The Mountains of Arizona
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Chop Benchmark • Peak 7693 • Peak 7676 These six peaks lie north of Humphreys Peak, where the land drops toward the Babbitt Ranch and the Navajo Nation. Chop Benchmark is the "main" peak in this grouping, and the only one with a de facto name. The peaks lie in a rough circle surrounding Indian Flat, a large meadow and what appears to be some ranch outfit. Although this is all Coconino National Forest land, the maps show some private parcels within, including Indian Flat. Matthias suggested these peaks and I was agreeable. The roads in to these peaks are not the best and his 4-Runner would be most helpful to get close to each peak. We planned for all six peaks, but I would have been happy with four, expecting we'd get slowed down somewhere along the way. But fortunately, we encountered no difficulties, no barriers, no bad bushwhacks or cliffs. We were able to knock each one out systematically. These six peaks are all almost identical in stature. They all have summit elevations between 7,600 and 7,900 feet, all about 500-700 feet of prominence, all covered in the same type of forest and terrain. They were like sextuplet peaks. I thought about writing one trip report and copy-pasting it five more times, but I knew that would disappoint both of my loyal readers. I had to be in Tucson Friday, so I figured I'd make a weekend of it and get to Flagstaff that evening. Matthias and I had already sorted out our plans. From Tucson, I drove the exciting Interstate-10 into Phoenix, then bypassed Phoenix by following Loop-101 to Interstate-17. It was damn hot, about 110° and I was parched. The sun had set by now. I stopped for drinks along the way. This was my first time on this part of Interstate-17 in about 9 months. They've been widening it, and it's still a hodge-podge of lane closures, barricades, uneven lanes. Traffic flowed but it was still heavy, with trucks and plenty of cars, Phoenicians looking to escape the heat. Everyone passing everyone, jockeying for position, changing lanes suddenly. It's not a fun highway to be on. I did not get into Flagstaff until about 10 p.m.. And it wasn't even that cool. It was still warm even up this high, about 80°. I stopped for a late meal from a Circle K, then camped in a pullout along the Sunset Crater-Wupatki Road off US-89 north of town. I slept okay, in the front passenger seat laid all the way back. I can stretch out. It wasn't terribly comfortable but I was able to get about 5 hours of sleep. I was up at 4:30 as the sun rose. It was cooler now but only about 60°. Weather reports said it would be in the mid 80s in Flagstaff today. I drove down to the Safeway near the Flagstaff Mall and met up with Matthias there about 6:30 a.m.. I got my stuff loaded into his car and we were off. Most importantly, I had stocked up on drinks. I'd be going through a lot today.
Date: June 8, 2024
• Elevation: 7,859 feet
• Prominence: 639 feet
• Distance: 1.3 miles
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 745 feet
• Conditions: Sunny, warming
• Partner: Matthias Stender
• Prog-rock bands played: Jordsjø
Arizona
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LoJ
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USGS BM Datasheet
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Interactive map
We drove north on US-89 about fifteen miles, then exited onto Forest Road 514, which leads toward Espil Ranch and then the peaks beyond. The road was bumpy at first, a lot of embedded rocks jutting above the surface, not the kind that can roll around. We had to go slow. I recall being on this road once. My Forester managed part of it, but I had to go very slow.
After about three miles, it passes the Espil Ranch buildings, which looks like an active ranch. The road gets a little chopped up here, then smooths out again as it goes northwest, then west, into Indian Flat, now about six miles from the highway.
Chop Benchmark Peak rises to the west, the biggest "obvious" hill in the immediate area. We planned to hike this one first, it being the highest and with the most gain. Then we would hike the rest in a clockwise manner. We followed lesser tracks west, situating ourselves southeast of the peak, right at its base.
We got ready, locked the car, and started hiking at 7:45 a.m.. It was sunny and pleasant, not too warm yet. The climb was a steep march up the volcanic cinder hillside. The forest here was lower piñon and juniper, lots of grass, and lots of downed trees and branches. We had lanes most of the way. In about 25 minutes, we arrived onto the summit.
