The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 3994 • Peak 3879 Gold Creek starts on the east slopes of the Mazatzal Mountains north of Mount Ord, and empties eastward, feeding into Tonto Creek near the community of Jakes Corners, and eventually into Lake Roosevelt. The creek cuts through a clump of hills that lie east of the Beeline Highway (AZ-87) roughly between mileposts 232 to 234. In these hills are three ranked summits, of which two lie close to the highway. It is these two, Peaks 3994 and 3879, that I would hike this morning. The third is lower down and better accessed from Jakes Corners, which I'll save for another day.
Date: March 20, 2020
• Elevation: 3,994 feet
• Prominence: 314 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 510 feet
• Conditions: Gorgeous
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
We had a strong late-winter storm pass through the state during the middle of the week, dropping a lot of rain and snow at the higher elevations. In Payson, we got about an inch of snow on Wednesday night, but it melted by later the following morning.
The storm lingered into Thursday, but by late in the day, it had mostly moved on, and the late-day sun shone through, the first direct sunlight in two days. The next day (today), the clouds were gone. The day started bright blue and sunny, but cold, temperatures in the 30s in Payson.
I am essentially working from home these days due to the COVID19 pandemic and the strong suggestion that we all practice social distancing. Well, I've been doing that since I was a teenager, so I am an expert. We're not under any restrictions about driving, and I did not have anything urgent at work, so I got up early and hiked these two peaks, knowing it was unlikely I would see anyone on these hills, much less stand within 6 feet of them.
From Payson, I drove southbound on the Beeline, stopping for photograps of the magnificent Mazatzal Mountains covered in snow. Roughly 20 miles from home, I was near these hills. I got onto the northbound lanes of the Beeline at a median crossover, then drove north slightly to a wide pull-out near a corral and windmill, the latter visible from the highway. I parked in the clearing, backing into a thicket of brush and low trees so as to hide my car from traffic.
I rolled in about 8 sharp, the day sunny and clear, and a little warmer down lower, about in the mid 40s. I went light, just my poles, camera and a bottle of liquid. I did not wear my pack. My first objective, Peak 3994, lies about a mile to the southeast, but visible. This would be a very quick, straightforward hike.
The ground was muddy and soft due to the rains. In one low-lying sumpy area, the mud was so soft that I stepped into it about 4 inches, almost like quicksand. On the slopes, the mud was not an issue. The ground is covered in grasses and thick brush, a mix of pinon and juniper, mountain oak, and succulents such as agave and low cactus.
I crossed a barbed-wire fence early on. This one was easy to cross since the wires were loose, so I pushed them down and carefully stepped over. Higher up, I came to another barbed-wire fence, this one much more sturdy with vertical supports every three feet. The wires were taut, so pushing them down was not an option. However, a juniper nearby had branches that reached over the fence, so I climbed the tree about four feet and used the tree branches and its stump to get myself over the fence. I was proud of myself!
I continued upward. The brush would close in at times, but there was always a path through the brush, put in by nature's bulldozers: cattle. The paths meandered, but I was able to get to the high ridge with almost no actual bush-whacking. At worst, I had to plow through twenty feet of tangles. Otherwise, the cow paths acted like trails for me.
Up on the high ridge, the brush lightened and I followed a cow path to the top at the east end of the small ridge. Cattle get this high, judging by the paths and occasional poo piles. The one-way hike covered about a mile when the zigs and zags are accounted for, and a shade over 500 feet of gain. The summit is marked by a large cairn, and the views from up here were fantastic, especially of the snowy higher peaks including Mount Ord just to the south.
I did not spend long up here. I looked around but otherwise just turned around and hiked out. The egress went fast, and I was back to my car in about an hour total, Peak 3994 now in the books. This was an enjoyable hike, with unexpectedly nice scenery. It's not a bucket-list peak, but I enjoyed it.
At the car, I rested about 5 minutes before starting the second hike to Peak 3879.
Date: March 20, 2020
• Elevation: 3,879 feet
• Prominence: 319 feet
• Distance: 3 miles
• Time: 90 minutes
• Gain: 400 feet
• Conditions: Clear and cool
PB
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LoJ
From my car, I walked down to the windmill and corral, then a weak path along a fence line to where Gold Creek flows through a culvert under the highway. It was flowing heavy today, no surprise given the recent weather. I was forced upward and onto the shoulder of the highway, which I really did not want to be on, given the fast-moving cars. There is a lot of garbage strewn about the sides of the highway. I was amazed.
I walked about a half mile along the highway to a low point where the highway passes through roadcuts in the hills. There is a trail up this lowpoint, gaining about fifteen feet. I was quickly above the highway and within moments, could not hear a thing. The ground here was lovely: open meadow with low grass and spotty trees and brush. I crossed a fence early. Like the earlier hike, the wires were loose enough so I could push them down.
Up ahead was a slope, and I hiked up it, gaining about a hundred feet. This put me on a long ridge with the highpoint a little less than a mile to the east, itself rising about 150 feet above the ridge. The terrain here was not as steep but it was much rockier. The trees and brush was lighter, though. I followed cow paths and my own instincts upward, gaining the summit fairly quickly, the one-way hike taking about 40 minutes from the car.
The views here were good, too. You get a little perch from which to view the Mazatzal Mountains, the Mogollon Rim and the Sierra Ancha. I was surprised to see a sign-in register in the summit cairn, and even more surprised that there had been people up here last December, and another person in November.
I stayed up here about five minutes, wandering the top and looking at the surrounding peaks and valleys. Gold Creek cuts a deep canyon to the south of this peak, and I could hear it up here. The canyon has a few cliff walls and looks like an interesting hike. However, a quick google search revealed no information about it, so maybe no one's done it.
I hiked out the way I came up, and was back to my car about 10:30 a.m.. I did not linger. I got in and drove right home. I had some things to do and actual work to attend to. I enjoyed this outing and got a decent workout, with about 5 miles of hiking and nearly a thousand feet of elevation gain. These hills may not look like much, but they are pretty and worth the short amount of time to explore them.
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