Hiking Reports

Travel using primarily feet only. Hands might be used with hiking poles for balance or uphill travel.

Cimarron Peak, Arizona, February 2019

February 24, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Sunday, February 17, I joined Eric Kassan, Stacey Samuels, and Adam Humphreys on a hike of Cimarron Peak in Southern Arizona. Cimarron Peak lies west of the village of Kaka and north of the village of Hickiwan, Arizona. The peak has been of interest to me for several seasons in Arizona. It has only 4124 feet of elevation, but 1984 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 74th most prominent peak in Arizona.

Cimarron Peak from Rabia Benchmark — Cimarron Peak is the broad peak in the center horizon in this view from Rabia Benchmark (Sierra Blanca highpoint)

Cimarron Peak also has 26 miles of isolation, meaning the nearest peak higher than it is 26 miles away. This makes it the 36th most isolated peak in Arizona. It certainly feels isolated, as it is miles from paved roads and the road providing best access to it has some nasty erosion in spots. Cimarron Peak has few visitors and visiting it seems an adventure in exploration.

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South Mountain (Pima), Arizona, February 2019

February 23, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, February 16, Eric Kassan, Stacey Samuels, Adam Humphreys, and I hiked up South Mountain of Pima County west of Sells, Arizona. South Mountain has about 4160 feet of elevation and 2020 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 70th most prominent peak in Arizona. This was my second visit to South Mountain.

South Mountain from Arizona Highway 86 northeast of Sells

We met on Arizona Highway 86 and I led our drive in on primitive roads through a lush and green desert. On the way I spooked four jackrabbits at different points. I had last visited South Mountain in November 2017 and had driving notes from that drive. But I was surprised how a recently graded road then had become eroded in only two years.

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Harquahala Mountain, February, 2019

February 13, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In early February Linda and I and our dogs camped in the open desert near Vicksburg, Arizona, east of Quartzsite. We were boondocking, which meant we had no hookups but did have a lot of room for ourselves and dark nights. We spent three nights there. Linda spent February 6 and 7 hiking and mountain biking from our campsite. On the morning of February 6 I left camp to hike Harquahala Mountain.

The view from the Harquahala Pack Trail which climbs over the high saddle ahead

From camp I drove through Salome on US 60, then followed a dirt road to the Harquahala Pack Trail trailhead. The trail climbs from the McMullen Valley floor to the summit of Harquahala Mountain. Harquahala Mountain (Yavapai: ‘Hakhe:la), the highpoint of the Harquahala Mountains, is the 17th most prominent peak in Arizona with 3461 feet of topographic prominence and 5681 feet of elevation.

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Oregon Isolation Peaks, August 2018

October 5, 2018 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Oregon has 27 peaks with at least 25 miles of topographic isolation. Each of these peaks are at least 25 miles from any other peak having higher elevation. Topographic isolation is another way, beyond highest elevation and most topographic prominence, to identify potentially interesting peaks to visit.

In August I visited two Oregon Isolation Peaks. I enjoyed exploring parts of Oregon I had never before seen, though the visibility was poor due to wildfire smoke.

Juniper Mountain

My Jeep parked beside Horseshoe Spring below Juniper Mountain

On Tuesday August 21 I visited Juniper Mountain east of US Highway 395 between Lakeview and Burns in southeast Oregon. Juniper Mountain lies in the Bureau of Land Management’s Lakeview District and is bisected by the Lake and Harney County Lines. It is accessible by driving rangeland roads east of US 395. Good tires are reassuring on these sometimes rocky roads.

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