Southern Arizona Hiking Club Archives – Page 4 of 5

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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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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