Exploring the backcountry and wilderness of the Western USA.
Travel using primarily feet only. Hands might be used with hiking poles for balance or uphill travel.
On Christmas Eve I hiked to the summit of Sala Benchmark, a peak in the Southern Dragoon Mountains of Arizona. Sala Benchmark has 1264 feet of topographic prominence and rises to the east above Cochise Stronghold.
Several of people had visited it before me and had published helpful trip reports. This was to be a short hike, mostly on an unmaintained trail. I expected few surprises.
[Read more…] about Sala Benchmark, Arizona, December 2024On Tuesday, October 8, I returned to Western Union Basin deep in the Elkhorn Mountains of Oregon. My goal was to climb “Summit Point” a peak rising to the west of Chloride Ridge along the Elkhorn Crest. Three days earlier I had driven in to this remote location and climbed Chloride Ridge West Peak. Summit Point appeared to be quite accessible using the same approach.
This would be the last of four high priority Elkhorn peaks I wanted to summit this season. In early August I had tried to visit Summit Point from the North Powder River. But road debris blocked my drive in several miles short of my intended parking spot. I hiked from there, anyway, but ran out of time far from the peak. I was much more hopeful today.
[Read more…] about Elkhorn Crest Summit Point, Oregon, October 2024On Friday, April 19, I drove from Tucson, Arizona, northwest through Kingman, then north on US Hwy 93. I turned to the west on a dirt road. After a few miles I found a secluded campsite and settled in for the night. My plan was to hike Mount Perkins on Saturday with Las Vegas Mountaineers Club members Eric and Stacey Kassan. I have climbed many Arizona peaks with Eric and Stacey. I looked forward to sharing another peak with them on this trip.
Mount Perkins is the highpoint of the Black Mountains northwest of Kingman (there are other Black Mountains to the southeast of Kingman). It has 2036 feet of prominence, making it the 67th most prominent peak in Arizona. There were several other prominent peaks visible from my campsite. I hope to visit the most prominent ones over the next year.
[Read more…] about Mount Perkins, Arizona, April 2024In November I visited the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona to hike three prominent Navajo Nation peaks before winter settled in. My goal was to hike the highpoint of Black Mesa and the summits of Pastora Peak and Roof Butte.
On Thursday, November 9, I drove from Tucson to Chinle, Arizona. I stopped at the “Tseyi Heritage Cottonwood Campground at Canyon De Chelly” and purchased a Navajo Nation hiking permit for the next three days. During the previous phone calls and when I arrived the people there were friendly and helpful. A young woman issued my Navajo Nation hiking permit for Black Mesa, Pastora Peak, and Roof Butte and checked me in to the campground where I spent that night.
[Read more…] about Navajo Nation Peaks, Arizona, November 2023