The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 8941 • Noble Mountain I was on my second day of a three-day trip through the Alpine and Escudilla Mountain region of eastern Arizona. I drove up from Bisbee via Clifton and the Coronado Trail (US-191) yesterday, hiking five easy peaks along the way, then camping for the night at the Hannagan Campground just south of Hannagan Meadow Lodge. This morning, I started with a hike up Peak 9398 northwest of Hannagan Meadow, then drove toward Alpine. About twenty miles north of Hannagan Meadow brought me to Peak 8941.
Date: May 19, 2024
• Elevation: 8,941 feet
• Prominence: 311 feet
• Distance: 1.3 mile
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 320 feet
• Conditions: Sunny and pleasant
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Peak 8941 lies between South Mountain to the west and Alpine View Peak (boo, hiss) to the east. I had hiked both peaks, and nearby Timber Top, last year, but passed on Peak 8941. Since it is so close to the highway, I added it on to my agenda.
I parked in a clearing at the pass, Peak 8941 rising just to the east of the highway. This is across from FR-403, the road one takes to get to South Mountain. It was still early and cool, but very pleasant. I was ready to go in moments.
I had to scale a barbed-wire fence, there being a couple big rocks placed deliberately to make stepping over the strands easy. I then started steeply upslope, following another fence line upward. This fence was damaged in many spots, trees lying across it or the wires just gone, so moving from one side to the other was easy.
The first segment up slope was easy, done in light forest, with mostly grass underfoot. As I neared the ridge, I came upon more thorn brush and downed trees. I was able to weave around most of it. The fence line stays on the ridge almost all the way to the top.
The hiking wasn't difficult and the thorns were just a minor nuisance. I neared the top, and the fence just dropped to the left downhill. I veered right and made the summit about 20 minutes after starting. The top is wooded but fortunately not choked in brush. I could not locate a register or cairn. Views weren't very good either.
The hike down went well, I just repeated my route and followed lanes as I found them. Only a couple times did the thorns snag me. It would seem this hill somehow escaped the worst of the fires that obliterated the forests on South, Timber Top and Alpine View (boo, hiss).
I was back to my car soon, the round trip covering a little over a mile and under an hour. I drove down into Alpine and stopped at their general store & gas station where I got some drinks, and a $25, 18-inch machete, expecting I'd need it for that dreadful thorn brush (it's some form of locust or acacia, possibly from the same family. The thorns are about a quarter-inch long and hooked, and absolutely fierce).
Elevation: 9,576 feet
• Prominence: 743 feet
• Distance: 2.7 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 355 feet
• Conditions: Lovely
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Driving north out of Alpine, I went just a few miles, turning onto Forest Road 249, signed for Big Lake and also accessing the Williams Valley Recreationa Area. This is a paved route, at least for the few miles I was on it. I drove in about three or four miles, turning right (north) onto FR-8249.
This secondary road does not appear on the forest-service maps, which I find odd. It does appear on the satellite maps and is obviously in existence. I don't like it when roads are simply deleted from maps like this.
The road was decent, a little narrow at first, and I had no idea how far in I would get. A couple trucks with toy-haulers were parked at the entrance. Me, I just drove in my Subaru Forester, and figured I'd get in as far as was safe or sensible.
Turns out the road was in fine shape. It was minorly rocky in spots, but always with an even tread, no ruts or cambering or divots. I drove in about three miles, parking in a clearing near a road junction that leads down to Turkey Draw Spring. This put me within a mile of the top, certainly close enough to walk it from here.
The road walk went well, and other than one slightly steep and rocky segment, my car would have been more than capable. But I had wanted a walk. So far, of the seven peaks I had done, all of them were short hikes. I wanted a little exercise.
The road trends east, then bends north, coming to a gate. I passed through, then met two couples on ATVs, presumably those whose trucks were parked down below. They seemed surprised to see me, one said she did not expect to see a "walker". Other than a quick "hi", they went their way, and me, a walker, went my way.
Noble Mountain is just a big plateau cut by a canyon that forms it into a U-shape, the highpoint being on the east prong of the U, overlooking the canyon. The summit rose slightly ahead as I hiked, covered in dead trees and more of that heavy woody aspen/gambel oak/locust crud that grows after a big fire.
I kept to the road until I was due east of the highpoint. I left it and walked up to the top, wherever it was. I was able to follow open lanes and suspect that I may have been on old vehicle tracks in some places. I got to the "top", then wandered the area for awhile. I think I narrowed it down to some rocks in a cleared area, but I did not see any cairns or registers.
