Travel: From Tucson, drive south on I-19 to Rio Rico Exit 12. Measure from the bottom of the ramp. Turn right/west on AZ 289 (Ruby Road) toward the Peña Blanca Lake Recreation Area. Enter the Coronado Nation Forest at 3 miles. The twisty, narrow two-lane passes through mesquite covered rolling hills topped with fascinating volcanic outcrops. At 9.7 miles (mile marker 10), turn left on Forest Road 39. There is a campground on the right with covered tables and an outhouse on the left. The gravel road, prone to bad washboard, eventually goes through the ghost town of Ruby and on to Arivaca. Cross a cattle guard at 13.9 miles and watch for stock. Atascosa Trailhead parking is on the left at 14.7 miles. No facilities. Drive defensively--we were passed by eight Border Patrol vehicles going a high rate of speed.
Distance and Elevation Gain: Roundtrip to Atascosa Peak is 7.4 miles with 2,500 feet of climbing. The Atascosa Lookout is 5.2 miles with 1,600 feet of vertical.
Total Time: 4:00 to 5:30 for the peak. 2:00 to 3:00 for the Lookout.
Difficulty: Trail, off-trail; navigation moderate; Class 2+ with no exposure; wear long pants if you are going off-trail to the peak; carry all the water you will need.
Map: Ruby, AZ 7.5' USGS Quad
Latest Date Hiked: December 10, 2018
History of the Atascosa Lookout: The 14-by-14-foot structure was completed in 1933 and served as a fire-sighting post until the late 1970s. It was placed on the National Historic Lookout Register in 1996. The Lookout was frequented by the Green Valley Hiking Club who helped in its restoration. It was destroyed by the 2011 Murphy Complex Fire which burned nearly 70,000 acres. Edward Abbey staffed the Lookout in 1968 and described it as a "flimsy old frame shack perched like an eagle's nest on a pinnacle of rock."
Quote: What draws us into the desert is the search for something intimate in the remote. Edward Abbey
Atascosa Peak, the highpoint in the range, is climbed via a ridge extending one mile north from the Atascosa Lookout. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)
Route: Walk essentially north on Atascosa Trail #100 to the Atascosa Lookout. To reach Atascosa Peak hike north off-trail. While it is tempting to avoid returning to the Lookout, the short-cut takes longer and is a brush-slashing experience. Return as you came.
Atascosa Lookout
From the parking pullout, elevation 4,680 feet, look across the road and you will see Atascosa Trail # 100 switching up a sotol studded hillside. The sign warning hikers about fire-related hazards refers to the 2011 Murphy Complex Fire which left parched tree skeletons seen throughout the hike.
Remnants of cement secure stone steps in place on a trail constructed in a bygone era. There is one stand of ocotillo near the trailhead. While they are typical of the Sonoran Desert region, desert grassland and Arizona oak woodland predominate. Bubbly hills rise into rolling ranges that flow away into the blue distance. The deserted countryside is enthralling and peaceful. (THW, photo)
Pass through a gate with a working latch at 0.4 mile. Maintained fencing keeps stock confined to lower elevations. The southern end of the Atascosa ridge terminates in a three-tiered butte, shown. The blocks are composed of volcanic material associated with the Atascosa Formation. The trail approaches the saddle between Point 5,450' and the butte before veering to a minor pass, image-right. (THW, photo)
The gentle ascent tops out on the pass at 1.3 miles, 5,380 feet. From here the peak is visible for the first time. This image looks south to Mexico and the sun treading a winter sky. (THW, photo)
A volcanic escarpment runs north from the block. The Lookout is image-center with its modern day electronic paraphernalia. (THW, photo)
The footpath does a rising traverse to the north and at 1.9 miles swings sharply south and begins climbing a series of switchbacks. In the image below, the Santa Rita Mountains are framed by Ramanote Peak and Atascosa.
The track passes 300 feet below the Lookout before gaining the ridge.
On the ridgetop, just a few paces off the trail is a stone cistern with a cement top. Lift the metal lid and there may be water inside. If you want to stand on top of the block butte, shown, do so from here.
The trail switches north and climbs the final 200 feet on the west side of the Lookout. Mount stone and cement steps to the Lookout's foundation at 2.6 miles. Nearby is a weather station, three solar panels, radio equipment, cameras, and an American flag. (THW, photo)
The Atascosa Lookout is a peak in its own right and is a worthy turnaround point for most hikers. Just shy of the tallest mountain in the range, the vantage point is remarkable. Look well below to Forest Road 39 and afar into our neighboring country to the Piñacate Peaks and the Sea of Cortez. The benchmark placed by the U.S. Forest Service in 1938 reads "Atascosa Fire Control."
Atascosa Peak
There is little sign of use, not even a social path, extending north from the Lookout which speaks to a higher order of difficulty. The ridge is a little scrabbly and thin at first, the pace slows. The instructions are simple: hold to the ridgeline as much as possible. There are shredding thorny shrubs, particularly between the Lookout and saddle. Long pants are essential. (THW, photo)
We have made this traverse twice and each time triggered a sensor that got a Border Patrol helicopter deployed to check us out. They come within 150 feet and hover until satisfied. The best strategy is to hold still in a visible location.
The upper ridge is composed of rhyolite; the Atascosa Lookout Lava Flow goes northeast from the summit. Quartz chunks are scattered about. The smooth and cohesive light-colored rock on the surface of the "bridge" is welded air-fall tuff. In dirt pockets, ground digging javelina have been rooting and tearing up the soil.
The descent is over in the saddle at 5,900 feet, 3.2 miles. Climb the broad south ridge of the mountain, threading through small cliffs and boulders covered in sky blue, lime green, and tangerine orange lichen. There are some cairns but the route is intuitive and multiple choice.
A cliff band encircles the summit block at 6,200 feet. There are two options--climb up the ridgeline (image-left) or ascend the cairned ledge route on the right (image-center).
The ridgeline route is a low Class 3 scramble for about 80 feet with good holds. The only drawback is a snarly Mexican piñon thicket at the top of the pitch.
Or, follow cairns to the right and onto the easier Class 2+ ledge route. It has manageable steps all the way up and avoids foliage. This image was shot on the return descent.
Crest the Atascosa Mountains at 3.7 miles after 2,100 feet of climbing. On the roomy summit locate an ammo-box with a peak register placed on December 11, 2004 by the Southern Arizona Hiking Club. Since then, only a few people have visited the peak each year.
There is something deeply moving about this little zenith located adjacent to our southern border. Rising above other prominences in the range, Atascosa Peak looks unobstructively out and up to much greater mountain masses. To the west, well beyond Montana Peak is Baboquivari Peak and Kitt Peak. (THW, photo)
In the north are the Tucson Mountains, Santa Catalina Mountains, and Mount Wrightson in the Santa Rita Mountains. Off picture in the east is the Huachuca Range and even more sky islands.
It is hard to comprehend and process the breadth of open country in this desert. I experienced a profound comfort in the isolation. To return, retrace your steps to the Lookout, shown, beneath the sun ring. (THW, photo)
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