Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Peak 4,540', Ajo Range, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Essence: This is the third highest of 23 ranked summits in the Ajo Range. The rugged and difficult five-mile hike easily feels double the distance. Arch Canyon is a linear boulder field with splashes of bedrock. The peak should be attempted only by those with off-trail experience in the desert and strong navigation skills. See the end of this post for a short description of the half-day hike up the Arch Canyon Trail to a viewing platform--suitable for strong hikers.
Travel: The Arch Canyon Trailhead is 9.2 miles out the 21-mile, one-way Ajo Mountain Drive. 2WD is sufficient on the improved dirt road. Pick up a free interpretive guide from the visitor center. The scenic drive begins directly across AZ-85 from the park turnoff. The trailhead has a pit toilet and picnic table but no water. No dogs, no bikes on the trail.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Entrance Fee
Distance and Elevation Gain: 5 miles; 2,040 feet of climbing
Total Time: 4:00 - 6:00
Difficulty: Trail, mostly off-trail; navigation challenging; Class 2+, Class 3 ten-foot wall; no exposure other than the wall; carry all the water you will need; this hike must be done in cool weather.
Map: Mount Ajo, AZ 7.5 USGS Quad
Date Hiked: February 6, 2018
Quote: If we are to hunger, let it be a hunger of the senses, not material desire. Let it be a surrender to the instinctive pull of remoteness and the intimacy of beauty. The Anthropology of Turquoise, Ellen Meloy

Palisades flow south from Peak 4,540' and to its left is the cube-shaped monolith Peak 4,088' on the Tohono O'odham Nation. This image was shot from less than a mile away on Peak 4,740', the second tallest summit in the Ajo Range.

Route: Walk east on the Arch Canyon Trail. When the trail turns south, continue east on the black-line route and descend to the canyon floor. When the main canyon swings due south, exit via a break in the cliffrock. Climb a west-facing slope to the north-south running ridge. Ascend north-northeast to the summit. The blue-line route is an extension of the Arch Canyon Trail to a viewing platform at elevation 3,780 feet.

The eponymous arch is clearly visible from the trailhead at elevation 2,560 feet. The large skylight is directly below a much smaller aperture with a ribbon of roof-rock that looks ready to disintegrate any day now. The trail climbs, drawing closer to cliffs on the right. Volcanism is capable of creating fascinating structures and you will see fountains of rhyolite standing on bright yellow ash-fall tuff. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

Leave the footpath at 0.7 mile at a directional sign for Arch Canyon Trail. A cautionary sign warns that smuggling and migrants are common--do not hike alone. Within Arch Canyon we saw considerable trash: clothing, empty water bottles, and food wrappers. A social trail descends to the canyon floor and disappears.

Look back upon the arch alight with the morning.

 Curve with the main waterway to the right beneath a stone sentinel.

Scramble up the narrow channel jumping from one water-smoothed boulder to the next. On a February morning the inner canyon was dark and cool shaded by barrier walls, turbinella oak, and encroaching vegetation.

Massive breccia globes are spectacular, a wild mix of cemented color scavenged by flowing rhyolite.

On the north rim the sentinel now appears as an earth pillar with organ pipe cactus and saguaro rooted on microledges.

At 1.3 miles, a south fork enters upcanyon-right. Stay in the main canyon bearing east. After passing under a large cave a short bypass trail on the left avoids a snarly troubled section. The inner canyon narrows and is blocked by a chockstone. If the ten-foot wall is dry you may climb it on the left. There are plenty of small ledges for feet and hands. It presented little problem up or down and we were glad for the one playful pitch.

In 2019, we were back in the canyon to climb Peak 4,740' and the wall was wet and slippery. We found an even better bypass upcanyon-right. At the proper level the platform and holds are stable and exposure is mild. This image was shot on the return.

Walk on a distinctive sheet of sloping rhyolite, a horizontal bedding plane. On the north wall is a feeder dike, a vertical lava neck, image-center. Flowing magma cut at a right angle through the formerly deposited rhyolite layers. The tower, image-right, signals that we are closing in on the exit.

Where the main canyon curves distinctly south, shown, look for the one break in the cliff upcanyon-left at approximately 1.8 miles.

Climbing out we went up the west side of the break and it was nasty--seriously choked, super steep, and boulder-filled. On the way down we experimented with the east side and that was fabulous. So, from the canyon floor look for a passage through the rock band on the right side of the weakness. It may seem unlikely but there is a good crack to the right of the saguaro, pictured.

That will place you at the bottom of this chute.

Cross left over the drainage to get an assist from a stone slab.

At about 3,600 feet, leave the draw and climb due east aiming for the north base of a large breccia outcrop. It is a lot of work but it's workable.

Gain the north-south running ridge at 4,100 feet and go left/north up an accommodating red knoll, shown. From the top you will see the peak for the first time. A buckhorn cholla protectively held a cactus wren's nest assembled with teddybear cholla babies.

This shot, taken on the descent, is looking back from the red knoll. Right of the massive ridge buttress is pyramidal Point 4,740' and its companion Point 4,700'. (THW, photo)

Meanwhile, upward on mustard yellow tuff and breccia extrusions.

The approach over, the summit ridge is broad, the grade gentle. 

Crest Peak 4,540' at 2.5 miles. On the mountaintop we found a beautiful large black and red obsidian orb. Two golden eagles soared mightily. A mysterious, sturdy metal foundation is bolted down on the large summit platform. This brings to mind Mount Ajo which has an industrial feel. It can be seen in the image below with the antenna. The peak sees few visitors. Bob Martin signed on February, 1, 2001 at age 81. The author of Colorado's High Thirteeners died just seven years later. (THW, photo)

Look northwest to Peaks 4,180' and 4,220'. We did a circuit that was nothing short of magical to those mountains the day before. (THW, photo)

Retrace your steps to the Arch Canyon Trailhead. The arch is visible from the summit ridge. It's a little hard to spot in this image but that's often the nature of sky windows. (THW, photo)

Arch Canyon Trail to Platform 3,780'
We did a half-day hike on the Arch Canyon Trail in 2016 and again in 2019. It is about three miles round trip with 1,250 feet of elevation gain to a spectacular viewing platform.

At the base of the trail a sign warns, "Caution, steep rocky route ahead." Head south into a side canyon walking on sheets of bedrock, solidified flowing volcanic stone.

While the route is technically unmaintained there has been some trail work done in the past three years. Rock chips and chunks have been deliberately placed on the footpath to maintain its integrity. There are frequent cairns all the way to the top.

After passing beneath the arches the primitive track ascends vigorously. Climb over boulders and up a slab on a friction pitch. Reach a saddle at 1.3 miles, elevation 3,680 feet. Follow a social trail south to the Boulder Canyon overlook. Return to the saddle and ascend another 100 feet west to the viewing platform. We wandered freestyle all over the platform. Look down on Ajo Mountain Drive and north to Peak 4,158', shown. (THW, photo)

On the way back we left the trail in an attempt to get under the arch. We did some Class 3 scrambling, cutting up to the northwest. While we couldn't get over to the arches, we were rewarded with a stellar view. (THW, photo)

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