We found Chop Benchmark and one of its witness marks. We tagged a few rock outcrops to be sure we hit them all, but found no register. Views were excellent, especially that of Humphreys Peak, with its June snow on its northern slopes and gullies. We spent about five minutes up top.
The hike down was fast. We could make big steps and the volcanic cinder pellets would catch the boot and allow us to slide forward a little each time. As such, we were down in about ten minutes. This would be the theme for today. Basically, we just had to repeat this five more times.
I was pleased to get one done, but this is not a memorable peak. I think I woiuld have got the Forester close to it only if I was super careful. Some of the rough stretches on FR-514 were borderline. It would have been ugly. Matthias' 4-Runner handled those bits well.
Elevation: 7,693 feet
• Prominence: 673 feet
• Distance: 1.1 miles
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 706 feet
• Conditions: Sunny
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Peak 7693 rises about a mile and a half to the north. We drove some marginal tracks, bypassing a ranch house made of stone and mortar, and it looked lived in, this being near McKinney Tank. There was one segment with a nasty lean that I think would have been impossible in the Forester.
We followed FR-9002C (going by the map) to a point east of the peak, parking near a stock tank with the name "Ernesto" painted on it. It was about a 20-minute drive and we started hiking this peak at 8:55 a.m..
This hike was a near-repeat of before, a steep grind up grassy slopes dotted with piñon and juniper. The main difference here was the looser slopes, where footing was difficult because the bare rock just slid out from underneath. In a half hour, we were on top of the peak.
We found no registers or cairns. We walked the area and kicked a few rocks, and looked around the countryside for photographs. But we did not stay long, and the hike down went fast, being able to slide along with the rocks. We were back to Matthias' car a little before 10 a.m.. Although warmer, it was still comfortable and there was a gentle breeze most of the time. So far, conditions were comfortable.
Elevation: 7,676 feet
• Prominence: 596 feet
• Distance: 1.1 miles
• Time: 40 minutes
• Gain: 629 feet
• Conditions: Sunny
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We backtracked the roads to near the ranch house, then angled left onto another road called FR-9005Q on the map. We parked directly south of Peak 7676, at its base. We took a small break and did not start this hike until 10:30.
We marched uphill, following a fenceline about half way up. There was more brush on this peak but easy to weave through, no real bushwhacking necessary. The slope was steep and consistent, then it leveled and fed us onto the summit. This hike was shorter, taking just over twenty minutes.
We could not find a cairn or register here either. Views were nice again, now with better views of the peaks to the north on the Babbitt Ranch. But like the first two, it was not that memorable of a peak. The hike down went well, like the first two, where we could fast-walk down the rubbly slopes. It was about 11:20 when we were back to Matthias' car. It was warming now but still tolerable, maybe the mid 70s now.
We got onto FR-548, which runs south back to Indian Flat. We then followed the road east, then following FR-9151, which goes north to a saddle between the next two peaks on the agenda. This road had one stretch that would have stopped my Forester. This location would allow us to climb the next two peaks without needing to drive between them.
Elevation: 7,700 feet
• Prominence: 538 feet
• Distance: 1 mile
• Time: 35 minutes
• Gain: 530 feet
• Conditions: Sunny
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Peak 7700 rises northwest, its summit about a half mile away. It was warm now, into the 80s. We'd hiked three peaks, with over 2,000 feet of cumulative gain up steep slopes, but not that many actual miles. I was still feeling energetic, and this peak looked less steep than the others.
We followed some faint tracks up hill, then busted directly up the slope. We crossed a track twice as it zig-zagged up the hillside. It was an ancient track and would not have helped us had we followed it. About halfway up, the terrain is more open due to an old burn that cleared out some of the trees. In a little over twenty minutes, we were on top the peak.
This summit was identical to the others: no cairns or registers, no evidence of previous visitors, open with views, the top marked by a tree. And like the others, we did not spend too long. I started down before Matthias, but he caught up to me as we neared his car. This had gone fast, being the shortest and least-gain of the four peaks we had hiked so far.
Back at the car, we took an extended break, almost a half hour, to have lunch and relax. We did not need to drive to the next peak as it rose above us to the southeast.
