Date: December 9, 2024 • Elevation: 5,652 feet • Prominence: 432 feet • Distance: 4.1 miles • Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes • Gain: 840 feet (gross) • Conditions: Cold at first, sunny and cloudless, warming later • Partner: Amy Pleckaitis

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ • USGS BM Datasheet

Amy P. was hiking a bunch of peaks in the Dos Cabezas Mountains and let me know of her general schedule. I mentioned I was available Monday morning for a peak or two, any of her choosing. I last hiked with Amy in April of this year, when we tackled a few of the Squaretop hills near Elfrida.

I was up early, on the road at 5:45 a.m., the sun still an hour away from first light. It was chilly but not cold in Bisbee, mid 40s, but as I descended into the Sulphur Springs Valley (Elfrida, et al), the temperature dipped into the low 20s. I stopped in to say hi to the gang manning the Border Patrol checkpoint. They have to stand out in this very cold weather.

I followed US-191 northbound to AZ-181 east, then merged onto AZ-186 now heading north and northwest, meeting Amy at the pullout she had texted to me. It was just a shade after 7 a.m., the day another sunny, clear and dry one, but still very cold, in the 30s now.

State route AZ-186 cuts through a narrow valley on the southwest-facing flanks of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. The main range mass rises north and east, while a series of low hills rise south and west of the highway. The easternmost of these hills is a rocky-topped knoll called Dos Benchmark, for the benchmark once monumented here. This would be the first peak of the day.

Amy had plotted a route that kept mostly to State Trust and Bureau of Land Management (Public) land. The Dos Cabezas Mountains are mostly "public" land, administered by the BLM. But this land is entirely surrounded by private land and access into the range is all-but impossible without someone granting permission. I don't like this arrangement but that's the way it is here.

Dos Benchmark Hill is on a BLM subsection, while where we were parked, alongside AZ-186 near a gate, was State Trust. We were looking at two miles each way, and would have no choice but to cross a sliver of private land in the middle.

We greeted one another and then got busy looking at the map and route. We were moving by 7:15 a.m.. The sun was just now breaching the eastern horizon and lighting up the hills. We scaled the gate and started our trek. The faster we were moving, the better we could keep warm.

The terrain is mostly open with low grass, and spaced-out mesquite trees, but with abundant prickly-pear cactus almost everywhere. We dropped about 40 feet to a draw, then up the other side to scale a ridge. Then we dropped down about 60 feet to another draw, and then scaled a second ridge, also a gain of about 60 feet.

We were careful to ensure we were on State land for now. There were some homes about a half-mile to the north. We did our best to stay out of sight. The likelihood of being seen was low. Even with State Lands permits (which we had), a recalcitrant landowner could give us a hassle if he so chose.

From this second ridge, we descended once again into the main channel of this ridge system, called 7-VT Draw on the map. Once on its opposite side, we were now south of the peak, no more ridges blocking the way. We followed cattle paths through the grass and worked our way to the southern base of the hill itself.

We then marched up about 400 feet of steep slope to the top. Here, the prickly pear cactus was everywhere, growing densely together, forcing us to find ways through and around the plants. There was an assortment of other low scrub such as catclaw and about eight different types of grass. The going wasn't difficult, just slow due to the grass and cactus.

We achieved the top ridge at a lowpoint between two of the ridge's rocky outcrops. The benchmark and presumptive highest point was on the eastern tip, going by the map and our eyes. We walked that way, scaling the rocks carefully, and were soon on top. It had taken us a little over 90 minutes to get here.

The summit is rocky, with a number of large boulders and slabs heaped in various ways. Two big boulders seemed to be a tie for highest point. We tagged or stood upon both. Amy spotted one of the witness markers in a lower rock, but we had no luck finding the actual benchmark. Later, in reviewing the datasheet, a recovery from 1982 mentions that the "cap" was missing but its drill hole was still there. The cap presumably refers to the actual disk, and thus, it's been gone at least for 42 years.

We milled around the summit area for a few minutes, taking photos and looking for a register. It was a messy summit, with lots of rocks and lots of grass. The big Dos Cabezas stood high to the north. They looked lovely in the morning light and shadows.

Amy went over to scale one of the other rock outcrops. It was pretty clear that where we were was highest, and she confirmed that there is no doubt that where we had been was highest. I took a break, then started down, meeting her about fifty feet downslope.

For the walk out, we retraced our route as close as possible, all the while trying to stay on public and state land, and keep our time on the intervening private property as quick as possible. The hike out went quickly, and were back to the cars at 10:30. This had been a fun peak with lovely views, and terrain that was challenging, yet easily manageable. The cactus was thick, but we've seen worse. At least it wasn't cholla.

Amy had plans for another peak, and I was welcome to join, but the time commitment was a little too much for me. I felt I should get home sooner than later to attend to emails as my class has its final exam tomorrow. She gave me some useful information for other hills in this region. This was only the second time I've hiked in the Dos Cabezas, and I wanted to also get a sense of what access is like here myself.

I opted out of the second hike and let Amy get on her way, to not waste any more of her time. We shook hands and parted ways. My thanks to Amy for having me along.

I drove AZ-186 through the village of Dos Cabezas, on towards Willcox. I turned onto exciting Kansas Settlement Road and followed that south to US-191, stopping in Elfrida for gas and a snack. I was home in Bisbee a little after noon.

Funny thing was, I had just a couple emails and not much else on the front burner, so I made myself useful and did some raking in the yard.