On Wednesday, March 28, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club on climbs of two peaks in the Mustang Mountains of Arizona. The Mustang Mountains are a small range lying east of Sonoita and between the Whetstone Mountains to the north and the Huachuca Mountains to the south. These peaks have only moderate prominence with short climbs but their slopes are steep. Their location provides views of many surrounding ranges.
Hiking through open country low on the north slopes of Peak 6469
John Ohm led the trip and drove us into the range just a few miles off highway 82. Our party included Bill Hiscox, June Meyer, and John Perillo, with whom I have shared many other trips this winter season. Our parking spot provided a base from which we climbed each peak in succession.
Looking south from Peak 6469 towards the Huachuca Mountains
Our first goal was Peak 6469, the highpoint of the Mustang Mountains. This peak is the 137th most prominent peak in Arizona with 1544 feet of topographic prominence. We climbed the north slopes of the peak, at first in open country but eventually into oak and pine forest on steep and sometimes loose slopes. The summit was at a rocky spot that provided open views to the east, south, and west. I particularly noted Huachuca Peak to the south which I planned to visit the following Saturday.
Looking north at the south face cliffs of Mustang Peak from our descent of Peak 6469
We returned to our car, had lunch, then headed for our second goal, Mustang Peak. Mustang Peak has 6317 of elevation and only 880 feet of topographic prominence, but its south face is lined with a high cliff.
We passed through an ocotillo forest on our traverse to the east ridge of Mustang Peak
We traversed north to reach the east ridge, then climbed directly up the steep and loose slope. Higher we followed intermittent game trails through cliffy bands and found firmer footing above the south face cliff.
The Whetstone Mountains to the north from the summit of Mustang Peak
The summit of Mustang Peak is open and provides views in all directions. I noted snow on the highest peaks of the Chiricahua Range far to the east. We could identify Apache Peak and French Joe Peak in the Whetstone Mountains to our north, which we had climbed three weeks earlier. Many other major and minor ranges surrounded us.
Peak 6469, the highpoint of the Mustang Mountains, to the south from Mustang Peak
We took care on the descent and we all reached our car without mishap on the steep and loose slopes. Whenever I pass by the Mustang Mountains I will remember this pleasant day and the companions I shared it with.
Hi – My name is Brad Hartliep. I grew up in Tucson, AZ – and I am the man that carved the Mustang Runestones [ between 1990 and 1991 – I don’t why Pashka is saying 1993, maybe he’s forgotten the exact year ] .. Pashka assisted me with creating the rune lettering and sentence structure, but had nothing to do with carving the rune .. after I had the wording and rune shapes from Pashka, I hiked up to the cave and carved the rune into the stone, using some crude stone carving chisels that I built and sometime “hand scratching” [ digging into the stone and scrapping or picking instead of chiseling with a hammer ] .. I am a trained Steel and Stone Engraver .. At the the time I was living in Bisbee, east of Sierra Vista – maybe about a 45 minute drive and about a two hour hike to the cave – and once a week I would travel back to Tucson, stopping outside of Whetstone, driving as far up the trail as I could, back into the Whetstone/Mustange Mountains, and hiking up to the cave to do some more engraving on the stone [ which sits outside of the cave and does not cause any damage to the Indian Petroglyphs inside of the cave ] .. took me several months, doing a little engraving on each trip – maybe about two hours on each trip – an hour on really hot days in order to have enough water to get back to my Jeep .. I covered it up with stone powder and desert debris to hide it .. used stone powder, sand, desert debris to “age” it and polish up the carving marks .. they were NOT carved in the 1200s and Scott Wolter is NOT an “archaeologist” .. I laughed while watching his “expertise” unfolding ..
Brad Hartliep
Engraver
Mustang “Runestone”
1990 – 1991
I am a professional [ 3rd generation ] engraver , both in stone and in steel .. I’m the 5th member of my family trained in the art of engraving .. my Grandfather, three of my Uncles, and me ..
Pashka did NOT do the engraving .. Pashka did the “translation”, for lack of a better word .. he created the runes .. gave me the shapes and designs that would match the message .. I added his name as recognition for his work in helping create the design .. Pashka was not an engraver .. he was a Linguist .. he could read and write the language ..
There wasn’t anything nefarious about it .. I wasn’t trying to make it look Centuries old .. it’s a cave out in the middle of the desert, along a very difficult trail, and VERY FEW people make the hike to see it .. it wasn’t even “protected” at the time I did the engraving .. the state didn’t even know about it .. no one even knew it was there – except for me .. and it wasn’t discovered for another 20 years ..
I was living in Bisbee, about 45 minutes east of Huachuca and Whetsone and making weekly trips to hike in the Mustang and Whetstone Mountains, which are immediately north of Mustang Mountains, when I met Pashka .. we talked and I found out about his interests ..
I grew up in Tucson and spent my teenage years hiking all over the West .. I would spend days hiking .. in the Whetstones .. in the Superstition Mountains .. the Mule Mountains .. all over Arizona and New Mexico and Utah .. I discovered that cave in the early 1980s .. ’81 or ‘82 I think .. made a couple of trips to it .. made copies of the Indian Petroglyphs .. then in late ‘84 I went in the Air Force .. and returned in 1990 ..
I don’t know anything about the carvings inside the cave .. I didn’t do those and they weren’t there when I left .. I did the engraving on the flat stone sitting outside the cave .. I moved to Texas and haven’t been back to the Cave or the Whetstones or the Mustang Mountains since August 1992 ..
It could be Pashka visited after I left and did some carving on his own .. or it could be one of the hikers made those marks “copying” my work .. I’d have to see them .. don’t know if they are “runes” or just scratchings of names or symbols ..
I didn’t get paid .. Pashka and I created the “runes” on paper .. and then about a week later I gathered a small set of carving tools that I had made – hammer, couple of different shaped chisels, awl – and hiked back into the mountains .. its about a 2 or 2 and half hour hike .. worked alone for a few hours .. and then hiked back out .. I don’t remember how many trips I made .. wasn’t on a timeclock .. no one else was hiking to the cave .. I would gather up some “rock dust” / desert dirt from the surrounding desert and kind of scrub it into the engravings .. if you weren’t looking directly at it ands studying it, you couldn’t tell there was any engraving .. it probably got washed away during their first good monsoon .. maybe two or three rain storms .. sounds like no one found the cave until 2010 or so .. I didn’t really keep up tracking it til I saw the story here a week or so ago ..
I don’t even know of pashka is still around .. I only talked to him those few times when we began forming the message .. and then showed him the cave and the message I had engraved .. I moved to Texas a few months later ..
I don’t know what you mean by “Huachuca Cliff Wall Inscription” or “the Boulder with his name” .. the only “boulder” I am aware of is the one with the “runes” – I don’t recall putting engravings anywhere else but I may have forgotten about them .. I’d have to see a picture of what you mean .. if Pashka’s name is scratched in English somewhere I didn’t do that .. if there is a “Pashka” Rune somewhere other than on the stone immediately outside the cave you would have to show me some pictures .. also any pictures inside the cave of scratchings over the Indian Petroglyphs – whatever those are I didn’t do them .. I do not engrave over other works of art unless the other engraver gives me express permission to “repair” his or her engraving ..
Hope this answers your questions,
Brad