sunset Loop Rd

Continue North on Sunset Loop Rd for 2 mi

See my driving route which I will upload.

_____________________

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

1 archive

229742

Mar 01 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Sunset Peak (7110) Galiuros, AZ

Hiking		Mar 01 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	11.18 Miles	3,263 AEG

Hiking	11.18 Miles	9 Hrs 13 Mns	1.50 mph
	3,263 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break

Linked

linked

East Divide Trail #287 - Galiuro

High Creek Trail #290

Partners

none

no partners

Francisco invited us to visit his family's Buckskin ranch over the weekend, so we decided to plan this hike. Thank you to the Simpson family for allowing the 4 of us to stay at the historic Buckskin ranch. It was a great experience, the ranch is truly an amazing place, and Francisco cooked some amazing food for us during our stay. We noticed that the road getting out there was maintained better this time than our trip last August.

At the trail junction described in my Paddy BM trip report, about 0.2 miles below the high saddle, we found an old wooden sign post that was leaning on the ground. From this junction, the app said we were only 1.3 miles away from the summit, as the crow flies. It sounded like a piece of cake, but the hike was more difficult as we expected for the following reasons:

1. the trail was extremely overgrown in some areas and we needed to push through many stubborn tree & bush branches along the trail
2. there was a significant downhill portion which was needed to get around some cliffs, and
3. we needed to do some off-trail route finding to get from the trail to the summit which wasn't so straight-forward
4. there was a semi-challenging class 3 section right before the summit

Not long after the junction the trail we ran into areas of the trail that were very overgrown. In some places we needed to push through oak brush which at times cut me. Couldn't tell whether it was the rough bark or the sharp leaves, maybe a combination of both. The trail took us around the East side of peak 7490 and up to saddle South of it. The trail then ascended a bit, coming within 500 feet of peak 7193. We decided that we might ascend peak 7193 on the way back if we have time, energy, and desire. When we got back here later, we had neither of the 3!

After taking the trail past the North ridge of peak 7193, we had to descend nearly 400 feet to get down to the low saddle on the South side of 7193. We continued along the trail until we were near the North ridgeline heading toward Sunset peak. We found a cairn off the on the left side, so we thought this might be a good place to climb up. We noticed from a distance that there were 2 summits but it was hard to tell which one was higher. It turned out that the Eastern most peak was slightly higher. We ended up doing the false summit and then we realized that we needed to hike down it. There were some class 3 moves needed to get down, and then we got a better look at the true summit. From here, it looked fairly difficult and we were not sure if there was a safe way up. But, after getting right up to the face, we could see that there was a relatively safe way without much exposure. Some hikers might consider this to be dangerous but we had enough climbing experience where we were comfortable with the climb up. I went ahead and climbed up first, got to the true summit and found an ammo box. I signed, then took photos of the entire registry, about 19 pages. The oldest entries in this registry were from 1997, and some people wrote a lot. Brian climbed up next and we each took photos and a summit video before heading down. We could see Bassett peak to the South and the ranch property to the Southeast.

On the way back down, we found a better route which avoided having to do the false summit. There were a few low class 3 moves and we needed to circle around the North end of the false summit and merge back into our original route. We followed a similar route to get back down to the trail and once we did, we knew that the worst obstacles were the brush but most of that was on the East side of Peak 7490. We also needed to go uphill another 400 feet but with the switchbacks it wasn't too steep and didn't slow us down much. Along the trail on the way back, we found some shin dagger stalks that had many curves on it that had the appearance of small wooden snakes. I decided to carry 2 of them out while Brian carried one out.

When we got back to the broken wooden post, we knew that the trail was in good shape for the rest of the way and we would not need to push through any significant brush. We pressed on and finished the hike well before dark and drive back to the ranch where we got to eat grade A delicious leftovers + pie + ice cream! Slept a solid 8 hours following the hike and that felt great!

Stats:
---------
Distance (round trip): 11.18 miles
AEG: 3,263 feet
Strava moving time: 5 hrs 53 mins, but we felt it was more like 7 hrs 30 mins
Strava elapsed time: 9 hrs 13 mins

Driving Directions:
--------------------
From Willcox, AZ
Take I-10 East toward Willcox.

Take exit 340 for AZ-186 E/Rex Allen Dr/Fort Grant Rd
0.3 mi

Turn left onto AZ-186 W/Fort Grant Rd/W Rex Allen Dr
Continue to follow Fort Grant Rd for 14.9 mi

Continue onto S Brookerson Rd for 3.0 mi

Turn left onto W Ash Creek Rd for 17.2 mi

W Ash Creek Rd turns slightly right and becomes Sunset Loop Rd

Continue North on Sunset Loop Rd for 2 mi

See my driving route which I will upload.

_____________________

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

2 archives

229744

Feb 27 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Peak 3435 - Tucson Mtns, AZ

Hiking		Feb 27 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	5.47 Miles	1,368 AEG

Hiking	5.47 Miles	5 Hrs 42 Mns	1.30 mph
	1,368 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

PEAK 2980 (1 of 3)
-----------
This was my first hike of the day. To get there, I followed some maintained trails to a wash, followed a wash to an exit point, headed to a saddle, and then did a short scramble to the summit. There were a few class 3 moves but it was mostly class 1 & 2. From the top there were excellent views of the entire city. I did not see a registry here, but I decided to save my single jar for Peak 3435 if it needed one, and I found out it did.

PEAK 2855 (2 of 3)
-----------
This was my 2nd hike of the day. To get there, I came down Peak 2980 from the Northeast. On the way down to the low point, which was a saddle, I could see a rock outcropping on the lower West end of the ridgeline below this peak. It was not high up and I decided to head directly for it. When I got over there I found 2 cairns, one leading up and one top of this outcropping. From here, I found either a hiking trail or animal trails which headed Northeast and then South toward the summit. From the top of this peak, there was excellent views of Tucson and also the nearby Striped peak to the West, which I hiked a year ago or more.

PEAK 3435 (3 of 3)
---------------------
Peak 3435 was by far the more difficult peak of the 3 I did today and I did it last. I put the total distance and AEG on this trip report.

After doing my 2nd summit of the day, Peak 2855, I hiked West until I reached a wash. Then, I took the Northern branch of the wash which headed West. I continued in the wash for around 0.6 miles until it looked messier. At this point it was easier to get out of the wash and do an open Country hike toward the saddle which was West of Peak 3435.

I came up to this saddle from the North after doing an open Country hike through natural desert. On the way up I found pieces of trail, which could have been old hiker trails or animal trails. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. Near the saddle, there were a few places where I needed to use my hands but overall the rock was pretty stable. After getting to the saddle, I climbed up a rock formation that involved some class 3 climbing to get down it. There was a way to go around it, but after climbing it, I felt like it was OK to proceed on the down climb. After climbing down I stayed on the ridgeline and continued left of the rock formation. There was a faint trail here that I was able to use to get just about all of the rest of the way. At the summit, I had great views of the whole city and some of the custom homes below. Looking West I could see Trail's End peak with the antennas. I did not find a registry here but had a jar with me so I started a new registry, add Michael A's name who is the only other known hiker. I built a rock barrier so that the jar is shielded well from the sun.

From the summit, looking down the North side about 50 vertical feet, I thought I saw my first rattlesnake of the season. It appeared to be coiled up and not moving. On my hike down, I walked over toward it and discovered that it was not a snake at all, but it was an old black/white/gray camo hiking hat. The brim appeared to be nibbled a bit by packrats, but aside from that, everything else looked fine. The hat was easy to hike to on the way down to the highest saddle East of the summit.

On the way down Peak 3435, I decided to go down the South side since it was the more direct way to get back to the road where I parked. The terrain was made up of crumbly slippery rock which was very slow going. To make it even worse there were areas of teddy bear cholla scattered around. I had to squeeze between a few of these on sleep slopes and be careful not to step on any 'land mines' along the way. It took me about 40 minutes to go about 1/4 mile on this extremely crumbly terrain. After that, the slope got much better, the terrain wasn't as slippery and the next 0.2 miles only took about 10 minutes. Apparently, I ran into a good trail which I thought might happen. This trail headed East but did a lot of winding to get around obstacles. I took this trail about 0.5 miles and it crossed the original North/South wash, I made a right turn, and got all the way back to the parking area.

In one of the washes, I found an arrow that was stuck inside of a saguaro cactus about 10 or 12 feet up. Most likely it was just a hunter who missed his target. I only know of 2 saguaros with "embedded" arrows in the entire Tucson metro area. One is not far from the Yetman trailand the other is here. I'm sure that more instances exist.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 5.47 miles
AEG: 1,368 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 56 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 42 mins

Driving Directions:
---------------------
From Tucson and all points North of Camino del Cerro

Take I-10 East
Use the right lane to take exit 252 toward El Camino Del Cerro/Ruthrauff Rd, continue for 0.3 mi
Use the right lane to merge onto I-10 Frontage Rd, continue for 0.1 mi
Turn right onto W El Camino Del Cerro, continue for 0.7 mi
Turn left onto N Silverbell Rd, continue for 1.2 mi
Turn right onto W Sweetwater Dr, continue for 1.9 mi
Continue straight onto N Camino De Oeste, continue for 2.1 mi
Turn right onto W Trails End Rd, continue for 1.3 mi
Destination will be on the right

This location is very close to:

Corrections Dept. Officer Training Center
5601 W Trails End Rd, Tucson, AZ 85745

---
From South of Camino Del Cerro or Grant, exit I-10 at Speedway Blvd.

