Travel: The Estes Canyon Picnic Area and Trailhead is 10.9 miles out the 21-mile, one-way Ajo Mountain Drive, an improved dirt road suitable for all vehicles. Pick up a free interpretive guide from the visitor center. Then cross AZ-85 to begin the scenic drive. This is a mere five miles north of the Arizona border with Mexico. Pit toilet. Bring all the water you will need. No dogs or bikes on the trail.
Twin Peaks Campground: Reservations required year round. The peaceful village has 208 sites, solar showers, and starry starry nights.
Distance and Elevation Gain: 9.0 miles; 2,700 feet of climbing
Time: 5:30 - 7:30
Difficulty: Trail; navigation moderate (carry your map); Class 2+; no exposure; best months are November through March. Beware--do not hike in the summer when the temperature can reach a scorching 118 degrees.
Maps: Mount Ajo, AZ 7.5' Quad; Trails Illustrated No. 224, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Latest Date Hiked: February 10, 2016
Quote: I’ve made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I’m convinced of the opposite. Bertrand Russell
Framed by saguaros, the beige symmetrical crest of Mount Ajo rises above a 800-foot vertical wall of welded rock. The peak is visible from the Estes Canyon Picnic Area.
Route: From the Estes Canyon Trailhead at 2,380 feet, take the established Bull Pasture Trail to the overlook. Circle the south end of Bull Pasture on a cairned social trail. Bear roughly northeast and penetrate the west wall of the Ajo Range. Continue north to the crest. On the return, complete the loop in Estes Canyon.
On a stone block staircase descend into Estes Canyon and cross the wash. In 0.1 mile the trail splits at a signed junction. Go right toward Bull Pasture leaving the slightly longer Estes Canyon Trail for the return trip. The path traverses a broad canyon. Healthy, plump, multi-generational saguaro partner with chainfruit cholla towering overhead.
The track switchbacks pleasantly up a west-facing bajada crowded with organ pipe cactus. The monument is the only place in the United States to see large stands of the columnar cactus. Bats pollinate the nocturnal blooming cream-colored flowers. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)
Turning southeast, walk up a gentle bedrock spine flanking the prow of a volcanic buttress. The Estes Canyon Trail joins at 1.1 mile. Visually, my favorite section of trail is the half-mile spur from here to Bull Pasture. The trail inclines steeply on a stairway of placed boulders as it probes an access cleft. Northeast is Mount Ajo with its perfectly vertical western face and cliff layers stepping down through a brown breccia band to smooth, yellow hued volcanic tuff embellished with dark striations.
The pathway runs alongside golden globs of ash-fall tuff. A westward views opens and then the trail swings east to ascend slabs of stone. (THW, photo)
Reach the Bull Pasture Overlook at 1.6 miles, 3,260 feet. The established trail ends on this suspended broad bench where early ranchers grazed cattle. The sharp-eyed can see the towers atop Ajo. If you'd rather not climb the mountain this is a worthy place to turn back. Return on the Estes Canyon Loop for a total of 4.1 miles, 880 feet of gain.
(THW, photo)
For those going on to the peak, the proper social trail crosses directly east beyond the sign. It is the most obvious amongst a myriad of wildcat paths. The trail curves around the south end of Bull Pasture before traversing under the cliffs, shown.
Faithfully follow cairns southeast. At 2.0 miles the trail pivots around a perfect blue agave. Walk a few paces south to look at Diaz Spire and Peak.
Bearing northeast, do a short climb then essentially hold the contour beneath the cliff band. The trail crosses the stone floor of Estes Canyon wash at 2.6 miles and then uses the draw to penetrate the armored divide. Look up to locate a circular arch. To stand in the window approach it off-trail from the east.
Pitch steeply, topping out momentarily on a slim saddle in bulbous cones composed of compressed volcanic ash. This is an outrageous and irresistible place to stop and play.
There is one final steep and loose segment. Pass beneath startling fountains of frozen rhyolite.
