Hiking Reports

Travel using primarily feet only. Hands might be used with hiking poles for balance or uphill travel.

Big Craggies, Oregon, June 2019

July 16, 2019 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

On Saturday afternoon, June 23, I rendezvoused with three peakbagging friends, Caleb Morris, Michael Berry, and Michael Wanberg above the confluence of the Illinois and Rogue Rivers. We then drove to our campsite deep in the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest. We had come to climb Big Craggies. Big Craggies has only 4619 feet of elevation, but 2099 feet of topographic prominence making it the 63rd most prominent peak in Oregon.

Looking east along the ridge towards Green Craggie, our first summit of the day

Sunday morning we got an early start and drove to the end of a minor forest road. That put us on a west ridge that led east over Green Craggie and Peak 4150 towards Big Craggies.

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Cimarron Peak, Arizona, February 2019

February 24, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Sunday, February 17, I joined Eric Kassan, Stacey Samuels, and Adam Humphreys on a hike of Cimarron Peak in Southern Arizona. Cimarron Peak lies west of the village of Kaka and north of the village of Hickiwan, Arizona. The peak has been of interest to me for several seasons in Arizona. It has only 4124 feet of elevation, but 1984 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 74th most prominent peak in Arizona.

Cimarron Peak from Rabia Benchmark — Cimarron Peak is the broad peak in the center horizon in this view from Rabia Benchmark (Sierra Blanca highpoint)

Cimarron Peak also has 26 miles of isolation, meaning the nearest peak higher than it is 26 miles away. This makes it the 36th most isolated peak in Arizona. It certainly feels isolated, as it is miles from paved roads and the road providing best access to it has some nasty erosion in spots. Cimarron Peak has few visitors and visiting it seems an adventure in exploration.

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South Mountain (Pima), Arizona, February 2019

February 23, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, February 16, Eric Kassan, Stacey Samuels, Adam Humphreys, and I hiked up South Mountain of Pima County west of Sells, Arizona. South Mountain has about 4160 feet of elevation and 2020 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 70th most prominent peak in Arizona. This was my second visit to South Mountain.

South Mountain from Arizona Highway 86 northeast of Sells

We met on Arizona Highway 86 and I led our drive in on primitive roads through a lush and green desert. On the way I spooked four jackrabbits at different points. I had last visited South Mountain in November 2017 and had driving notes from that drive. But I was surprised how a recently graded road then had become eroded in only two years.

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Harquahala Mountain, February, 2019

February 13, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In early February Linda and I and our dogs camped in the open desert near Vicksburg, Arizona, east of Quartzsite. We were boondocking, which meant we had no hookups but did have a lot of room for ourselves and dark nights. We spent three nights there. Linda spent February 6 and 7 hiking and mountain biking from our campsite. On the morning of February 6 I left camp to hike Harquahala Mountain.

The view from the Harquahala Pack Trail which climbs over the high saddle ahead

From camp I drove through Salome on US 60, then followed a dirt road to the Harquahala Pack Trail trailhead. The trail climbs from the McMullen Valley floor to the summit of Harquahala Mountain. Harquahala Mountain (Yavapai: ‘Hakhe:la), the highpoint of the Harquahala Mountains, is the 17th most prominent peak in Arizona with 3461 feet of topographic prominence and 5681 feet of elevation.

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