Take I-10 West
Use the right 2 lanes to take exit 257 toward Speedway Boulevard, continue 0.3 mi
Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto W Speedway Blvd
Pass by AutoZone Auto Parts (on the left in 1.1 mi), continue for 4.8 mi
Turn right onto N Camino De Oeste, continue for 0.4 mi
Turn left onto W Trails End Rd, continue for 1.3 mi
Destination will be on the right

_____________________

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

229741

Feb 22 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Peak 4679 Dripping Springs, AZ

Hiking		Feb 22 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	4.54 Miles	1,110 AEG

Hiking	4.54 Miles	4 Hrs 1 Min	1.69 mph
	1,110 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

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no partners

Note: The topo map shows Peak 4676, but the true Lidar elevation is 4679.

We arrived around 11 am and parked. There was an old mining shack near where we parked. The old shack was in bad condition, without any doors or windows and we could see inside. We were not sure what the old shack was used for but it looked like something of historic value.

We started out heading up one of the mining roads and on the left side of the road was another old building with a door. This building was probably used to store supplies such as dynamite, etc. After we walked a total of 0.3 miles we noticed there was a higher road above us that we could get to by taking the left branch. We took the left branch thinking that we want to go higher up. After a while, the road seemed to end after we hiked a total of 0.60 miles. We decided to keep going in a straight line, merged into the main road which was below us and take it up to the saddle.

After hiking a total of 0.86 miles we reached a road junction and decided to turn left. The road continued West and then North. After hiking a total of 1.4 miles, it was Noon and we were ready for lunch. On the left side of the road we found some flat rocks that made a good place to sit down. We took about a 30 minute break here, and then continued along the road. After another 0.2 miles, we reached another road junction and realized we needed to turn left to get to the summit. The road ended not long after making this turn and this is where we started our open Country hike. We had most of the elevation done at this point, but we needed to hike another 0.5 miles to get to the summit. Along this last 0.5 miles, there were some rocky areas that we were able to hike around and even a few class 3 areas that we decided to climb. There were ways to hike around most of these class 3 areas, which we ended up doing on the way down.

Eventually we got to the high point and found a jar registry on the North side of some large rocks. We were only the 6th group of hikers to sign the registry in the last 30 years! It was hard to believe how few hikers hike this one.

At the summit, we had a good view of Tam O'Shanter peak which has 20 feet walls all the way around it, but there is a class 4 way to climb up if you are a confident climber. See my trip report for Tam O'Shanter for more. We also saw an area to the North of the summit with 3 or 4 towers of rock, but it involved some class 3 climbing to get there. It basically was a hoodoo that was possible to climb from the South side.

On the way down, we decided to take the Eastern loop road which looped around and connected back to the same roads we were on before. But, on these roads, we did some old mining holes. We went into one mining hole using our headlamps, found some wooden supports/beams and were able to continue for about 200 feet before seeing a dead end. We probably walked past 5 or 6 mining holes but we only walked into one of them. Maybe if we had more time we would have explored more.

Flowers seen (in Feb): poppies, wallflower, green-stem paper-flower, Southwestern mock vervain, plains blackfoot, common fiddleneck, Dichelostemma capitatum, Shrubby deervetch, desert paintbrush, desert marigold.

We continued down to our vehicles and finished the hike around 3 pm. This was one of the easier 1K prominence peaks I have hiked.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 4.54 miles
AEG: 1,110 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 20 mins
Strava elapsed time: 4 hrs 1 min

Driving Directions:
---------------------
(high clearance required, 4x4 recommended)

From Tucson, take Oracle rd / AZ-77 North.
You will continue past Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, and Dudleyville.
When you get to Winkelman, turn left and continue on AZ-177.
Continue for 3.5 miles and turn right on an unmarked gravel road.

Continue on rocky road for 4.68 miles. The road is pretty rocky and it took me about 30 minutes to drive.

In the last mile or so, you will pass a gate that seems to be open during the daytime.
The road gets a little worse in the last mile.
If you have only high clearance you can park off the road before the gate and walk the last part of the road.
But, my friend Brian made it using a non-4x4 jeep with good tires.

_____________________

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

229604

Feb 19 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Granite Mountain Dripping Springs (4052), AZ

Hiking		Feb 19 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	3.82 Miles	1,420 AEG

Hiking	3.82 Miles	3 Hrs 26 Mns	1.57 mph
	1,420 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

no routes

Linked

none

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Partners

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no partners

This is Granite Mountain (4052), the 1K prominence peak, near Ray, AZ, South of Superior, AZ.

It was a cold rainy day in Tucson. We decided to drive North to escape the rain. The forecast for Superior, AZ said only 2% chance of rain but the high was only something in the low 50s. This would be our very first hike of the 'winter' where we needed to wear a jacket for part of the hike.

We arrived around 11 am and started the hike around 11.15 am. There were a lot of UTV riders with trucks and trailers who parked in the larger OHV parking lot. There must be some good trails and places to ride around here, but we came here for exercise and some good hiking.

We found an old road up the hill from the OHV parking area. We took this old road for roughly 1/4 quarter mile. After that the road turned into a trail which we followed along the ridgeline and up. There were a few spots where the trail split and branched off into different directions. We saw evidence that cattle were here and all over this area. There were some steep areas but nothing above a class 2. There were also a few false summits along the way. Eventually we reached the summit. We found a rock pile with a registry and some kind of pole or antenna laying on the ground. From the summit we could see into the Ray mine to the East. We saw Teapot mountain across the highway but it didn't look like a teapot from this angle, but instead looked like a butte. Looking to the Northwest, a few miles in the distance we could see Picketpost mountain, and looking to the West we could see Copper Butte and Battle Axe Butte. It was a bit tricky to tell which one was which, so we needed to guess. Maybe someday we will explore that area, but there's so many amazing places to hike throughout the entire state!

We had a late lunch, signed the registry, got our photos and decided to head down. On the way down we followed many of the same cattle trails with a few small variations where it made sense. When we got to the end of the old road, we saw a few cattle hanging out there. These cattle didn't move away until we were right on top of them. There was some wind on the way down from the higher elevations which made the hike feel colder than it already was. All in all it was a great hike with what felt like a decent 'unmaintained' trail the entire way.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 3.82 miles
AEG: 1,420 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 8 mins
Strava elapsed time: 3 hrs 26 mins

Driving Directions:
---------------------
From the Tucson area, take AZ-77 N / Historic U.S. 80 / N Oracle Rd
Continue past the town of Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, Dudleyville, etc.
When you get to Winkelman, AZ, you will need to make a left on AZ-177 N.
Continue for 25 min (22.0 mi)

Turn left onto N Battle Axe Rd
continue for 400 to 800 ft and park anywhere off the road.
There were a lot of off road riders here when we went who parked in the larger lot.

N Battle Axe Rd
Arizona 85137

_____________________

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

229613

Feb 19 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Peak 5630 Superior, AZ

Hiking		Feb 19 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	3.38 Miles	1,036 AEG

Hiking	3.38 Miles	3 Hrs 5 Mns	1.45 mph
	1,036 ft AEG	45 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

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no partners

This is Peak 5630, the 1K prominence peak East of Superior and North of US-60.

We arrived around 3.20 pm. It was a cold day, and this was a higher elevation hike than what would have been ideal for the weather we had. But, we were in the area and felt like we had just enough time to finish this hike before dark. The only unknown variable was the terrain. We didn't really know if there were use trails or not.

We continued past the OHV parking area for about 0.5 miles. After passing the power substation we continued driving for roughly 1,000 feet and found a good place to park. The road is a bit rough but it seemed possible to drive further without a problem. But, since it was a short hike we decided to park where we found a good open place off the road.

We started walking West on FSR 342. After walking about 1/2 mile, we saw a good ridgeline to follow that would take us to where we wanted to go. We could have also followed the road further West, but we would have had to drop a few hundred feet and it would have made the hike longer. Since we had limited time, we decided to take the closer ridgeline. The slope was not steep and there seemed to be cattle trails in the entire area. There were rocks but plenty of ways to step around the rocks, making the footing very good overall. We kept following cattle trails in the direction we needed to go. After hiking about 0.8 miles, we saw a few cows ahead that ran away from us and went over a saddle and disappeared. They did a great job of grazing this entire area. Even though there were no official trails, it felt like the cow trails we were on were almost as good as regular hiking trails.

We basically stayed on the main ridgeline after the first 0.8 miles and there were no major obstacles. In areas where the brush was a bit thick, we were able to easily hike around. Roughly 1/3 of a mile before the summit, we found some huge panels that looked like billboards. We could not figure out what they were used for but maybe they were used for some kind of airplane training?

We walked under these huge billboard structures and continued to the summit. From our starting point, we got to the summit in 1 hr 8 min. We were proud of this time but apparently we were not setting any records ;-). At the summit, there was some wind that made it feel colder. We signed the registry, took our photos, a short video and quickly left because it was getting a bit colder. We took roughly the same route going down. We need to give credit to the cows who grazed a lot of this area! It was easy to see where we needed to go and this made route finding fairly easy. On the way down, we didn't see the cows that we saw on the way up. We got back to where I parked well before dark. All in all it was a great hike and it was harder to decide which hike was more enjoyable - either this one or Granite peak in Ray, AZ about 15 miles down the road.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 3.38 miles
AEG: 1,036
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Strava elapsed time: 3 hrs 5 mins

Driving Directions:
--------------------
From the Tucson area, take AZ-77 N / Historic U.S. 80 / N Oracle Rd
Continue past the town of Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, Dudleyville, etc.
When you get to Winkelman, AZ, you will need to make a left on AZ-177 N.
Continue for 31.6 mi toward Superior, AZ.
Just as you enter Superior, AZ you will see an exit where you will...
Turn right to merge onto US-60 E.
continue for 4.2 mi.
Turn left onto N Cerro Rd which may not be marked or signed but it has it's own left turn lane from US-60 E.

