Arizona Archives – Page 14 of 32 – GlassMountains Trip Reports

Mount Hopkins, Arizona, December 2020

December 17, 2020 by Paul McClellan 2 Comments

On Thursday, December 3, I hiked to the summit of Mount Hopkins in the Santa Rita Mountains of Southern Arizona. The Santa Rita mountains form the southern border of the Tucson basin. The highest peak of the range, Mount Wrightson, rises about 7000 feet above Tucson. It is accompanied to its west by lower Mount Hopkins. Both peaks are quite visible from bicycle routes in Tucson. I had hiked Mount Wrightson in March 2015, but had not yet visited Mount Hopkins. So it was past time to do so.

Mount Hopkins from the Super Trail (2015-03-10)

Mount Wrightson from the Agua Caliente Trail

I drove to Madera Canyon and parked at the end of the road with access to several trails. I followed the Old Baldy, Vault Mine, and Agua Caliente Trails to a saddle below Mount Hopkins on its east side. It was quite windy and cool in the morning, but I was sheltered from most of the wind while climbing up the steep north side of the peak.

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Bob Thompson and Montezuma Peaks, Arizona, November 2020

December 14, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Monday, November 30, I joined five other members of the Southern Arizona Hiking Club for a climb of Bob Thompson and Montezuma Peaks. These peaks lie in the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. It was my first club climb since Linda and I returned to Arizona for the winter.

The Southern Arizona Hiking Club has established “Covid Rules” for club hikes which precludes carpooling. So the six of us each drove up Ash Canyon and parked beside the primitive road.

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South College Peak, Arizona, April 2020

April 29, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, April 15, Linda and I camped at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area north of Douglas, Arizona. We had the camping area to ourselves. It was not the season for Sandhill Cranes, but we enjoyed walking between ponds listening to the Yellow-headed Blackbirds, seeing Snowy Egrets, and watching the frogs watching us from the edge of the ponds.

North (L) and South (R) College Peaks from Arizona Highway 80

My goal the next day was to climb South College Peak, the highpoint of the Perilla Mountains of SE Arizona. That morning I drove east from the town of Douglas on Arizona Highway 80 and found an access road that led to the north side of College Peaks. I parked on a primitive road leading towards the peaks.

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West Cedar Mountain, Arizona, April 2020

April 21, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, April 4, I left Tucson for a few days to visit three Arizona prominence peaks. After climbing Buckskin Benchmark on Sunday and the Date Creek Mountains highpoint on Monday, I drove onto the Agua Fria National Monument Monday afternoon and found a secluded camping spot a quarter mile from the dusty and busy Bloody Basin Road. I spend another pleasant evening and night there.

East Cedar Mountain (L) and West Cedar Mountain (R) from Bloody Basin Road

The next morning, Tuesday, I continued driving east on the dirt Bloody Basin Road towards my next and last destination for this trip, West Cedar Mountain. West Cedar Mountain has 1769 feet of topographic prominence and 5489 feet of elevation. It lies to the west of the Mazatzal Mountains across the Wild and Scenic Verde River, and has been on my “Wish List” for several years. I expected the hike, itself, to be fairly short, but two friends had previously hiked the peak and they reported a lot of thorny brush. I dressed defensively.

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