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.
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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