Continue on paved road for just under 2 miles and you will see a parking area on the right side of the road.
You can park here or continue up the road a short distance to a power facility.

If you have a high clearance vehicle you can continue for roughly another 0.5 miles and park where I parked and start the hike from this point or drive even further. After leaving the power facility area, you will be on Forest service road 342.

_____________________

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

229614

Feb 14 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Peak 2811 Maricopa Mtns, AZ

Hiking		Feb 14 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	4.60 Miles	1,121 AEG

Hiking	4.60 Miles	5 Hrs 21 Mns	1.15 mph
	1,121 ft AEG	1 Hour 21 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Brian and I arrived around 11 am at Margie's Cove East trailhead. We started walking West on the road. Vehicles are not allowed to be driven here. After walking about 0.7 miles we reached a loosely fenced in area. This area is known as a guzzler or game water area. Rain water is captured and funneled into a trough. All animals have access to this water. Small animals can easily go under the fence. Deer can easily jump the fence. I'm not even sure why it's fenced. Maybe to just alert people that there is something here for the animals and people should carry their own water?

We walking into the guzzler area and got a few photos, then continued and stepped through the fence on the other side. Once past the guzzler area, the road seemed to end. We continued heading in the direction of the peak, doing an open Country hike. Along the way, we needed to cross a few washes. After hiking a total of 1 mile we noticed a rocky area in front of us. This area looked as though there could be petroglyphs on the rocks but we didn't find any.

We continued around the rocks are starting heading to the summit, using Wade Luther's track as a guideline. Thanks to Wade for posting the route. We ended up paralleling a wash for a while. When we got higher up, we noticed a saddle to our left and decided it might be a good idea to go there. After 1.87 miles we reached a high saddle and could see the summit. We continued straight-up toward the summit from here. Within a few minutes it got quite steep. There were a lot of places where we needed to use our hands and there were a lot of class 3 moves along the way. There were several areas with loose dirt and crumbling rock. This area was especially difficult to get up and even more difficult getting down. But, we did a lot of zig-zagging and tried to avoid these loose and crumbly areas. This last section of the hike was the most difficult and most time consuming by far.

Eventually we reached the summit. There was a nice shaded area behind a boulder near the peak. This is where we decided to have our lunch. We found a jar with about 12 registry pages with the first entries being from 2009. After finishing lunch we decided to head down taking a similar route as we took up. It was fairly slow going mainly because of the loose and crumbly areas. There were a few areas that we needed to spider crawl.

As we got closer down to the bottom, we could make better time. Down below we found some mature saguaro cacti and some huge birds nests above some of the cactus arms. We were not sure what kind of birds made these nests but we guessed maybe hawks. Unfortunately, we did not see any hawks, but we did see some turkey vultures hovering around near the summit.

Eventually, we saw the guzzler. This time we walked around the fence, picked up the road and walked back to the parking lot area. We didn't see any vehicles or people the entire day.

GPS track shows drive and hike as 2 separate tracks.

Note: The topo map shows Peak 2813, but the Lidar elevation was shown to be 2811.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 4.6 miles
AEG: 1,121 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 0 mins, but our real moving time was probably closer to 4 hours.
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 21 mins

Driving Directions:
---------------------
High clearance vehicle required.

From Maricopa, Arizona...

Take W Garvey Ave and N Loma Rd to AZ-238 W , 5 min (1.7 mi)
Continue on AZ-238 W to Maricopa County , 21 min (22.1 mi)
Turn right into the Estrella Road Parking area. As of Feb 2026, the gate is open.
Continue North.
After 4.4 miles you will cross the Butterfield trail junction, continue North.
After a total of 6.8 miles, turn left and continue 1.7 miles to Margie's Cove East Trailhead.
There is a restroom here, along with picnic tables.

You will be on a dirt road for the entire 8.5 mile drive.
There are a lot of ruts crossing the road horizontally, especially in the first few miles, which is why you will need a high clearance vehicle.
The drive from AZ-238 to the Margie's Cove East trailhead will take most driver's at least 30 minutes.

_____________________

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

229416

Feb 09 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Cerro Colorado

Tucson, AZ

Cerro Colorado

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Feb 09 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	4.70 Miles	822 AEG

Hiking	4.70 Miles	5 Hrs 52 Mns	1.64 mph
	822 ft AEG	3 Hrs Break

Linked

none

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no partners

Note: I also summited peak 3858 to the North.

We arrived at about 12.30 pm. Mike B joined me on this hike and brought his 11 yr old pitbull named Sampson, AKA "Sammy the Bull". It was a bit hotter than we expected. We started walking North and within 500 feet there was an unlocked gate with no signs. We opened the gate and walked through continuing on the road. After hiking for 0.64 miles you will see a large camp area on the right.

We kept walking along the road, noticing many mesquite trees. After traveling a total of 0.9 miles, we reached a cattle tank on our left. At this point, there was a road branch heading East and another heading West, around the South end of the cattle tank. We stopped at the cattle tank and Sammy the Bull got in the water and drank. We walked around the South end of the cattle tank along it's edge and continued back up to the road. After hiking a total of 1.07 miles, we decided to head off the road and follow some cattle trails heading Northwest and then West.

It was a bit hot. Mike B and Sammy wanted to find a shady place to rest. I decided that I would do the open Country hike Southwest and South to the top of peak 4207. Along the way I needed to walk around a rock outcropping and then higher up found an area where I needed to dodge some ocotillo. There were a few animal trails, some faint and some fairly well defined. The trails seemed to go East/West, some climbed but only at a gradual angle. I ended up taking various trails to the top but never stayed on one single trail for more than a few minutes.

At the summit I found a rock pile and an antenna, maybe 7 feet tall, held up by a few ocotillo stalks tied together. There was a solar panel connected to it. This appeared to be some kind of home-made antenna. Not sure what it's used for. I searched around for a registry but didn't find anything. I happened to have a jar so I started a new registry and added all 5 names of those who ascended, including myself, and according to PeakBagger.

I brought a walkie-talkie and was able to chat with Mike down below. He spotted me near the edge of the summit as I was coming down and then again when I got down to the rock outcropping. Mike and Sammy found a shady area and I managed to find them on the way down. We stopped in a small wash and had some snacks and drinks. Mike said he needed another 15 minutes to feed Sammy, pack everything up and head back over to the cattle tank where Sammy would have the chance to jump in and drink again.

I decided I had some extra time so I did this open Country hike North to peak 3858. I saw evidence of bighorn sheep on the upper slopes. Next, I walked South down the ridgeline to the cattle tank. I picked up the road on the West side of the tank, then took it around to the East side of the tank where I found Mike and Sammy. We continued back toward our starting point stopping at the camp site along the way. All in all it was a great and fairly easy hike.

Stats:
---------
Distance (round trip): 4.7 miles
AEG: 822 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 28 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 52 mins
(Note: we took A LOT of breaks!)

Driving Directions:
----------------------
From anywhere in Tucson, take I-10 to I-19 South.
Continue onto I-19 S for about 33.0 mi.
Take exit 48 for Arivaca Rd.

Turn right onto W Arivaca Rd. continue for 0.1 mi.
Turn right at the 1st cross street onto W Arivaca Rd/I-19 Frontage Rd, continue for 0.1 mi.
(Note: there is a nice steakhouse here called Longhorn Grill. You can't miss the huge horns!)
Turn left onto W Arivaca Rd, continue for 14.0 mi.
Turn right onto unmarked dirt road after crossing a cattle guard.
Continue for 0.28 miles, stay left, continue to find a parking place off the road.

W Arivaca Rd
Amado, AZ 85645

_____________________

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

229315

Feb 07 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Boulder Peak Galiuros, AZ

Hiking		Feb 07 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	5.19 Miles	1,137 AEG

Hiking	5.19 Miles	4 Hrs 51 Mns	1.55 mph
	1,137 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

no routes

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no linked trail guides

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no partners

Thanks to Andy Martin for providing detailed info about the 4x4 road.

Note: It's about 1.75 miles each way to Boulder mountain from where we parked. My stats below involve summiting Boulder mtn AND going to the memorial for John Hamilton, the victim of a tragic 4x4 accident on Rug Road.

We camped the previous night at the Sombrero Butte ruins on BLM land. There were some fire rings in this area and evidence that people camped here before. The estimated overnight forecast said it would get down to around 49 degrees at this elevation but it was a bit colder. My thermostat registered a night low of 39 degrees!

We drove from the Sombrero Butte ruins back to the stream crossing but this time headed on the left branch crossing the stream North. There was some water in the stream but it wasn't a problem at all to cross. The roads in this area are maintained fairly well because of the extensive mining in the area. But, once you get on Rug Road, you have about 0.8 miles of fairly good road and then it becomes considerably steep and rugged after that.

You can read about the history of this road...

[a href="https://www.blm.gov/visit/rug-road"]www.blm.gov[/a]

Here's more information about Rug Road...

[a href=" [ Rug Road - Mammoth to Klondyke to Hwy 70 ] "]hikearizona.com[/a]

We parked in a parking area which is probably used by most people who drive out here. Continuing to drive past this point requires an extremely capable vehicle and capable driver too!

We started walking down the 4x4 road and the road was very rugged in some areas. We were both glad we did not attempt this part. I don't believe there's anywhere to turn around either! Within the first mile, we saw many old tires, insulated wire, and other trash. We were not sure if this was dumped here or if these were destroyed/flat tires from 4x4 vehicles over the years. It's also possible that the old tires could have been used in some areas to reinforce the road by preventing erosion.

