The Mountains of Arizona
www.surgent.net |
|
23-Caliber Peak • Peak 5801 • Peak 6047 Today's hikes would take place near Stockton Pass, in the southern Pinaleño Mountains of Graham County. There are three peaks nearby this pass, and all looked like short uncomplicated hikes. I was also interested in driving to the Bonita Store, in the valley to the west, where Billy the Kid shot and killed his first man in 1877. The whole state (and Southwest) has been experiencing a heatwave with temperatures above 110° in the lower deserts, and mid-90s in the middle elevations such as Bisbee and Safford. These peaks would be high enough so that with an early start, I could count on comfortable temperatures. Even though it's been in the 90s, the overnight lows will dip into the 50s. Storms are not a concern this time of year. I wanted to be at Stockton Pass as close to dawn as possible. I left my home in Bisbee at 3:15 a.m. and drove through Willcox and up US-191 toward Safford, turning onto AZ-266. It was about 5:20 a.m. now and still dark. I drove in a few miles then pulled off onto a dirt track, turning off the car and catching a brief nap. When the sun rose, I got moving, driving the last few miles to Stockton Pass. I had intended to hike the three peaks "in order" from east to west, meaning I would start with Peak 6047 first. It's near the Stockton Pass campground, this being Coronado National Forest land. When I rolled in, I did not like the look of the peak. It was much rockier and brushier than I expected. Instead, I chose to hike 23-Caliber Peak first, this being the middle of the three, but being the highest and with the most prominence of this tiny batch. So I drove another mile west along AZ-266, parking in a small pullout north of the peak.
Date: September 29, 2024
• Elevation: 6,240 feet
• Prominence: 560 feet
• Distance: 1.4 miles
• Time: 70 minutes
• Gain: 672 feet
• Conditions: Clear skies, cool but no chill
Arizona
•
Main
•
PB
•
LoJ
•
USGS BM Datasheet
23-Caliber Peak is named for its benchmark, stamped 23-Cal. It's a rocky peak but with smooth lines and abundant grass, but not too many big trees. I got myself sorted out and started walking at 6:25 a.m..The sun was up but still low in the east, and I was in shadows for the first half hour. It was cool but not cold, in the high 60s.
I walked through clumpy knee-high grass a few yards, then eased over a barbed-wire fence. Then I had to drop into Mother Canyon, which parallels the highway. The drops weren't much, maybe thirty feet, but they were sloppy with loose rocks and plants and woody crud everywhere. I had to cross three such braids before placing myself on a slope that looked open and would take me to the high ridge about 400 feet above.
Trees were spaced out, mainly junipers and some oaks. The grass was abundant, though, and often up to my knees and hiding the ground beneath. I tried to walk along open lanes but that wasn't always possible. I marched up this rib and it worked well, now on the high ridge with the sun fully up.
The views were fantastic. The ridge itself was grassy, and there were lots of rock outcrops but they were spaced around, not piled up into cliffs. The grade was much more lenient, too. I had better luck with open lanes but still watched my feet and the ground carefully. Once upon the rocks, I usually tackled them head on, but the scrambling was easy, barely Class-2.
Up ahead was a point, and as usual, once I got there, it wasn't the top, but the top was now visible. I was soon at the highpoint rocks, a one-way climb of about 35 minutes and 670 feet of gain. With the sun still low, I had good lighting for photos. The broad Aravaipa Valley laid out toward the west, and the bulk of the Pinaleño Mountains rose close by to the north.
I found two of the witness markers but not the actual Benchmark. I found what appeared to be a stump of one in a rock, so I assumed that's what it was and that someone had taken it years ago. But the datasheets suggest there are two such sets of benchmarks. I did not see the others, and since I was at the highpoint anyway, where else would they have been?
I found a register, slightly soggy but still functional. The Southern Arizona Hiking Club comes here, and names in the log went back over 20 years. A group had been up here earlier this year. This contradicts the apparent lack of popularity of the peak at both Peakbagger and ListsofJohn, which show just a handful of people having claimed it.
I started down, following the same route down, all the while watching my step and looking out for snakes. The outbound hike took about a half hour, and the round trip just over an hour. It was warmer now, into the mid 70s, but with a breeze and overall, very comfortable. My next peak was just a mile to the west.
Elevation: 5,801 feet
• Prominence: 371 feet
• Distance: 1 mile
• Time: 35 minutes
• Gain: 380 feet
• Conditions: Same, with a breeze
PB
•
LoJ
This peak rises just a mile west, and I parked beneath a tree in a pullout across the road from the peak. I was moving in moments. Like before, I had to cross through some dense grass then carefully over a barbed-wire fence. As the slopes started, the grass grew lighter and I could once again see my feet.
I followed a gently-sloped ridge aiming southwest for the peak's top. The terrain was very friendly, with open slopes, rocks and grass, much like before. But it wasn't as rocky as on 23-Caliber Peak. The grass would vary between light and spaced out, and thick up to my knees.
I was on top the peak after 15 minutes. The top is a clump of rocks with a juniper off to the side, and lots of grass. I stood atop the highest rock, but found no registers or other signs of previous visitors. The sun was higher now but conditions were still pleasant, the air temperature holding steady in the mid 70s with a breeze.
