GlassMountains Trip Reports

Cabeza Benchmark, Arizona, January 2019

January 18, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, January 12, I joined Matthias Stender on a climb of Cabeza Benchmark, the highpoint of the Cabeza Prieta Mountains. These mountains are located in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (CPNWR) southeast of Yuma, Arizona. Cabeza Benchmark has only 2830 feet of elevation but has 1830 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 89th most prominent peak in Arizona. To gain access to the peak we had to travel through the Barry M. Goldwater Range (BMGR). We obtained permits for both the range and the refuge ahead of time.

The Cabeza Prieta Mountains from the CPNWR northern boundary

I drove my Jeep 13 miles into the BMGR Friday afternoon and camped near the Copper Mountains. It was a calm and starry night. Saturday morning Matthias drove in from Phoenix and met me at my camp. From there I drove us another 13 miles to the northern boundary of the CPNWR where the road was closed to vehicles.

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Prominent Point, Arizona, December 2018

January 7, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Monday, December 31, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club for a climb of Prominent Point, a peak rising to the east above Pima Canyon in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Prominent Point has only 624 feet of topographic prominence due to its proximity to Mount Kimball. But the “hike” was strenuous and it felt like another mountaineering experience for me in this rugged wilderness.

Looking up the SW ridge of Prominent Point towards the upper saddle

We left the Pima Canyon Trailhead before dawn with headlamps. It was windy and cold as we walked the rocky trail into the canyon. After about an hour we left the trail and began climbing up slopes to the east. We eventually gained a steep ridge which avoided some of brush as we climbed. A cold wind blew across the ridge and I wondered how intense it would become as we climbed higher.

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Ragged Top, Arizona, December 2018

December 26, 2018 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, December 19, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club (SAHC) for a climb of Ragged Top, a craggy peak in the Silver Bell Mountains west of Tucson. Ragged Top has 1357 feet of topographic prominence. I first noticed Ragged Top on my climb of Silver Bell Peak in November 2016. I knew then I would try to visit it someday.

Ragged Top's northeast face. We hiked over a saddle to the left. — Ragged Top’s northeast face. We hiked over a saddle to the left.

I drove us into the Ironwood Forest National Monument on primitive but passable roads and parked just below the northeast face of Ragged Top. Ragged Top is quite imposing in appearance with complex steep buttresses of rock separated by shadowy narrow gullies. But we knew there was a reasonable route up, so we started with high expectations of success.

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Table Tooth, Arizona, December 2018

December 24, 2018 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Monday, December 17, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club for a climb of Table Tooth, a spire immediately east of Table Mountain in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Table Tooth has only 320 feet of topographic prominence, but the “hike” proved to be challenging and it felt like a real mountaineering experience to me.

We climb towards Table Tooth and its east notch above left.

We left the Pima Canyon Trailhead before dawn with headlamps. Soon the early morning light allowed us to remove the headlamps and we entered Pima Canyon. This was my first excursion into Pima Canyon. The steep slopes above and in front of us lured my attention, but I had to pay attention to the rocky trail so as not to fall onto my face.

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