After 2/3 mile we approached "the Gatekeeper". This requires a serious 4 wheeler to get past which is probably why it's called the gatekeeper. Just past the gatekeeper there's a split in the road. We went to the right which was shown on the topo map as a single dashed line, while the left portion of the road was showing with a double dashed line. At about 0.93 miles, both roads merge together and continue up. On the way down we took the other road and found both roads to be extremely rugged and not much different when comparing the two. At about 1.17 miles the road flattened out and we were East of Boulder mountain. We decided to do the open Country hike up the ridgeline to the top of Boulder mountain. There were several use trails, probably either animal trails or old hiker trails leading us to the summit.

At the summit we had some great views of Little Table Mountain to the North. We'll have to go back and summit that one someday. We found 21 pages of registry that went back as far as 1989. The last visit appears to have been almost 3 years before us.

We took a similar route back to the saddle but we decided to cut left and hit the road wherever it looked possible. We decided that we would walk down the road and look for a memorial cross which I believe was about 1/3 mile down the road from the Boulder mtn saddle. After walking a bit lower we didn't see it, but after looking down the mountain 'Eagle eyes' Brian C. was able to spot a cross along the road with 1 vertical piece and 2 horizontal pieces. That was a very good find. We continued along the road and came up to 'Carpet Hill'. This was by far the WORST part of the road I have seen and maybe the worst 4x4 section of road I've ever seen! We saw many pieces of carpet along the road, and all different colors. Is it possible that some of this carpet This road was so steep that we needed to walk in a zig zag pattern to get down it safely. We walked down to the cross on the side of the road below and got a few photos. We thought the vehicle might still be there since doing a vehicle recovery in this area would be extremely difficult and costly. I found a use trail right near the cross, walked for about 2 minutes, looked down the canyon and spotted the vehicle. Wow! It was pretty far down. Brian and I hiked the steep canyon down to the vehicle and discovered that it was an old jeep. Brian was able to identify the jeep as a CJ model. One of the wheels was broken completely off, the cab had support bars that were bent badly. We got a few photos of the vehicle. All we can say at this point is Rest in Peace John Hamilton...

This link has some more details about John Hamilton and the tragic accident that occurred on March 29, 2013.

[a href="https://www.jkowners.com/threads/operat ... ry.127129/"]www.jkowners.com[/a]

As of our visit, the memorial cross is still there and in good condition. We noticed that the road was only 80 feet away from the place where the jeep rested. Instead of hiking up the canyon, we found it easier to hike down/across to the road. From here we walked back up to Boulder saddle and South to our parking spot. We'll be back someday to hike Little Table mountain, which will be a more difficult hike from this starting point.

Stats:
--------
Distance (round trip): 5.19 miles (includes extra walk to memorial for John Hamilton)
AEG: 1,137 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 44 mins
Strava elapsed time: 4 hrs 51 mins

Driving directions:
---------------------
Note: Thanks to Andy Martin for providing detailed info about the 4x4 road.

High clearance required. 4x4 highly recommended. The entire drive from the Mammoth area is 13.65 miles of gravel and dirt roads. Over that drive, our accumulated gain was about 2,750 feet.

Our vehicles were a 2005 Chevy Colorado 1st gen 4x4, and a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with good tires but a non-functional 4x4. With some good driving skills you should be able to get to where we parked with a high clearance vehicle in relatively dry conditions. Be very careful going beyond where we parked because the road gets extremely steep and rugged. Going to our parking area, we drove 0.8 miles of the semi-famous Rug Road.

See my trip report for Sombrero Butte. The drive is identical for the first 10.3 miles. After that you will turn left at a junction and cross a small stream. See my GPS route for more details on the drive and hike. There is one track for the drive and one track for the hike. We camped the previous night near the Sombrero Butte ruins and did this drive in the morning. From the stream crossing, it takes about 20 minutes to get to the parking area. We were doing some analysis along the drive which took some time also.

Driving notes:
-----------------
Thanks to Andy Martin for sending this video which gives a great preview of Rug Road.

[a href=" [ youtube video ] "]www.youtube.com[/a]

Video Notes:
-------------
5:40 - where the driver turned from Copper Creek road to Rug Road
9:14 - appears to be where we merged in from the right onto Rug Rd.
10:48 - I believe is where we turned left and parked for Boulder peak, we walked the section after that.
12:26 - old destroyed tire on the left side
12:30 - the steep rocky section commonly called "The Gatekeeper".
13:38 - you can see the right turn for the jeep road where the road splits. driver in video stayed left. we walked to the right.
15:21 - I believe this is where we turned left to hike up boulder mtn
17:10 - nice view of Little Table mtn before the really bad section of road
17:17 - going down "carpet hill", the WORST part of the road as far as I could tell
19:26 - driver drives by memorial cross for John Hamilton
20:20 - furthest point on the road we walked down to
29:56 - driver reaches saddle West of Little Table Mtn

_____________________

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

2 archives

229313

Feb 06 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Sombrero Butte Galiuros, AZ

Hiking		Feb 06 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	5.80 Miles	1,836 AEG

Hiking	5.80 Miles	5 Hrs 34 Mns	1.43 mph
	1,836 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

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I knew this would be a long drive so Brian C and I got an early start. We drove up Hwy 77 going toward Mammoth and then started the long drive down the dirt roads to get out to the Sombrero Butte area. See more info about the drive under 'Driving directions'.

We parked at the saddle North of the Sombrero Butte ruins and walked down the gravel road to the ruins area. Make sure you take the road going down the slope as there is another road heading Southeast from the saddle. At the bottom we didn't notice any ruins but felt like it would be better to do the hike first and check out the ruins later on the way back.

After about 0.4 miles, the road gets worse and there is a wash crossing. We walked the road up and after hiking a total of 0.75 miles we found a campsite. This site would be great if you can get there. But, camping near the ruins is fine also and easier to drive to. At the campsite we found a trail continuing South. We were able to follow that until we have hiked a total of about 1 mile. After that there were several options. We also saw a whole network of trails in this area that must have been made by the animals in this area. We looked up at the cliffs and could see a few notches that look incredibly steep. There was a part of the butte we could not see yet. We decided to continue up at any angle and across so we could get a better view of where we would hike. We ended up crossing a few small washes and climbing higher up toward the cliffs. It gets pretty steep up high but really nothing above class 2. There were a few places where I needed to use my hands for extra stability. We found the correct notch and decided to take a short water/snack break under a rock formation and near an old burned tree stump which may have been an oak or juniper.

After the break, we looked up and knew we didn't have far to go. We did the steep hike up and the grade lessened as we got on top of the butte. From the far North area of the butte to the far South area of the butte, according to the map, it was about 1 mile long. We continued toward the high point which was closed to the South end. Along the way, we found some use trails which could have been old hiker trails or animal trails possibly. At the high point there was a large rock structure. I looked for a while and didn't see a registry in the rock pile but I happened to have a jar and a few pages so I started a new registry. After doing a quick writeup, Brian found a metal container with a registry in it that was 100 feet North of the rock pile. Seems like this may have blown out. The pages inside were wet somehow, even though it seemed like the metal box was sealed pretty well. We signed both registries, and made a place for them on the rock structure, covering both with rocks. Hopefully this registry will last and so get wet.

We decided to explore the summit a bit before heading out. We found 2 old tires with reflectors on them. Then we found another reflector on a machete stuck in the ground. The 3 reflectors seemed to make a triangle pattern. We suspected helicopters may land here but why? Then, we thought it might be a popular spot for hang gliders or base jumpers. That's something I would never consider doing! After exploring the butte, we were concerned a little about running out of daylight, so we started heading down taking approximately the same route that we took going up. Going down the steep section, we found a trail to our right which helped us a little in the beginning, but as we got lower, the dirt trail seemed to slippery and we decided it was better and safer to just stay on the rocks. We stopped for a break again as the same place we took a break at on the way up. Then, we continued down. Our route going down was similar to our route going up. It's hard to tell which one was better. But, the entire hike there really wasn't much brush to deal with. The terrain was mostly open. I only saw a small amount of catclaw bush in the upper part of the canyon.

Near the last 1/4 mile of our hike we stopped to check out the Sombrero ruins. There wasn't much there, just an old foundation, and set of concrete steps. People put metal objects that they found in the area on the steps. We found some old nails, bottle caps, wire, bullet casings, and some other old pieces of metal. After exploring the ruins, we walked back to where we parked, then drove back down to the ruins area to camp since it was a great place to camp, we knew it was BLM land, and there were fire rings there which indicated people camped there before. The hike to Sombrero butte was fantastic overall!

From the ruins area, looking up at the North end of the butte, we saw a cave that was about 800 vertical feet up. We decided to check it out in the morning after camping. From down below you can see a dark spot but you can't tell how deep the cave is. After hiking up we could see that the cave was basically just a big hole in the rock that was at most only 20 foot deep, 20 feet wide and 20 feet tall. Anyway, it was a great unique location to explore and we got some great photos.

Our entire hike was on a combination of AZ state trust and BLM land. Originally I thought that some of the butte was on private property, but it doesn't appear to be the case. It turns out that the cliffs to the West of the butte are on private property. Probably to be used for the mining operation if needed.

Note: GPS route includes drive & hike in 2 different tracks. The saddle is a good place to park at 32.7297 -110.48431. A good place to camp in this area is at the Sombrero Butte ruins. We found dispersed camp sites & fire rings here on BLM land: 32.72596 -110.482139.

Stats:
----------
Round trip distance: 5.8 miles
AEG: 1836 feet
Strava moving time: 3 hrs 5 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 34 mins

Driving directions:
--------------------
A capable 4x4 vehicle is HIGHLY recommended.
The drive to our starting point took us 2 hours BUT we stopped to take photos along the road, stopped also at the wooden bridge to explore & take photos, and needed to do a little bit of route finding because there are a lot of mining roads out there and it's easy to make a wrong turn.

We made it with a 2005 Chevy Colorado 4x4 (1st gen) and a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with non-functional 4x4 mode.