This is the last peak heading west, so out that way was twenty miles of desert plain, the Aravaipa Valley. The Galiuro Range was way off to the west and southwest, and I could see foothills of the Santa Teresa Mountains to the northwest. A white splotch of buildings about eight miles away is the Fort Grant State Prison, formerly Fort Grant the military outpost.
I didn't spend any time here. Once satisfied I got what I came for, I turned around and followed the same route out. This hike went fast, barely over a half hour.
I debated whether to go check out the Bonita Store now, then double back and take a second look at Peak 6047. I chose to go to the peak first. The weather was holding steady and I wanted to take advantage of whatever morning pleasantness I could before things got warmer.
Elevation: 6,047 feet
• Prominence: 347 feet
• Distance: 0.8 mile
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 350 feet
• Conditions: Calm, staying steady
PB
•
LoJ
I drove back a couple miles, back to the Stockton Pass campground. I went in farther, parking in a day-use area underneath of some trees. This put me northwest of the peak, which from this angle, didn't look so bad as it did earlier this morning.
It was clear, though, that this peak would have more brush and trees than the first two. I started walking and crossed yet another fence, then hiked by sight and smell toward a ridge coming off the peak to its north. The brush and trees were heavy but I could always squeeze through openings and find lanes. One upside: the grass wasn't as thick here.
I was soon on this north ridge, which I followed toward the peak, gaining gently along the way. This leads to a rocky clump, then about twenty feet of downhill to a saddle below the peak, which rose about 150 feet above.
This final slope was steep with loose rock and much grassier, but it was short, and I was soon on top. Its tiny summit ridge runs about thirty feet long and five feet wide. I found the top rock and tagged it, and also noted a metal memorial structure left here by someone for their pal. I left it alone. There was no cairn or register. I did not linger. I turned back and headed down.
The hike out went fast and this was another quick hike, taking just 45 minutes. It was just a little after 9 a.m. and I had climbed the three peaks I had wanted to climb. And yes, it was warming now, about 80°. These three peaks aren't epics but as a group, were enjoyable. Of the three, 23-Caliber sees the most visitors. I saw a few people in spots glassing the slopes, probably hunters preparing for the upcoming season.
Now I went to check out the Bonita Store. This building lies in the community of Bonita, where AZ-266 ends, and a spur takes off north to the Fort Grant Prison.
Fort Grant was established in the 1860s as part of the military's series of posts and forts in what was then the New Mexico Territory. It rose in importance as the Apache Wars started up in 1862, on through its ending in 1890. The fort lies on the lower slopes of the Pinaleño Mountains.
The town of Bonita came about at the time, adjoining to the fort and offering the basics of civilian life such as a hotel, a store, and the nexus-point of a few ranches in the region. These days, Bonita is just a few homes and derelict buildings, and a school which still functions.
It was here that in 1877, Henry McCarty (Antrim), age 17, arrived to find his fortune in the world. He started calling himself William Bonney while here. He arrived as an orphan, his mother dying in Silver City, New Mexico, and his step-father abandoning him afterwards. He was a complete unknown, just a teenager with no history. He tried to find work at the local ranches but couldn't cut it. He gambled to get by.
In August 1877, he killed a man, a blacksmith named Francis "Windy" Cahill, who was known to torment the young man. During their final tangle, Cahill had Henry on the ground and was getting the better of him. Henry then pulled out a pistol and shot Cahill. The shooting took place not inside the store, but directly outside. The wound was mortal and Cahill died the next day.
McCarty fled, but was arrested and brought back here, where he was held ready to be transported out, when he was able to flee again. He would then go on to New Mexico and get involved in cattle rustling and the Lincoln County War, eventually being credited with 21 killings. Cahill was his first. By this time he was being called Billy the Kid, and he was shot dead in 1881 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, aged 21.
Here are two websites I found to be well-written and interesting: blog.truewestmagazine.com and justwestofmyheart.blogspot.
My wife and I drove through Bonita back in 2006, and I recall seeing the Bonita Store at the time but not thinking much of it. I was not aware of its history, though. Since then, I learned of its place in history as part of the Billy the Kid saga, and wanted to go back.
The store and building still stand. It's on private land and fenced off, but that's okay. I could see it just fine from the fence and that's all I really wanted to see. This is a very remote part of Arizona, even now, so to ponder what it was like here 147 years ago is hard to fathom. The building still has that "old west" style of paint on its main sign. It's a large building and still looks like it's in good shape.
Fort Grant itself was decommissioned as a fort and for about twenty years sat fallow before being turned over to Arizona as its home for wayward youth (I think a nice way of saying a juvenile detention center a hundred years ago), which ran for about 50 years. About 40 years ago, it became a prison. I had no intention to go visit it.
I spent just a few minutes touring the area. I had about 120 miles to get home, and was feeling tired but in a good way. The three peaks combined for just over two miles of hiking but with almost 1,300 feet of elevation gain. As I was driving out, what do I see sunning itself on the road? A nice plump rattlesnake. Yep, they're out there. Somehow, I stepped on nary a one. The drive home went well. I took it slow, taking back roads, and a stop in Willcox for cold drinks. I was home by 11:45 a.m., and after showering, plopped into bed for a two-hour nap. |
|