This was a nothing summit and I did not want to linger. I walked back to the road and back to my car. This hike covered almost 3 miles and took an hour and I think I may have sweated a little. The views east at Escudilla Mountain were very nice.
I retreated back to the main highway and north a few miles for my next two peaks, both foothills of mightly Escudilla Mountain.
Elevation: 9,251 feet
• Prominence: 371 feet
• Distance: 2.5 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 490 feet
• Conditions: Superb
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A few miles later, I turned onto FR-8056, the main road that leads up Escudilla Mountain. Lots of people use this road. Hulsey Lake is a small but popular day-use area, and there are hiking trails in the area, too. There are two ranked peaks on these western foothill slopes of Escudilla Mountain that interest me: Peak 9251, and Peak 8992.
I drove in a couple miles, a little past Hulsey Lake, intending to climb Peak 9251 first. The map shows a trail that leads to near the saddle below the peak, but when I got to the part on the road where the trail should have been, I saw nothing. So I drove a little farther and pulled into a cleared area beside a road that is gated, but open for hiking. Another Subaru Forester was parked here as well.
I hopped the gate and followed the road, which rose and fell with the lay of the land, then angled east, away from Peak 9251 and more toward Escudilla Mountain. Here, I met a woman out walking her dog. She was friendly and so was the dog, who made some friendly lunges toward me to get a pet. She must have been the owner of that other Soob.
I left the track and went up and down a ridge, dropping about 50 feet into a drainage, and even crossing a flowing creek. Then I hiked up a gentle gradient to the saddle east of the peak. I came upon the trail here, and used it for the small segment to the saddle.
There has been some fire damage here at the saddle, but mainly trees on their side and few dead standing ones, but there is also some live healthy trees here, too, including ponderosa. Compared to the peaks I have just been on, this was by far the prettiest of them all.
I started up the slope, which gets steep fast but is manageable. A fence line cuts across the slope, and there was a loose path alongside it, so I used that to march up the steep slopes. This gained me about 150 feet and put me on the peak's short ridge.
The ridge was lovely, with grasses, rocks and live trees. Its grade lessened, then became steeper one more time as it gained the last slope to the summit. The top is a narrow ridge about 50 feet long, with steep drops to both sides. A large rock sits smack on the summit, but there were no cairns or registers. Views from here were excellent, including a fantastic view of the high ridges of Escudilla Mountain. I could see its lookout tower clearly.
I sat for a rest on the rock and relaxed, then started down, retracing my route all the way back to my car. This hike had gone well and I enjoyed it very much. This peak has some interesting cliffs, but the hiking route avoids these.
I was four for four today and it was around noon. Peak 8992 rises close by and I would be there in moments.
Elevation: 8,992 feet
• Prominence: 372 feet
• Distance: 0.5 mile
• Time: 30 minutes
• Gain: 370 feet
• Conditions: Outstanding
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It was just a minute or two of a drive to get close to Peak 8992, which rises south of Hulsey Lake. I parked in a clearing under a tree north of the peak.
The hike is short and very direct, no fanciness involved. The slope steepens immediately. In one stretch, the rock was a little too loose for my liking. Even the bigger ones would break free under my feet. I angled in toward some trees and logs.
The slope moderates very briefly, then steepens again for its final short push to the top. The slope here was a little more solid and dependable. I had to weave around downed logs and occasional brush, but it was an otherwise easy peak and I was soon on top.
This peak has a very narrow ridge, just a few feet wide. I found a cairn and register, and signed in, and snapped a few images. I had a good view of the Noble Mountain mass, although I would not be able to point out the summit.
Going down, I retraced my route, but on that looser lower slope, I felt uneasy about its tendency to slide. It was just steep enough to give me concern. So I went down a nearby slope, this one covered in logs and crud. But at least it offered me places to hold on to and to place my feet. It was messy but safe, and I was soon back to my car.
This peak was strictly a quickie, one of opportunity. It only took me a half hour round trip and nothing really stands out about it. I was here a year ago to climb it but a thunderstorm chased me away.
I had five peaks done so far and it was just 1 p.m. or so. There were three more on the back side of Escudilla Mountain that interested me. If everything went smoothly, maybe I could get those done before darkness set in. There was only one way to find out. The story continues here.
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