The total drive from Mammoth was 14.4 miles.
A high clearance (non-4x4) vehicle should be able to make it 11.16 miles. There is an old wooden bridge in that area that was previously used for the mining operation. The wooden bridge is, in no way, part of the driving route! It's the very rocky road to the East of that area, at around 11.5 miles in that was, in our opinion, the hardest part of the drive. I bottomed out my Chevy Colorado here but only slightly. I was able to make it going SLOWLY and with my good 4x4 skills. There are areas of this drive that were a bit scary because you are NEAR the edge of a cliff, but there was sufficient room. It wasn't anything like any of those documentaries you see from the Himalayas!

See the driving route portion of my GPS route. I added a few way points with notes to help.

Here are the old boring text-based directions:
----------------------------------------------
Take AZ-77 North from Oracle toward Mammoth
Turn right on S Main St. and set your odometer to zero.
...continue for 2/3 mile.
Turn right on E Copper Creek Rd.
Shortly after that, we saw a sign that said the road was closed.
Damn, we drove all this way!!
Then, we saw a guy driving West towards us. We asked him if it's OK to proceed. He said yes.
Glad we took his advice. The drive was fine except for a few rocky areas.
There were a few tiny streams to cross but nothing to worry about and these water crossings were many miles out.
My guess is the road may have been closed at some point during/after monsoon season when the San Pedro river has more water. We didn't see any water in the road in Feb 2026.
But of course take caution when there are periods of rain.

...stay on Copper Creek rd heading East
1.4 miles: You will pass a shooting range on your left. After this the road crosses through a few washes. They were all dry when I was there.
2.35 miles: nice dispersed camping area on right on AZ state trust land
2.6 miles: another dispersed camping area on right on AZ state trust land
5.7 miles: cattle guard
7.5 miles: possible camp spot on left
7.95 miles: enter private land
8.5 miles: junction with Rug Road, stay straight
9.2 miles: enter BLM land, continue straight/left
10.3 miles: stay right at junction
10.7 miles: stay straight
11.2 miles: old historic wooden bridge on left
11.5 miles: road gets rocky here (need capable 4x4!)
11.8 miles: stay straight / right
12.1 miles: stay left
12.75 miles: turn right
12.8 miles: turn left
after this stay straight on Bunker Hill Mine rd.
near the very end of the drive you will stay left and reach a saddle.
You can park at the saddle or drive down to the ruins and park there.
The drive to the ruins is not any worse than what you have already done.
You can park and camp at the Sombrero Butte ruins area since it is BLM land.
We camped there after hiking Sombrero Butte. The forecast said it would be something like 49 F but my thermometer measured as low as 39 F overnight.
It was quite a bit colder than we expected but we made it OK!

_____________________

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

229312

Feb 03 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Scott Mountain Summit

Globe, AZ

Scott Mountain Summit

Globe, AZ

Hiking		Feb 03 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	3.61 Miles	1,039 AEG

Hiking	3.61 Miles	3 Hrs 29 Mns	2.19 mph
	1,039 ft AEG	1 Hour 50 Mns Break

no routes

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Brian, Chris and I drove from Tucson and arrived around 10.45 am. The 4x4 road started getting quite rough so we decided to park along the side and just walk after driving about 1.5 miles of the 4x4 road. We hiked less than 1 mile and saw the cattle tank to our left which is another possible place to park for HC 4x4 vehicles if you decide to continue driving the road and have a capable vehicle.

The road continues to climb up and wrap around the left side of Scott mountain and around to the back side of the mountain. We hiked a total of 1.5 miles on the road. Right before a bend in the road we saw a pretty clear line to the summit heading Northeast. We decided this would be a good place to exit the road. From where we got off the road, it was only another 0.25 miles and a little over 300 vertical feet to the summit. There was some catclaw and some shin dagger along the way, but it was pretty easy to walk around as the brush was not thick. At the summit, we found a rectangular tin box containing a registry. I took photos of 32 pages of registry entries including ours. The group who signed before us was a SAHC group from April 2025.

From the top, we could see into the Ray mine. At first it seemed like the mine was closed but then we saw and heard some of the vehicles in the mine. Looking to the East and Northeast, we could see some of the mountains in the Pinals, such as Pioneer Mtn, Stone Cabin Mtn, Pasadera Mtn, Pinal & Signal peaks, etc. Looking to the East we could see El Capitan.

On the way down, Chris followed the ridgeline down instead of the road. Brian and I were content in taking the road back which was an easier hike but slightly longer in distance. On the way down we stopped to take photos of various flowers including Dichelostemma capitatum, red-maids, globe mallow, Napa fawn lily, etc. I believe the flowers are coming quite early as compared to past year's because of the winter rains that were heavier than in past years.

Plants/flowers seen (in Feb!): Barrel cactus, London rocket, Toumey's century plant, shin dagger, slender goldenweed, red-maids (purple), apricot globe-mallow, Napa fawn lily, desert agave, spreading fleabane, agarito, Dichelostemma capitatum

Stats:
------
Distance (round trip): 3.61 miles
AEG: 1,039 feet
Strava moving time: 1 hrs 41 mins
Strava elapsed time: 3 hrs 29 mins

Driving Directions
--------------------
(4x4 required to get to where I parked. High clearance will get you CLOSE enough to do the hike)

From Tucson, take AZ-77 North

From the intersection of Oracle road and Magee road in Tucson...

Continue to follow AZ-77 N for 1 hr 18 min (73.6 mi)

Turn left onto Dripping Springs Rd, continue for 9.3 mi

Turn left onto unmarked road. Up ahead the road gets quite rocky and there are some steep sections.

If you have a high clearance vehicle you might be able to make it about 0.5 miles.

If you have a decent 4x4 vehicle, like mine, you should be able to drive for 1.5 miles which is what I did with my 2005 Chevy Colorado (1st generation model).

If you have larger tires or a 'kick pumpkin' 4x4 vehicle you might be able to drive a total of 2.4 miles to where Jesse started, by the cattle tank!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] johnr1

_____________________

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

229178

Feb 03 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Pasadera Mtn Pinals (5106), AZ

Hiking		Feb 03 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	1.89 Miles	610 AEG

Hiking	1.89 Miles	2 Hrs 17 Mns	1.83 mph
	610 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break

no routes

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After hiking the nearby Scott mtn, we drove East on Dripping Springs rd to get to FS 112. We drove 4.75 miles up the road and parked in the same place we parked when we hiked Pioneer mtn and Stone Cabin mtn about 3 weeks beforehand.

Thanks to Brian and Chris for coming along. We all thought it was a great day and enjoyed both hikes.

After parking we noticed a cattle tank not far from our parking area. We walked up the main road (FSR 112) for 1/4 mile then turned right and followed an unmarked old road that was a bit overgrown. We saw a smaller cattle tank to our left. The road turned to the right and went up to a saddle, then followed along the South side of the mountain while gradually continuing UP. After hiking a total of 0.71 miles, the road reached a high point. We could see the road heading down and to the Southeast.

At this point we were due South of the summit, needed to starting climbing North along the ridgeline and this is where we exited the road. From this point, it's about 1/4 mile to the summit and about 320 feet of elevation gain for this final section. Oddly, it was almost exactly what we did earlier in the day when climbing Scott mountain. The only difference is we reached a false summit, and needed to hike another 5 minutes across a dip and then do a final climb to the real summit. At the summit we found a registry jar. I took a photo of 8 registry pages including ours.

From the top, we could see where I parked, the 2 cattle tanks, Pioneer Mtn, Stone Cabin Mtn, Pinal & Signal peak, and Doak BM to the West. We identified at least 3 routes going down but decided to head West and then South down that ridgeline, heading down to the road. Looking down from the top we saw what looked like an old road. When we got down there it did look like an old road but very faint. Then, further down it looked like an old cattle trail. We intersected FSR 112 at the "3 way" road junction, then headed down the final 1/4 mile of FSR 112 to our parking location.

By the way, my GPS device recorded our highest point at only 5,010 feet elevation while we were at the summit, while the Lidar data shows 5,106. I don't know why there would be such a large difference in elevation, but we WERE sitting down at the summit and hanging out there for quite some time!

Stats:
--------
Distance (round trip): 1.89 miles
AEG: 610 feet
Strava moving time: 1 hrs 2 mins
Strava elapsed time: 2 hrs 17 mins

Driving Directions:
--------------------
(4x4 required to park where I parked)

From Tucson, take Oracle road (AZ-77) North.
You will pass through a few towns including Oro Valley, Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, etc.
Stay on AZ-77 North
From Mammoth, you will continue for about 38 miles.
Looking for Dripping Springs Rd., a turn on the left side of the road.
It is well marked with a sign on AZ-77.
Dripping Springs road is a well-maintained dirt road.
Take this road West for about 3.6 miles.
Take a right on FSR 112 which is not marked.
You will need high clearance at a minimum to get beyond this point.
4x4 is highly recommended for the rough spots and there are many.
Continue up the road for any distance on your way to get closer to Pasadera mountain.
We drove 4.75 miles up the road and parked near a road junction.

_____________________

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

229179

Jan 31 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Yetman Trail

Tucson, AZ

Yetman Trail

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 31 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	4.89 Miles	494 AEG

Hiking	4.89 Miles	3 Hrs 3 Mns	2.39 mph
	494 ft AEG	1 Hour Break

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A bunch of us decided to hike to the Bowen Stone house and semi-famous Painted Cave.

We had a large group of 8 - Mauro, Marcia, Isabela, Mauro Jr, Chris M, Brian C, Patrick C, and myself.

Also invited were Brian W, Mike B, and Lonnie S but they could not make it.

