Date: January 15, 2022 • Elevation: 1,880 feet • Prominence: 760 feet • Distance: 4.2 miles • Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes • Gain: 910 feet • Conditions: High clouds, very breezy

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ

My primary goal today was to explore Agua Caliente Road, a 40-mile dirt back way from the western suburbs of Phoenix to the meager road net by Hyder in Yuma County. I had never driven in very far on this road. The only time I have been on this road for any distance was with my wife about six years ago, in heavy rain which forced us to bail and get back onto pavement.

Today was dry, no storms in the past two weeks. I was on the road early, intending to be in the general area as the sun rose. From where I live, it was a 90-minute drive through Phoenix, then south on AZ-85 to Hazen Road, which becomes Old US-80. This road then curls west and south through the farming villages of Palo Verde and Arlington. Agua Caliente Road then branches off Old US-80, heading west.

I just needed an excuse to drive all this way, so I looked online and saw a few peaks that caught my interest. First up was Webb Mountain, which rises north of Woolsey Peak. It wasn't that far of a drive to get there, and there appeared to be secondary tracks that got closer to the peak, too.

I did not closely track mileage, but from Old US-80, I drove about 3 or 4 miles "westbound" (actually, west, north, then west again) on Agua Caliente Road. Webb Mountain was to my left (south), and I drove until I was due north of it, crossing a cattle grate at a fence line.

The maps showed a track here, and I planned to start walking from here if necessary, but hoped to drive in a little bit, if possible. To my gentle surprise, the track was in pretty good shape, free of big rocks, generally smooth and no bad ruts. I went slow and had to ease down into and out of a couple sandy arroyos, but I was able to drive in almost a mile, stopping and parking in a clearing before a bigger arroyo that did not look friendly for my Subaru. I was happy to get this far, chopping off two miles of hiking.

The sun was still low in the east and there were clouds that way, muting it as it rose. Above me the sky was generally clear with hazy high clouds. It was cool, about 55°. I suited up, got everything packed and locked, and started walking at 7:45 a.m.. I walked the track south, which worked well. The road wasn't too bad, but higher clearance would be necessary. There is another road, shown on the map, that veers southwest then curls back toward the range. That would be the preferred road to drive. For walking, I kept to the one alongside the fence.

In about twenty minutes I was at the base of the mountain, where the road swings east toward the Hargan Mine. That was my plan, to get to the mine, then hike up to a north ridge and take that to the top. Well, I developed a crush on an attractive northwest-trending ridge right in front of me. From below, it had nice lines, a gentle pitch, and there was a lovely lower ridge that led right up onto it.

I left the road and hiked toward this lower ridge. This worked well, but I had to cross into and out of one steep arroyo along the way, plus deal with a little brush. But the gradient was very gentle and the way obvious. In minutes, I had climbed this lower ridge and placed myself on the main northwest ridge.

The breeze was really strong here. I had not noticed it at all down below, but up here, it was blowing hard, about 20 miles per hour with gusts. It didn't push me off my feet, but it did annoy me. My hat almost flew off more than once.

The climbing was enjoyable. The ridge was narrow, but the rocks solid, and whatever rock outcrops I came upon, there was an easy bypass, either up and over, or around a side. This ridge aimed up toward a rounded rocky dome on the higher ridge above, which either was the summit, or darn close.

I was soon to this knob, which wasn't the summit, but the real summit was very close, about a hundred yards away. I eased around this knob, got to a saddle, then clambered up over the many rocks to the top. Success! The climb had gone very well, much easier than I was expecting.

The top was just a hump of rock, some dirt to stand upon, and one scraggly creosote bush. There was no register or benchmark. The views were good, but the lighting was still lousy. I sat for about fifteen minutes and relaxed, staring at Woolsey Peak across the way. Up here, I had an excellent vantage point to view lovely Woolsey, which I climbed 14 years ago now. My, how time flies.

The breeze was strong, and it chilled me, plus wanted to blow my hat off. I stuffed my ballcap into a pocket and went hatless. I scooted down the rocks and retraced my route down the lower ridges, until I was back onto the desert flats. Back on the road, I walked back to my car, arriving a little after 10:15 a.m.. I had been on the hike for over two hours, including breaks. With the sun a little higher but still kind of muted, I snapped more images, those you see here. I had to play a little with the contrast settings to make them presentable.

I was pleased Webb Mountain had gone well. Other than the heavy wind, it was an easy, straight-forward hike, with no actual hand-over-hand scrambling necessary. There were plenty of rocks, but I was able to walk everything, using the hands just for balance.

Back at the car, I relaxed for a little bit, checked texts and read the maps. Next on the agenda was Yellow Medicine Hill, which I could see from my position, but was about a six mile drive away. So I drove to it.