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.
We climbed the rest of the gated road up to a saddle on a east-west ridge separating Ash Canyon from Montezuma Canyon to the south. It was a cold morning and I did not mind wearing a neck gaiter for use as face covering when we gathered together.
Bob Thompson Peak
From the saddle we hiked east, traversing on a climber’s trail around a rocky but unnamed “Peak 7259”. Here we got our first view of Bob Thompson Peak. From here it was an easy climb on open slopes to reach the summit.
The cold morning caused haze over the valley below but above the views were clear. I noted the Mule Mountains to the east and the Sierra San José, of Sonora Mexico, to the southeast. Both Miller and Carr Peaks were visible to the northwest. I hiked Carr and Miller Peaks in November 2015 and hope to return to their summits again some day.
Montezuma Peak
We returned to the saddle, then hiked west to the base of the northwest ridge of Montezuma Peak on a ridge trail.
From here we climbed the northeast ridge, mostly staying just left of the ridgeline. Most often we could avoid the brushy sections of the ridge by following openings which zig zagged up the ridge.
By the time we reached the summit of Montezuma Peak the haze had mostly cleared below. The sunny views were a treat. Miller Peak, the highpoint of the Huachuca Mountains, dominated the views to the north. Montezuma Canyon and Montezuma Pass lay below us to the south.
The USA/Mexico border wall was obvious from Montezuma Peak. Many peaks of Sonora, Mexico, lay beyond. The border wall here blocks access to the Huachuca Mountains for endangered jaguars that previously migrated from Mexico.
We descended the same route to regain the connecting ridge and returned east to the saddle. From there we descended the steep road back to our cars. It had been a very scenic and fun day for me, exploring another area of the Huachuca Mountains with fun companions.
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