We arrived around 9.15 am and started off on the Yetman trail at the Camino de Oeste trailhead. We took the trail all the way to the Bowen stone house. Mauro brought a drone and got some nice aerial photos along the trail. We took a short break at the stone house, then continued along the trail to the Painted Cave. 5 of us made it to the painted cave, while Marcia, Isabela, and Mauro Jr stayed on the East side of the wash and decided not to continue any further.

We got some nice photos of the painted cave. Brian and Chris hiked up the cliffs and explored around and nearly made it to the high point.

On the hike back, Brian and I tried to find a saguaro with an arrow through it which I was able to find in past years but we could not find this time. I suppose I will need to mark to GPS position so I can find it again, assuming the arrow is still there.

We took another break at the stone house and got some photos and headed back to the trailhead.

_____________________

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

2 archives

229190

Jan 28 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Peak 5414 - Catalinas, AZ

Hiking		Jan 28 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

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

no routes

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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:
---------
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:
--------------------
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

229067

Jan 22 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Bighorn Benchmark 3183 Maricopa Mtns Gila Bend, AZ

Hiking		Jan 22 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	8.10 Miles	1,630 AEG

Hiking	8.10 Miles	6 Hrs 40 Mns	1.47 mph
	1,630 ft AEG	1 Hour 10 Mns Break

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Had this one on my list to do for quite some time. Marana's high temp was 73 today, so I felt it could be a few degrees hotter here and it definitely felt like it. I arrived around 10.30 am. There was a pull off from I-8 and after that there was an unlocked gate which I needed to open to drive through. I was able to drive about 600 feet. Then, there was a sign saying no motor vehicles allowed past that point. So, I parked and began my hike down the road.

Thanks to Matthias, Wade, and Jesse for posting routes. I ended up taking a more direct approach on the way up, similar to Jesse's route but with a little more zig-zag, and then followed the easier route down avoiding a lot of the class 3 on the way down.

Starting out there's only one good way to go. I took the road for about 1.4 miles before it ended near the edge of a wash. Then, I got into the wash. This wash was relatively fast moving because it was wide in many spots. There were areas with a few branches and even trails that exit and re-enter the wash, but it's OK to stay in the wash the entire way. I only remember there being a few areas where there was thorny brush, sometimes catclaw, that you needed to carefully squeeze through. There were 2 or 3 rock formations in the canyon that looked like obstacles from a distance but when I got closer I could see a way through. In at least 2 of the cases I needed to stay on the left side and there was sort of a rock chute that I was able to climb up.

Stay in the wash/canyon for 1.2 more miles. After you have hiked 2.6 miles, look for a way to exit the canyon to your left. If you go beyond this you will see a deeper windy canyon and can exit to your left at about the 2.75 mile mark, like I did on my ascent. Once out of the canyon you should have a clear view of Bighorn benchmark and you will continue North through a flatter area toward the canyon closer to Bighorn. In that canyon, I would recommend staying low and taking my down route up. If you enjoy class 3 and want more of a challenge, take my up route. It is quite steep and I needed to zig-zag a bit. But, I didn't feel like I was in danger in any way. I just took it slow and safe. As I got closer to the top, I saw some goat trails which I followed at times. Then, at the top I saw the bighorn sheep skull that Jesse talked about. Thanks to Jesse for carrying this up here. It belongs at the summit where it can be seen. Evidence that bighorn live out in this area, but I didn't see any live ones the day I was there. Of course they really don't want to be around people.

There was also a registry near the skull with only 2 pages. There were only 2 other entries besides mine in the last month or so. Jesse in Dec 2025 and a guy named Howard from New Mexico from early Jan 2026. Not sure what happened to the older registry. This area is pretty remote and you can see mountains in all directions. Looking North I believe I could see the Maricopa mtns high point which I hiked a few yrs back. Looking SW I could see the semi-famous 'squaw perks', at least according to the topo map. Because of political correctness it has been renamed, but I will continue to call it squaw perks cause I love that name. Nobody should be offended by the name squaw perks. It was never meant to be offensive. I'm sure it was something meant to be admired and that peak is one that many will continue to hike into the future because of it's unique shape (and name).

I had a late lunch and then decided to head down the known class 2 route. I needed to use my hands in a few spots but it wasn't nearly as steep as my route going up. There were some rugged rock formations that I needed to go around on the way down. I stayed close to the ridgeline and found some sheep trails lower down that were helpful also. I zig-zagged down into the canyon. Once in the canyon, the hike was a bit easier. In a few places, I found sheep trail that went around the messy sections in the canyon but in general found that staying in the canyon was fine. When I got lower, I curved to the right and merged back in with my original trail. I saw a canyon to my left and right so I stayed between them and almost ended up at a dead end. Both canyons ran into a deeper canyon that crossed in front of me. I was able to turn right and find a way down into the canyon in front of me which was where I needed to be anyway. This was the same canyon I was in earlier in the day and used this to get back to the road. I made better time in the canyon and even better time on the road. Just as I got back to my vehicle a few rain drops fell but I didn't get rained on the entire hike.

Overall it was an enjoyable hike since it had a mix of road, wash/canyon, ridgeline, rock formations, sheep trails, the sheep skull at the summit, etc. The only thing I don't remember seeing was water.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 8.09 miles
AEG: 1,630 feet
Strava moving time: 3 hrs 36 mins -- I didn't take 3 hours in breaks! I believe my real moving time was closer to 5 hrs 30 mins
Strava elapsed time: 6 hrs 40 mins

Driving Directions:
--------------------
From Tucson, take I-10 West toward Phoenix.
When getting close to Casa Grande, take I-8 West.

Take exit 199 for I-8 W toward San Diego, continue for 1.1 mi
Continue onto I-8 W for 43.2 mi
Destination will be on the right
Look for a gravel pullout and an unlocked gate on the North side of the highway

Once through the gate you can drive in about 600-700 feet.
It is a rocky road but a regular sedan should be able to handle it fine if dry.
Park off the road near a sign.

_____________________

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

229018

Jan 20 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Lion Mountain 4598

Tucson, AZ

Lion Mountain 4598

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jan 20 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	4.40 Miles	1,484 AEG

Hiking	4.40 Miles	5 Hrs 50 Mns	1.02 mph
	1,484 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

no routes

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We've known about this hike for a long time. In fact, my friend Amy wrote a guide for this hike over 9 yrs ago on HikeArizona dot com. See link below.

hikearizona.com

Brian and I arrived in the morning and parked near FSR 4191 and 4193. I believe we started in a similar location when we hiked Ramanote peak, a quite long and difficult hike. We followed Amy's route on the way up which we thought was a great route with no side-hilling what-so-ever. On the way down, we tried a shortcut which involved some rugged terrain, side-hilling, more route finding, and a little more concentration.

FSR 4193 is overgrown and not drivable and today it's more like a trail than anything else. Take this old road/trail down to the canyon. After about 1/3 mile you should be near the bottom of the canyon. Turn right and head East. You can stay in the canyon or hike along side it. When there are messy areas in the canyon you may find it easier to hike along side it. When in doubt follow the cattle trails. After 2/3 mile, head North and exit the canyon, getting on the ridgeline. Note: We overshot the turn accidentally so keep this in mind if you are using our route as a guideline as your mileages will not match exactly.

After getting out of the canyon, your goal will be to get on top of the ridgeline but take a more gradual approach and skip around some of the rugged areas. Once you are on the ridgeline, the hike gets a bit easier. From here on out you can stay on the center of the ridgeline and you will make it all the way to the summit. We did have to zig-zag a bit and there was nothing more than class 1 & 2 the entire way. Probably the worst part of the ascent was the section from 1.6 miles to 1.7 miles, marked with a way point labeled 'steep and rocky'. We needed to zig-zag a lot in this area and take a lot of care with our steps because the ground was not so stable. Once on the saddle, we could see exactly where to go. Near the top, we curved a bit to the right just because it was easier. Then, we turned left and did the final walk up to the summit.

At the summit, we found a rock pile and buried inside was a plastic jar, well shaded from the sun and sheltered from any rain. Inside the jar we found an old registry that dated back to 1990. The names were Dottie and Bob Martin, some famous hikers from the past. This old registry only had a few pages. There was also a small notebook that was also started in 1996 by the Sierra Club - Desert Peaks Section. This registry had about 20 pages and the most recent entries before ours was SAHC in Oct & Aug of 2023. The next entry before those was Amy's entry in 2016! So, it's safe to say this peak doesn't see a lot of activity!

We had an early lunch at the summit, took some photos and a video, then decided to head down. This time we decided to try to take a shortcut down to the canyon, To the South we knew there were some cliff bands but we believed we could go around those on either side. The big question was exactly where since we could see the cliff bands so easily from up above. Brian led going down and it was steep and a bit slow because we needed to do a little route finding. About halfway down the ridgeline we found a fairly clear trail that headed to our right and across to another ridgeline which looked better than the one we were on. We took that trail across and down to a lookout. At the lookout we looked left and right and decided that the right-side ridgeline was much cleaner and had a more gradual slope so we decided to take that. Pretty soon, we were down in the canyon, so we decided to take a water break and admire the views from where we came from. From this point we knew of 2 possible routes to get back to the road. One was a trail was spotting going up which we saw across the canyon while coming down. The next was just to go right up the steep slope in front of us. We liked both routes, so Brian took the ridge that we were on and I followed the canyon for about 700 feet Northeast, found a good cattle trails heading South and UP. Halfway up, I saw a few other cattle trail, some heading over to a drainage and others heading in different directions. I zig-zagged a bit and eventually made it to the top. Brian was up there waiting for me. I guess his route was slightly better, not to mention he's faster anyway ;-). We took another short break and then followed the 4x4 road back to where we parked. This hike was definitely a bit easier than we originally expected.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 4.4 miles
AEG: 1,484 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 44 mins (Note: we did not take 3 hours in breaks. I suspect that our moving time was closer to 4 hrs and 20 mins)
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 50 mins

Driving Directions: (Credit to Amy P.)
-----------------------
Note: a regular sedan will work, but high clearance is preferred as the road is a bit rough.

