On Saturday, April 4, I left Tucson for a few days to visit three Arizona prominence peaks. After climbing Buckskin Benchmark on Sunday and the Date Creek Mountains highpoint on Monday, I drove onto the Agua Fria National Monument Monday afternoon and found a secluded camping spot a quarter mile from the dusty and busy Bloody Basin Road. I spend another pleasant evening and night there.

The next morning, Tuesday, I continued driving east on the dirt Bloody Basin Road towards my next and last destination for this trip, West Cedar Mountain. West Cedar Mountain has 1769 feet of topographic prominence and 5489 feet of elevation. It lies to the west of the Mazatzal Mountains across the Wild and Scenic Verde River, and has been on my “Wish List” for several years. I expected the hike, itself, to be fairly short, but two friends had previously hiked the peak and they reported a lot of thorny brush. I dressed defensively.