GlassMountains Trip Reports

Black Mountain (Pima), Arizona, February 2022

February 26, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Linda and I recently boondocked near an abandoned mine off the Darby Well Road southwest of Ajo. Over the next two days I climbed Sauceda Benchmark and Black Mountain (Pima) while Linda explored the area on bicycle and foot. It was a sheltered and pleasant campsite.

Black Mountain from the southwest; the summit is on the left

My goal the second day was to climb Black Mountain, rising just to the south of our campsite. I know of four Black Mountains with at least 1000 feet of prominence in Arizona. This Black Mountain has 1328 feet of prominence and lies in the Little Ajo Mountains of Pima County south of Ajo. The northern slopes appeared quite steep from our campsite but some friends had found a good route up its southwest ridge that I intended to try.

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Sauceda Benchmark, Arizona, February 2022

February 25, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Linda and I recently took our first boondocking trip of the winter season near Ajo, Arizona. On Thursday, February 10, we drove in and parked our trailer on a concrete slab near an abandoned mine off the Darby Well Road southwest of Ajo. Over the next two days I climbed Sauceda Benchmark and Black Mountain while Linda explored the area on bicycle and foot. It was a sheltered and pleasant campsite.

Sauceda Benchmark peeks above the Sikort Chuapo Mountains as I drive in on the Pipeline Road

My first climb was Sauceda Benchmark. With 1595 feet of prominence Sauceda Benchmark is the 126th most prominent peak in Arizona and the highpoint of the Sauceda Mountains. From our camp Friday morning, February 11, I drove to just south of Ajo, then turned northeast on the Pipeline Road.

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Santa Rita Peak 6280+, Arizona, January 2022

February 10, 2022 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

On Thursday, January 27, I visited the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. Specifically I explored the northern extension of the Santa Rita Mountains that leads towards Mount Fagan. Here a ridge of little peaks has over 1000 feet of topographic prominence. However, it is not obvious from maps which peak is the highest and therefore gets the coveted prominence.

Left to right: Peak 6290, Peak 6280+, Weigles Butte, Helvetia BM, and Harts Butte from AZ Hwy 83 north of Sonoita

There seemed to be three candidate peaks. On the latest topographic map Weigles Butte has a surveyed elevation of 6284 feet. An unnamed peak about a mile south of Weigles Butte has a surveyed elevation of 6290 feet (“Santa Rita Peak 6290”). Between these two is another unnamed peak, without a surveyed elevation, but with a contour interval indicating it has at least 6280 feet (“Santa Rita Peak 6280+”). The current consensus amongst peakbaggers is that Peak 6280+ is the highest. Matthias had recently climbed this peak and thought the same. This ridge is quite visible from our bicycling routes on the east side of Tucson. So I decided to visit these peaks to decide for myself.

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Harquahala Peak 4489, Arizona, January 2022

January 30, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Sunday, January 16, I left the Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct below Big Horn Peak and followed the Salome and Eagle Eye Roads north to climb an unnamed peak at the northern end of the Harquahala Mountains. This peak, Harquahala Peak 4489, has 1689 feet of prominence, making it the 110th most prominent peak in Arizona.

Harquahala Peak 4489 from Eagle Eye Road, the east ridge rises from right to left

As I approached Harquahala Peak 4489 from the south I got good views of its long east ridge, my planned route to the summit. I expected a straightforward and scenic climb.

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