GlassMountains Trip Reports

Childs Mountain, Arizona, March 2025

April 11, 2025 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Thursday, March 27, Linda and I found a somewhat secluded campsite off Darby Spring Road south of Ajo, Arizona. Here we spend the next three nights with our dogs. I hiked my first peak, Childs Mountain, on Friday. Meanwhile, Linda explored the Sonoran Desert near our camp on foot with our dogs.

Childs Mountain to the west from near AZ Hwy 85

Childs Mountain has 1240 feet of topographic prominence and is the site of a FAA radar facility. To reach it, I drove north from Ajo on Arizona highway 85, then west on Childs Mountain Road. The road was gated about four miles short of the facility. I parked nearby and hiked the road upwards.

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Slavin Peak and China Peak, Arizona, March 2025

April 6, 2025 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, March 22, I hiked Slavin Peak (Peak 7115) and China Peak in the southern Dragoon Mountains of Southern Arizona. I had several goals in mind. First, I wanted to see how my left foot handled hiking after injuring it four weeks earlier. Second, I wanted to explore these peaks to see if I wanted to lead them for the Southern Arizona Hiking Club.

Slavin Peak rises on the left above me from its south ridge

A fellow SAHC member (who did not have a 4WD vehicle) was approaching her goal of 400 SAHC peaks. She had not yet hiked Slavin peak. I thought I could lead both Slavin Peak and China Peak on the same SAHC hike, but had not been that deep into the Southern Dragoon Mountains. I needed to see what the combination hike would require. It had a few surprises for me.

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Black Diamond Peak and Henry Peak, Arizona, February 2025

February 16, 2025 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Friday, February 7, I climbed Black Diamond Peak and Henry Peak (Peak 7155) in the southern Dragoon Mountains of Southern Arizona. I noted both peaks to the south when I hiked Sala Benchmark last December. I also noted at that time a road that climbed steeply up a canyon north of them. Indeed, the road proved to be drivable and I was able to visit both peaks on a pleasant winter day.

Black Diamond Peak (L) and Henry Peak just beyond Peak 7091 from Sala Benchmark

Black Diamond Peak has 7146 feet of elevation and 626 feet of topographic prominence. Its summit is a narrow NW to SE ridge with cliffs on most sides. The peak is named after the Black Diamond Mine, discovered by prospector Albert George in 1880. Albert George was killed in 1883 by the Apache, though the mine was quite productive for many years thereafter.

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Mescal Peak (Peak 6193), Arizona, January 2025

February 8, 2025 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Tuesday, January 28, June Meyer and Bill Hiscox joined me on a climb of “Mescal Peak” in the southern Whetstone Mountains of Arizona. This peak is not officially named, and would normally just be called Peak 6193 (for its point elevation). But some local peakbaggers have given it the name “Mescal Peak”; Mescal Spring and Mescal Creek lie just north and east of it. Numbered names are boring and difficult to remember.

I wanted to climb Mescal Peak because it has 1106 feet of topographic prominence, has a classic conical shape, and foot access. June and Bill, also Southern Arizona Hiking Club members, joined me out of curiosity. The peak is local but has not been added to the nearly 500 other peaks on the club list.

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