The route bends northerly to reveal a false peak at the south end of the summit ridge at 3.1 miles. We are now walking on sunshine. Blazing yellow lichen clings to welded tuff, igneous rock containing debris fragments from an explosive volcanic eruption. (THW, photo)
The path makes an ascending traverse to claim the top of the divide at 3.6 miles, elevation 4,380 feet. All the country to the east is property of the Tohono O'odham Nation. The slope dives to the floor of the Barajita Valley and a couple of dusty tracks can be seen crossing to the Gu Vo Hills. Stay on the sanctioned trail as it moves east to bypass the false summit and a problematic outcrop. The mountain comes into view at 3.8 miles.
It is great fun climbing the summit block. Follow the path as it wanders skyward on breccia, a volcanic conglomerate with large chunks of random rock picked up by flowing lava. Everything gets cemented together to form new rock as it cools. Jojoba, rosewood, and juniper thrive here.
Crest the peak at 4.25 miles. The summit register is inside an enormous metal box. The prominence is a linear series of breccia mounds. There are various structures scattered all over for one purpose or another which detracts from the natural order. Soaring ravens and raptors will remind you that you are in wild country. Over 270 birds have been identified at Organ Pipe.
The vista is unparalleled from the highest eminence in the 517-square mile park. To the west you can pick out our route, Estes Canyon, Ajo Mountain Drive, Twin Peaks Campground, the Diablo Mountains, Tillotson Peak, Pinkley Peak, and Kino Peak. (THW, photo)
Close by in the south is Diaz Peak and Diaz Spire, named for Captain Melchior Diaz, Spanish conquistador and leader of the Coronado expedition 1539-1542. Sonoyta, Mexico is 13 miles away as the crow flies. (THW, photo)
Walk to the northern end of the summit ridge to see Peaks 4,180', 4,220', and 4,088'. Hidden behind Peak 4,220' is the free-standing, cube-shaped Montezuma's Head, named in honor of the ancient O'odham deity, I'itoi. The Santa Catalina Mountains rise above Tucson and Baboquivari Peak claims landmark status throughout southern Arizona.
If a climber was standing on Peak 4,740' you could hold a conversation but passage to the second tallest mountain in the Ajo Range is prohibited due to a series of faceted cliffs and palisades. (THW, photo)
On the return, we left the trail to visit the arch located at 3,700 feet in elevation. From its vantage point, the cones were accentuated in afternoon light.
Inside the arch.
Retrace your steps and soon you will once again be alongside the tuff buttress which, from this side, looks like a fin. Turn right at the junction with the Estes Canyon Trail. It adds a half mile but enriches the experience. The beautifully crafted path switchbacks to the canyon floor. It is mostly flat from here to the trailhead. Walk through a lush arboretum of Sonoran plants. (THW, photo)
In 2005, I climbed Mount Ajo during a superbloom. My field notes indicate that in March the following plants were blossoming: brittlebush, buckwheat, triangle bursage, creosotebush (one of the oldest living organisms on the planet), desert chicory, ephedra, fairy duster, fiddleneck windflower, filaree, desert gilia, desert globemallow, hedgehog cactus, hummingbird bush, Indian paintbrush, jojoba, larkspur, Mojave lupine, desert marigold, Mexican gold poppy, ocotillo, palo verde, desert penstemon, phacelia, pincushion cactus, pink owl clover, ragged rock flower, sand lacepod, sedum, shrubby deervetch, trailing windmill, verbena, and yellow trumpet bush.
Twenty-six cactus species live in Organ Pipe. By April the cholla will be blooming: chainfruit, staghorn, buckhorn, and teddybear. Wait until May for organ pipe, saguaro, Engelmann prickly pear, as well as agave, and yucca. It might be July before the barrels start blossoming but by then it will be impossibly hot.
Little curled up brown balls of innocuous spikemoss boarder the trail. After a soaking rain this groundcover aptly named resurrection plant turns a moist, vibrant green. Likewise, throughout this magnificent hike, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven.
March, 2019 Superbloom, THW, photo
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