-Take I-19 to Exit 17 (Rio Rico Drive)
-Go West off the exit, then go right (North) on to West Frontage Road for about 1.1 miles
-Turn left (West) onto Camino Ramanote, which turns to dirt after about 3.2 miles
-FS 4191 will form a 'T' at some corrals on the right, where FS 4198 merges with FS 4191. Stay on FS 4191
-You will be starting your hike down FR 4193, ; thus, finding parking near the start of FR 4193 will be ideal. It may be a good idea to set your odometer by the corrals; FR 4193 is very overgrown and not obvious.

_____________________

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

229016

Jan 14 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Pioneer and Stone Cabin Mtns Pinal Mtns, AZ

Hiking		Jan 14 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	8.64 Miles	2,504 AEG

Hiking	8.64 Miles	7 Hrs 43 Mns	1.43 mph
	2,504 ft AEG	1 Hour 40 Mns Break

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Note: This hike involved both Pioneer Mountain and Stone Cabin Mountains in the Pinal Mountain range South of Globe, AZ.

I drove down FSR 112 in October after 2 bad storms that passed through that I wasn't aware of. Apparently, there was a hurricane that hit the Globe area in September and then a very powerful late monsoon rain hit a couple of weeks after that. Significant damage was done to the road. There was a warning sign near Pioneer pass at the top that said 'road flooded', but I decided to proceed South along FSR 112 because it was weeks after the storms and there couldn't be any more flooding, right? Well, I was RIGHT. There wasn't any flooding BUT there was significant damage to the South side of the Pinals, especially FSR 112, which I discovered fairly quickly. Having a fairly capable Chevy 4x4, I figured I could get through nearly anything especially since I was going downhill. One big problem in going down is gravity can help a bit and I found myself having gone down some fairly steep rugged sections that I knew would be nearly impossible for me to get up! At a certain point, I was basically committed and THAT was the problem. If I got to an area where the road was completely wiped out, I was stuck there and would need an expensive tow to get out. Luckily I made it out but that drive down was the absolute WORST road I've ever driven on. I remember seeing a bulldozer about 3 miles North of Dripping Springs road. Whether this bulldozer was actually used to do any grading in the last year was a mystery. Anyway, the road has a lot of ruts and rough spots and if you attempt this drive beware! You will need a high clearance, 4x4, and some serious driving skills. Several times, I slid down portions of the road. There was a section of road that was completely destroyed but I was able to find a detour in a sandy wash. There was about a 2 foot lip that I needed to drive over to get out of that sandy wash back onto the rough road. I actually need to make a ramp out of rocks to get out. I think I spent 1 hour or more trying to get out of that wash and must have done some damage to the underbody and probably burned some tread off my tires. Let me just say that the lower 5 miles of FSR112 was in much better shape than the upper 5 miles. The lower portion still did have some ruts and required some skilled driving to get down.

This time I was able to drive 4.75 miles up FSR 112. The road didn't appear to be any different than what I saw in October. Beyond 4.75 miles the road was pretty rough. I felt like I probably could have made it further but going very slow. It was already 10.45 am and I felt like we could walk almost as fast as we were driving. Our original plan was to hike Pasadera mtn, and we calculated that the round trip distance from where I parked to Pasadera and back was something like 3.25 miles. I noticed that the old cabin was about 1 mile further up the road. We decided to walk to the old cabin first, and then hike Pasadera on the way back. After making it to the old cabin we decided to take a look inside. I toured the place in October and it looked pretty much the same but there was evidence someone was there since that time.

After touring the cabin it was almost lunchtime so we decided to take our lunch in the nearby Crow canyon. In Crow canyon was saw a small waterfall and a nice area to sit down on some larger rocks. While having lunch, we looked at the map and noticed that we were not far from Stone Cabin mtn and Pioneer mtn. I thought about hiking these first and then heading down to Pasadera after that. It seemed to make more sense to hike these peaks since we were already fairly close to them. After lunch we hiked an old road/path leading out of the canyon. Our goal was to make it to the Southeast ridgeline of Pioneer mountain. We climbed a very steep chute and discovered a deep mining hole on the way up. We hiked around the mining hole and found another few mining holes. At least we were on the ridgeline at this point so we started heading UP. After about 500 feet we saw what looked like a fissure crossing the ridgeline. There was a narrow section only about 3 feet wide that we felt we could jump over but neither of us felt comfortable jumping across because of the possibility of falling into the slot below which appeared to be about 20 feet deep or more. We walked about 200 feet Southwest to go around the fissure. We discovered an old mining trail which led us across. After getting around the fissure, we walked up to the ridgeline and could proceed going up the ridgeline. From this point it took us a little less than 1 hour to get to the top. I counted 5 false summits along the way. There were some trails along the way which could have been cattle trail, miner trails or old hiker trails. It was extremely windy and we found that by staying left of the high ridgeline (SW side) we were able to shelter ourselves from SOME of the wind. We got to the summit and found a registry with about 8 pages. The earliest entry was from 1986, and the last entry before ours was Oct 2023 by a SAHC group. We signed the registry, took some photos and started heading down to the saddle between Pioneer and Stone Cabin mountains.

It was extremely windy heading down to the saddle between the two peaks. We could not see the entire way down as we could not see the entire ridgeline. It actually looked like there was a cliff in front of us at one point, but it was not. We made it down the ridgeline and started hiking up the slope heading to Stone Cabin mountain. Partway up we found a use trail that went up and through a cliff band. From the top of Pioneer, we thought we might have some difficulty getting through this cliff band but it proved to be pretty easy taking the trail we found. We eventually saw a false summit and a trail led to the left around it. After hiking up higher we could see that the true summit was to our right, so we hiked the extra few hundred feet to get there. At the top we found another registry with about 14 pages, with the last entry being the same SAHC party from Oct 2023. These peaks don't get a lot of activity, it seems.

We got our photos and decided to head out. We saw that there was an old mining road to the East and down several hundred feet in terms of elevation. We originally thought it would be best to hike down to this road and take the road down to the old cabin and hook up with the original road that we were on (FSR 112). But because of the strong winds we decided to head South down the ridgeline, then head Southeast, and then East to get back to FSR 112. We hiked close to Oak Spring Tank and startled a few cattle that didn't hear us because of the windy conditions. East of the tank we saw what looked like another fissure that we could not cross so we followed it for a while until we found a safe area to cross. After crossing the fissure, we ran into an old mining road. This road took us East and eventually seemed to dead end in a canyon. Once in the canyon, it appeared to be better to turn left and continue along the ridgeline. Up ahead we ran into a few roads and trails which allowed us to get back to a more well-defined road. We had to slide under a barbed wire fence to get to the road which we walked for a few hundred feet back to a road junction with FSR 112. Once on FSR 112, we walked roughly 1.25 miles to get back to where I parked. It was already getting dark so we decided to save Pasadera peak for another day.

Stats:
--------
Distance (round trip): 8.64 miles
AEG: 2,504 feet
Strava moving time: 4 hrs 28 mins
Strava elapsed time: 7 hrs 43 mins

Driving Directions:
--------------------
From Tucson, take Oracle road (AZ-77) North.
You will pass through a few towns including Oro Valley, Catalina, Oracle, Mammoth, etc.
Stay on AZ-77 North
From Mammoth, you will continue for about 38 miles.
Looking for Dripping Springs Rd., a turn on the left side of the road.
It is well marked with a sign on AZ-77.
Dripping Springs is a well-maintained dirt road.
Take this road West for about 3.6 miles.
Take a right on FSR 112 which is not marked.
You will need high clearance at a minimum to get beyond this point.
4x4 is highly recommended for the rough spots and there are many.
Continue up the road for any distance on your way to get closer to Pasadera mountain.
We drove 4.75 miles up the road and marked near a road junction.

_____________________

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

228812

Jan 12 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Mescal peak 6194, AZ

Hiking		Jan 12 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	6.97 Miles	1,485 AEG

Hiking	6.97 Miles	5 Hrs 8 Mns	2.06 mph
	1,485 ft AEG	1 Hour 45 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

I arrived at the pullout a bit late, around 11.30 am. See driving directions for 2 ways of getting across the fence. The third way obviously would be to slide under it.

After getting past the gate, I walked approx. 1.9 miles on a high clearance/gravel road. Thanks to the 4 other hikers who provided their routes. I found it easiest to stay on the road until the brush looked better, then I headed Northeast toward the peak. There was evidence of cattle here which I'm always thankful for. They tend to graze enough to be able to walk through a brushy area without any problems. At least in this area I was able to tunnel through ocotillo, mesquite, and other bushes. I saw a small wash to my left and stayed to the right of it for a while. Eventually, I decided to cross the wash and head up the ridgeline in front of me. The ridgeline sloped to the right heading up to the right side of the mountain. It was easy to see that I could take that low ridgeline to the high ridgeline, then make a left and continue towards the summit.

On the way up the low ridgeline, there was a lot of ocotillo, and other desert brush to weave around. Partway up the ridgeline I saw a dead oak tree or what was left of it, and a lot of other brush around it. I had to zig-zag quite a bit on this ridgeline. When I got to the top ridgeline, there wasn't as much brush but it was rockier. It was a bit windy so I stayed West of the ridgeline and dropped down about 10-20 feet. I stopped here to take a 15 minute lunch.

