Date: January 8, 2019 • Elevation: 2,696 feet • Prominence: 366 feet • Distance: 1.5 miles • Time: 45 minutes • Gain: 350 feet • Conditions: Blue skies, sunny and cool

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ

This peak lies in north Scottsdale, bounded on the north by Lone Mountain Road, the south by Dixileta Road, and the east by Pima Road. It's called Lone Mountain, which is a common and unoriginal name. There is also another Lone Mountain in Scottsdale about 5 miles to the north. These Lone Mountains are hardly "lone". The housing community surrounding it is called Sincuidados. These are upscale homes set on large desert lots.

The mountain itself is contained within a small 78-acre preserve called the H. B. Wallace Preserve. Wallace and his wife lived in the area, and he was an avid conservationist who grew and tended desert plants of all types. He gifted the land as a trust, and it is open to hikers in the area. There are no formal parking facilities for people not local to the immediate area. Here is a small biography of Mr. Wallace.

I had to take one of our cars into the shop in north Scottsdale for some required work, which would take a few hours. So the shop loaned me a vehicle and I took advantage of the time and lovely weather to check out this peak. I drove north along Pima Road to Lone Mountain Road, then south on a gravel track on the Granite Reef alignment, parking in a dirt loop. Now that I was in the area, I suppose it was okay for me to hike the peak. There were no signs barring access.

I walked a lesser track to a fence, and hopped it, following paths generally south until I was abeam of the summit. I knew there was a trail that went along the ridge but I did not know where to access it. So I started up cross-country and soon found a good trail on the east flank of the peak. I went north and in time had put myself on the north tip of the ridge. Here, I saw a sign mentioning the preserve, laying on its side.

I then walked south up the ridge to the top, which features a number of small cairns, assembled with some care as opposed to random piles of rocks. I spent a few minutes checking out the views. A guy was hiking up from the south and he described the trail that way and said it would lead back down. So I followed the trail south and its many switchbacks, eventually putting me back on the desert flats east of the peak. I was soon back to my loaner car, a quick hike that took just 45 minutes.

This hike was prettier than I was expecting. The slopes were covered in lush desert plants including big saguaro, plus lots of green grasses. The trails were in excellent shape. I probably would have ignored this peak, but seeing that our car was in the shop and that I had limited time and I was close, I figured this would be a good excuse to explore this little peak.