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.

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.

[Read more…] about South Mountain (Pima), Arizona, February 2019

On February 11 Michael Berry, Matthias Stender, and I hiked up South Mountain of Pima County west  of Sells, Arizona. South Mountain is the 70th most prominent peak in Arizona, with 2020 feet of prominence and 4160 feet of elevation. It is therefore an important peak for those pursuing Arizona Prominence Peaks.

I had read in a previous report by Scott Surgent that a miner’s trail led up the east face of the mountain. Matthias had a road GPS track accessing the east side of South Mountain from his friend Scott Peavy. This track helped us navigate the primitive roads off Arizona Highway 86 to reach the trailhead. The east face of South Mountain, lined with cliffs, rose above us.

[Read more…] about South Mountain (Pima), Arizona, February 2017