After lunch I continued toward the summit. From a distance, the bands of rock looked like it would involve some class 3 moves and I was right. When I got closer, I found a nice route that went between 2 rock formations and weaved a bit heading straight for the summit. I needed to use my hands in a few areas and dodge some ocotillo. There was also some loose rock in a few areas.

I arrived at the summit and found a plastic jar at the high point. It was well protected by rocks. The oldest entry I found was from March 2025 by Jesse Johnson. I'm not sure what happened to the older entries. At the summit, there was a few bees but they were not aggressive. I just left them alone and they did not bother me. Looking North I could see Granite peak which appeared to be about 3 miles away. In the far distance looking North I could see what I thought was Apache peak and the Cape, which has a distinctive shape and pattern to it. I took a few photos from the summit and a video and started heading down using roughly the same route I used on the way up.

I saw one large grasshopper the entire hike and a few other smaller ones at times. That was it in terms of wildlife. When I got close to the fence, I decided to look for another place to cross and I found one West of the corrals. Take a look at my route and you will see where I stepped over the barbed wire fence area.

Many thanks to the land owners for allowing us hikers to walk across their land. Although the peak is on AZ state trust land, I needed to hike North 2.25 miles across their land before I reached the AZ state trust land. Without this access, hiking this mountain would involve a much longer route and longer drive also.

I thought about hiking Spire peak to the South of AZ-82, but I ran out of time. Had I got an earlier start, I would have probably done that hike, however, the timing worked out well. By the time I got back to Tucson, I was able to stop and get a Jersey Mike's sub - #55 The Big Kahuna cheesesteak. Then, I rushed home from there to watch the Steelers Texans NFL playoff game. This could be Aaron Rogers last game, but I guess it depends on if he wants to play another season. As of now, the Texans are ahead quite a bit in the end of the 4th quarter.

Stats:
-------
Distance (round trip): 6.97 miles
AEG: 1,485 feet
Strava moving time: 3 hrs 24 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 8 mins

Directions:
--------------
From Tucson, take I-10 East toward Benson.
Take exit 302 for AZ-90 E toward Ft Huachuca/Sierra Vista.
Continue on AZ-90 E for approx. 18.8 miles.
Turn right onto AZ-82 W, continue for 4.5 mi.
Look for a pullout on the right side of the road.
Park here and look for nearby sign stating 'foot access allowed'.
There is a primitive gate here that has some locks halfway up the post.
The top left corner of the gate had a piece of wire that I was able to unwrap.
The bottom left corner of the gate had the post set into a wire loop.
To make a long story short I was able to tilt the gate in a way where I was able to STEP OVER the locks.
Not sure whether the land owners did this intentionally or not.
The locks sort of contradict the 'foot access allowed' sign.
If foot access is really allowed, why are there any locks period?
Either way, I got through the gate easily and then put it back the way I found it.

By the way, on the way out, I found a low spot on the barbed wire fence and was able to step over it.
A taller person will have no trouble doing this.
See my route for that location.

_____________________

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

228743

Jan 05 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Dicks and Murphy peak, AZ

Hiking		Jan 05 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	4.78 Miles	2,059 AEG

Hiking	4.78 Miles	5 Hrs 45 Mns	1.12 mph
	2,059 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

SAHC hike with Steve O, Kumar S, Paul Y, Judy, Tony, and Diane.

We left from Ajo Way & I-19 around 6 am and didn't arrive at our starting point until 7:45 am. When we arrived it was in the high 30s (COLD!!). See my 1/1/2026 trip report for a driving route that works. Thanks to Paul for driving on this one.

We started off climbing quite high on Peak 4627, which wasn't necessary as we found a good use trail on the North side of it on our return route (see my posted route). After getting around Peak 4627 we could see 2 bumps - one was a high saddle and the other was the summit. We headed toward a high saddle curving a bit to the left which was a good way to get up there. At this saddle we had a clear view of the summit. We started approaching the summit straight on. Part way up, I saw what looked like a trail crossing from right to left to get on the ridgeline. At first I thought it might be better to follow this trail but it really was not necessary. We were able to head straight up the steep ridgeline to get to the summit. When we got close to the summit, the slope leveled off a bit and the top of the mountain was made up of a band of rocks.

Tony went ahead and summited first. I hiked for a bit with Paul and Diane and when we got close to the summit, I held back and waited for the rest of the group to get closer. When I got near the very top of the peak, I saw some drug runner trash, including a blanket, backpacks, water bottles, cans, and trash bags. I summited around 9.45 am. We had a lunch at the top and looked for a registry which we were unable to find. I was surprised that we didn't find a registry since this was a more prominent peak. We got a group photo and photos of the nearby Murphy peak which was about 0.5 miles away as the crow flies. It was still a bit cold at the summit.

We started heading down the ridgeline connecting Ralphie's Red Ryder and Murphy peaks and needed to zig-zag a bit initially. The first 500 feet of hiking was quite steep and rocky. We had to curve to the left and zig-zag a bit to get lower, then we went back to the ridgeline and it was not as steep from there. We hiked down to the saddle and had a better look at Murphy peak from here. Near the top there was a rocky cliff band. We saw a saddle to the left of that cliff band and this seemed to be the best way to get to the summit. We also found some more drug runner trash near the saddle and slightly South of it.

We headed to the saddle East of Murphy peak and got there quicker than expected. Once there, we saw that the rocky cliff bands were also blocking us from going straight up to the saddle so we walk left (Southwest) to get around the rocky area. We basically spiraled around and reached the summit from the South end. At the summit, we found a registry. One was quite old and another was newer. We ended up signing both and I took photos of all of the pages of the older registry but forgot to take a photo of the newer registry. We took a break at the Murphy summit, had some snacks, and I took a group photo using my phone and tri-pod.

We decided to start heading down by hiking back to the low saddle. This involved a small amount of side hilling and following the ridgeline down which was not too steep. After getting back to the low saddle, we had to do 0.6 miles of side hilling which was not great. Half of the group went ahead and continued to side hill over to the original ridgeline that we went up. From where we were, Kumar and I decided that it would be an easier hike taking the ridgeline in front of us. It would avoid the side hilling and allow us to curve in the direction of the original route. This route worked well and we made good time getting down and were able to cross over and pick up the cattle trail that went North of Peak 4627. We met up with the rest of the group at the parking area.

The worst parts about this hike were the initial descent from Ralphie's Red Ryder to Murphy on the steep rocky slope, and the side hilling across a grassy slope with some loose rocks. Sometimes the grass was high and we could not see the rocks. But, the rest of the hike was fine, although slow going.

Stats (including trip to Murphy peak):
-----------------------------------------
Distance (round trip): 4.78 miles
AEG: 2,059 feet
Strava moving time: 3 hrs 10 mins
Strava elapsed time: 5 hrs 45 mins

_____________________

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

228577

Jan 02 2026

Mike_W

Guides 105
Routes 266
Photos 19,011
Triplogs 582

male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Daisy Mountain - Anthem

Phoenix, AZ

Daisy Mountain - Anthem

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 02 2026
		Mike_W • Triplogs 582

Hiking	7.01 Miles	1,498 AEG

Hiking	7.01 Miles	4 Hrs	2.43 mph
	1,498 ft AEG	1 Hour 7 Mns Break

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Daniel and I met just before 11 am in the neighborhood near this trail. Google maps shows that there is a trailhead but there is no parking except for on the streets. This trailhead is in need of a parking area.

We started off walking the neighborhood roads for a few minutes to get to the trailhead. After a minute, it opened up to an old road. Within the first few minutes we saw a few other hikers coming down the road. The road was mostly dirt with some rock and good enough to ride with a mountain bike. We saw at least 2 other mountain bikers on the road part of the trail while we were there.

It was pretty fast moving because the condition of the trail was good. There was no off trail portion at all anywhere. After following the road for a while, we saw a Y-junction and decided to turn right. We could have easily gone left here also, because the route was a lollypop loop. At just under 3 miles in, we reached the first high point and there was an American flag. This was the first of 2 high points. A little further ahead along the trail was supposed to be the location of the benchmark, which is labeled on the topo map as 3176. My GPS registered as high as 3168 in this area. We did not see a registry here or any kind of benchmark. We continued along the trail to the next high point which was about 0.4 miles away.

On arriving to the next high point we saw another American flag but this time there was a bench next to it and a registry that was very full. We found some space to sign our names. The registry was in a large plastic box that did not fully close or seal. I placed the registry at an angle with a rock over it which was the best way to secure it. This peak really needs an ammo box or something larger that can be sealed.

We decided to have lunch at the summit. After lunch, we headed down the other branch of the trail. There were a few trail branches and we needed to make sure we took the correct branch. It's recommended to take a GPS route on this hike so that you don't take a wrong turn. We eventually reached the Y-junction and were back on the road we were on previously.

All in all this was a great hike with a fine road and trail leading all the way to the top. I liked the fact that this was a very patriotic mountain! It's always great to see American flags on summits!

Stats
--------
Distance (round trip): 7.01 miles
AEG: 1,498 feet
Strava moving time: 2 hrs 53 mins
Strava elapsed time: 4 hrs 0 mins

Driving directions:
--------------------
Follow I-17 North of Phoenix toward Anthem, AZ
Take exit 229 for Anthem Way
Use the 2nd from the right lane to turn right onto W Anthem Way, 0.2 mi
Turn left onto Navigation Way, continue for 0.6 mi
Navigation Way turns right and becomes N Livingstone Way, continue for 177 ft
Turn right onto W Rushmore Dr, continue for 246 ft
W Rushmore Dr turns slightly left and becomes N Courage Trail
Park on the side of the road

You can also set your GPS or Google maps to here:

3540 W Rushmore Dr, Anthem, AZ 85086

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Flat Top Buckwheat

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Old Glory

_____________________

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

228575

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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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