After climbing Swisshelm mountain on March 19, Eric Kassan, Rich Hensley, and I drove north late that afternoon from Swisshelm Mountain to find our campsite for the evening and night. We hoped to get close to Mae West Peaks in the Little Dragoon Mountains, our goal for Sunday. Eric wanted to explore an access option he had researched via Google Earth that would put us close to the east side of the peaks. We succeeded in getting near where we wanted to be, but we were unsure whether we were trespassing or not. We decided to camp out of view of any homes and take our chances that we would not be rounded up by landowners.
Mae West Peaks from near our campsite at sunrise
It was a very pleasant evening and night and we were ready to leave our cars by 6:45am Sunday. It was going to be much more pleasant to get an earlier start hiking this day than the previous day.
Mae West Peaks West (left) and East (right) from low on our ascent slope
We crossed through an unlocked gate and headed for the peaks, finding a good road leading to a corral. We passed through this and eventually entered a wash that provided good passage towards the peaks. Eventually we climbed a slope leading to the north up Mae West Peak East, the lower of the two summits.
Signing the registry and taking photos on Mae West Peak East
The views of the surrounding slopes, peaks, and mountain ranges were very nice. We signed the informal registry, took pictures, and rested a bit.
Mae West Peak West from the east summit
From here we descended west to the saddle between the Mae West Peaks and ascended the east ridge of Mae West Peak West, the higher of the two summits.
The Rincon and Santa Catalina Mountains from Mae West Peak West
I again enjoyed the summit views. The view west towards the Rincon and Santa Catalina Mountains was particularly nice. Bassett Peak in the Galiuro Mountains and Reiley Peak in the Winchester Mountains to the north, Apache Peak in the Whetstone Mountains to the southwest, and Mount Grant in the Dragoon Mountains to the south await my future visit, perhaps this autumn.
Mae West Peak East with Lime Peak behind and Dos Cabezas Mountains in the distance
To the south and east dust was rising from the valleys, apparently from strong winds. It reminded me of Oregon valley fog.
Mae West Peaks from our descent ridge
We decided to return to our cars by descending and traversing around the south face of Mae West Peak West. This involved carefully skirting some cliffs on sometimes loose slopes, but we reached the south ridge without incident.
Looking back from the pleasant wash we followed out towards our cars
We descended the south slope a bit, then dropped down a grassy slope into the valley below leading towards our cars. We worked through several cactus patches but the footing was good. We entered a wash and enjoyed the good travel it provided most of the rest of the way out to our cars.
Our cars were apparently untouched when we returned. After changing shoes we caravanned out on the jeep road passing near some homes without incident. It was a successful day capping a interesting weekend exploring Southeastern Arizona mountains. What a great way to experience Arizona!
Leave a Reply