GlassMountains Trip Reports

Reiley Peak, Arizona, January 2018

February 2, 2018 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

January 31 I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club on a climb of Reiley Peak in the Winchester Mountains northwest of Willcox. Reiley Peak is the 50th most prominent peak in Arizona with 2320 feet of topographic prominence and 7640 feet of elevation.

View of Reiley Peak from low on the northwest ridge

Eric Kassan and I attempted to drive in to the “trailhead” for Reiley Peak last February, but we were stopped by very poor road conditions. Eric and I expected that on our next attempt we might have to park several miles short of the trailhead and backpack in to a base camp for the climb. We hoped to time the attempt when treatable water was available.

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Prominence Peaks West of Phoenix, January 2018

January 22, 2018 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On January 15-18 Linda and I camped at the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, located on the west side of Phoenix. The campsites were spacious. Linda enjoyed gravel bike riding and hiking locally and I hiked prominence peaks west of Phoenix.

Barry Goldwater Peak

One of the white tanks below the Mesquite Canyon Trail

The White Tank Mountains consist of a series of numerous rocky fault ridges and deep canyons. During heavy rainfall water has scoured out a number of depressions or “tanks” in the white granite in canyons near the base of the mountains. These white tanks are the source of the name of this range.

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Browns Peak, Arizona, December 2017

December 9, 2017 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, December 2, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club (SAHC) on a climb of Browns Peak. Browns Peak is located in the Four Peaks Wilderness northeast of Phoenix at the southern terminus of the Mazatzal Mountains. It is the northernmost and highest of the Four Peaks with 7657 feet of elevation. More significantly, Browns Peak is the 18th most prominent peak in Arizona with 3297 feet of topographic prominence.

Looking up at the summit of Browns Peak. The route climbs the steep gully to the right of center.

This was my first SAHC outing for the winter season. We met early in the morning in Oro Valley, carpooled north through Globe and along Roosevelt Lake, then turned west onto the gravel El Oso Road. After several miles we eventually reached the Lone Pine Trailhead north of Browns Peak.

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Three Western Arizona Peaks, November 2017

December 8, 2017 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On November 25-27 I hiked three Western Arizona peaks. Signal Peak and Castle Dome Peak, are located in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge between Yuma and Quartzsite. I climbed these with old and new Arizona peakbagging friends. On the last day I hiked Cunningham Mountain, located just southwest of Quartzite. This was my first time in this region of Arizona and I enjoyed exploring these peaks.

Signal Peak

On Saturday, November 25, Eric Kassan, Stacey Samuels, and I hiked Signal Peak. Signal Peak is located in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge of Western Arizona. Signal Peak is the highpoint of the Kofa Mountains. It is also the 16th most prominent peak in Arizona with 3477 feet of topographic prominence.

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