On Friday, January 24, I joined a large Southern Arizona Hiking Club outing to climb Elephant Head, a rock buttress on the west end of the Santa Rita Mountains. There were 16 of us, 5 men and 11 women, led by Bill Bens and Tammy Derickson. This was the first visit for many of us. The climb of Elephant Head was more than I and others had expected. But everyone reached the top and returned without incident to our cars in good spirits.

We met that cold morning in Tucson and caravanned south, then east, leaving asphalt and finishing the drive on dirt/gravel roads. Bill set a brisk pace from the beginning and I tried to keep up from near the end of the group. At a few rest stops I was able to get some photos but otherwise I just kept moving.

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