On Wednesday, March 27, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club for a climb of Mundo Perdido, a peak in the Baboquivari Mountains north of Sasabe, Arizona. Mundo Perdido (“Lost World”) lies along the spine of the Baboquivari Mountains about a mile NNE of Baboquivari Peak. It has 7111 feet of elevation but only 631 feet of topographic prominence. Nevertheless, it is a strenuous and memorable climb.
Mundo Perdido is one of the Southern Arizona Hiking Club 45 “Emblem” peaks, so I was pleased to join John Ohm, who led the outing, June Meyer, and Tom Tutein who completed the team on the peak. June had hiked the peak several years before, but this was the first time for the rest of us. Most of the route was on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and John had obtained a permit from the Refuge in advance. We had the peak to ourselves.
The route starts at the Brown Canyon Environmental Education Center. The route starts west on a trail up Brown Canyon towards Baboquivari Peak. After about a mile we passed a water tank and corral and continued west on the trail along a creek up another mile to a natural rock arch that passed over the drainage. After some photos we returned to the water tank and headed north along another creek in a narrow canyon. We climbed a steep slope to gain the ENE ridge leading directly up towards Mundo Perdido.
About halfway up this ridge we encountered a tall rock wall extending across the ridge. We passed the wall by climbing up and through a steep notch to our right, the “Gunsight Notch”.
Above the Gunsight Notch we continued up the ridge to below ridge top cliffs then traversed right into a steep, brushy, and loose gully. We pushed ourselves up this gully to reach a saddle. After a badly needed rest we continued up the rocky ridge to the summit. We were fortunate to have high clouds and a mildly cooling breeze for most of the climb.
We enjoyed lunch and a needed rest on the summit. The views were impressive. The air was quite hazy so while distant mountains were recognizable they were not clearly visible.
Baboquivari Peak was clearly visible and very impressive, rising above us nearby to the south. I was pleased to have climbed Baboquivari Peak in November 2017.
We descended the same rocky and often loose gully and ridge to the water tank and corral then hiked directly out to the trailhead. It was a strenuous hike and I was glad the day was not warmer and I had brought 3 liters of water and electrolyte.
The Baboquivari Mountains are scenic and I was pleased to summit Mundo Perdido. Perhaps I will return some day.
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