Elevation: 7,760 feet
• Prominence: 680 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 597 feet
• Conditions: Much warmer now
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LoJ
After lunch, we started up Peak 7760. This peak has two parallel summit ridges of nearly-equal height. A spot elevation is on the east summit, but the highpoint markers at both the Peakbagger and ListsofJohn websites place the summit on the west ridge.
The hike up went like the others, a steady steep trudge up rubbly slopes, a little more forested here than on the others. In about 25 minutes, we were on top the west summit ridge. Looking over at the east summit, it looked too close to call — in fact, the east ridge appeared possibly higher.
We dropped into the saddle between the two ridges, about a fifty-foot drop and regain, and were soon on top the east summit ridge. Here, we found a cairn and register, with about a dozen signatures. Evidently, all the previous visitors came here thinking this was the summit. Looking back at the west ridge, it looked lower. My gut tells me the east summit is a couple feet higher.
We hiked down the east ridge, cutting across when we were down lower to cross our ascent path and get back to the car. This was the longest hike of the day at about 2 miles. I was tired by now but very very pleased we had hiked five peaks so far. It was also getting a little too warm. We both were lagging.
Later, I looked up the Lidar data on this peak to see which ridge was highest, but frustratingly, the nice 1-meter datasets end just before this peak. All the other peaks were covered by the 1-meter data, but this peak was still covered by the 1/3-arcsecond data, which is not definitive. In fact, it says the west summit is higher, but I disagree. We covered our bets by visiting both tops, and I would recommend future visitors do the same.
Elevation: 7,720 feet
• Prominence: 400 feet
• Distance: 1 mile
• Time: 40 minutes
• Gain: 429 feet
• Conditions: Cloud cover, cooler slightly
• Prog-rock bands played: The Worm Ouroboros, Van Der Graaf Generator
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LoJ
It was 2 p.m. now, and it was hot. We had climbed five peaks and over 3,000 feet of elevation, but we still had one more peak. If we ignored it, it'd be a lone outlier and hard to justify coming back all this way just for this one peak. Most importantly, it was the last peak we both needed to complete this "quad" of peaks.
The upside was that the main road got very close to it, and it looked to be the shortest hike of the day. We drove to it and parked in the shade of a glade of ponderosa, the only ponderosa we'd seen all day. Some high clouds moved in and temporarily blocked the sun, which helped take the edge off the heat.
The hike up was ... a lot like the previous five peaks we'd just hiked. It was grassy and steep but uncomplicated, and in about twenty minutes, we were on top. A cairn lies abutting a tree. We found a register and signed in. But we did not stay too long, and started right down. This was an all-business peak, just one we wanted to get done. The round trip took a little over a half hour.
I was thrashed. We had hiked "just" 7.5 total miles, but with over 3,600 feet of gain. Sitting down felt like I was sitting on buns of steel. I had a whole bunch of new scratches on my legs to pick at. I was elated to get all six peaks. This cleaned out one whole area for us, and there is no need to return. Like I said earlier, I would have been happy with four. Everything worked out well, and we had no delays or unnecessary barriers. These were six nearly-identical hikes, none of them exciting, but it felt good to finish the set.
Matthias drove us out back to the highway and to my car at the Safeway. We agreed to meet down the road at a Chipotles. He was heading back to Phoenix. I had thought about camping again, but saw online that hotel rooms weren't expensive (considering it was a Saturday night), so I got me one. I was filthy. One thing about hiking in the volcanic cinder is how pervasive the fine dust is. It gets everywhere, and I was covered in the gray-black dust. I looked forward to a shower and a bed.
My thanks to Matthias for suggesting these peaks and for driving. His 4-Runner was ideal for these roads. Although the maps show decent roads in this part of the forest, the actual quality varies. They're good for long stretches, then rocky and chewed up for short segments, the kind of thing where it could stop a lesser vehicle early on, making the quality of the roads thereafter moot. There were just two spots, both avoidable, where I felt my Forester would not have managed it (I mention both spots above).
The next day, I was up early. I would hike two more peaks over by the Sunset Volcano, then make the long drive back to Bisbee.
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