Point 5,389' (Molino North) and Point 5,260'

Essence: Climb two unranked stone prominences northeast of Molino Basin. Scramble up a meandering ridge to Molino North. Route finding through a disordered rock garden is challenging on a small scale. Let the boulders guide and enchant. Don't neglect the captivating, brief scramble up Point 5,260', a ragged rock kingdom. Brief descriptions of Point 5,808' and Molino South are included. The hike is within the Coronado National Forest.

Travel: The Molino Basin Trailhead is at Mile Marker 5.6 on the Catalina Highway, aka Mount Lemmon Highway and General Hitchcock Highway. Mile Marker Zero is posted at the junction with Mount Lemmon Short Road. The Molino Basin Campground and trailhead parking is located on the west side of a sweeping turn. Pit toilet, no water. No fee required for hikers on the Arizona Trail (AZT).

Distance and Elevation Gain: 4.3 miles; 1,500 feet for both prominences

Total Time: 4:00 to 5:00

Difficulty: Trail, off-trail; navigation challenging; low Class 3 with mild exposure; wear long pants to guard against brush and Arizona blazing star (velcro plant).

Map: Agua Caliente Hill, AZ 7.5' USGS Quad 

Date Hiked: November 23, 2021

Poem:

Till the very end of time
   matter will always remain young,
      exuberant
         sparkling
            new-born
for those who are willing.
Teilhard De Chardin

Point 5,260' beckons from the ridge leading to Molino North. We hadn't planned to visit the stony summit but we couldn't resist its allure. It was by far our favorite spot. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

Route: Hike east on the AZT to Pass 4,860'. Ascend north on a social trail to a knoll at 4,900 feet. The route is off-trail from there. Follow the ridge as it swings in an arc northeast and then northwest to Molino North. To climb Point 5,260', hike southeast to the south ridge and scramble north to the summit. The red-line route is an optional bushwhack to Point 5,808'. The blue-line route follows a well-established social trail from the pass to Molino South, Peak 5,166'.

Cross the highway while watching attentively for vehicles and bicyclists rounding the corner at speed. From the Molino Basin Trailhead, elevation 4,370 feet, hike east on the AZT. Below, from left to right is Molino North, the pass, and Molino South.

Cross the Molino Canyon wash and begin winding upwards on a beautifully engineered trail composed of crushed granite and block steps. The trail is popular with day hikers, AZT backpackers, and mountain bikers linking with the La Milagrosa Trail. In late November, only turpentine bush was blooming amongst beargrass, yucca, sotol, pricklypear, shindaggers, and manzanita. Gain the 4,860-foot pass at 0.9 mile. (This is the launch point for the short hike up Molino South referenced at the end of this post.) For Molino North, locate a faint path on the west side of the gate and bear north. Below, Airmen Peak and Point 5,820' are image-left and Molino North is center-right.

The helpful trail ends on a knoll at 4,900 feet. Pause and consider your route options up and through a cluster of rock stacks, crags, and broken cliffs, shown. This is the most challenging segment on the route to Molino North. On our ascent we were too far to the west and encountered stiff Class 3 moves. On our return, we found a more reasonable zig-zag route east of the center. The intrusive granite has helpful, sticky features. Initially, cross over a barbed wire fence and then somehow or other work your way up through the rock.

This close-up image of the initial challenge is illustrative of the geology seen on this hike. The Santa Catalina range is an uplifted and highly eroded dome of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock. The most common rocks on the forerange where this hike takes place are gneiss (near the highway) and Catalina Granite (throughout). The granite originated 26 million years ago as a rising mass of molten magma that cooled well below the surface. Prolonged cooling allowed crystals to form giving the granite its sparkles and pegmatitic texture. Resistant remnants of bedrock remain on the surface as erosion wears back the mountain front. Weathering and erosion have enlarged sets of vertical and horizontal joints, dividing the bedrock into individual blocks. Weathering widens and deepens the joints and rounds the corners and edges of the blocks.  ("A Guide to the Geology of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona: The geology and life zones of a Madrean Sky Island." Arizona Geological Survey, Down-to-Earth, #22, by John V. Bezy, 2016.)

(THW, photo)

Once through the rock band, follow the winding ridge northeast. 

As the ridge begins to swing north, make a short hook south to a broad-ranging vista point. Molino South is featured below. 

"Go up the ridge, you can't miss it," quipped a friend. This garnered some laughs because the ridge is rather complicated and it pushes you around. Weathered granite outcrops and playful scrambling are consistent features. 

The ridge pivots northwest and makes for the crest, the rounded prominence image-left. 

Arrive on Molino North at 1.8 miles The peak register is tucked under the summit boulder. Point 5,389' doesn't see a lot of visitors--just a couple of parties sign in each year. (THW, photo)

The tip top of the point requires a Class 3 move. It was a stretch I couldn't span so I needed a boost. 

Look far and wide past the home front or simply down on the Catalina Highway curving through Molino Basin. On the other side of the highway is another of our select, low elevation favorites, Peak 5,471'.  If you are not going on to points 5,808' or 5,260', simply retrace your steps. (THW, photo)

Point 5,808'

My partner climbed Point 5,808' in spring, 2021, the red-line route on the map above. It was my intention to replicate that hike but I couldn't generate much enthusiasm. The prominence looks impressive from Point 5,389', but in reality, it is an unranked roller on the southwest ridge of Guthrie Mountain (Peak 6,466'). This is a troubled altitude for brush, particularly oak. He reported the climb was good until half way up and then it was hideously tangled and not worth it. If you have a better experience or route, please leave a comment for all of us. It is 1.5 miles with 950 feet of vertical, roundtrip.

Point 5,260'

Instead, we succumbed to the power of exploration amongst the standing rocks on the neighboring prominence to the southeast. We had no idea if we could find our way to the crown. We left our upcoming ridge where it pivots to the south and descended easily to the saddle at 5,140 feet. 

We made a direct approach by walking through bulky columns to the base of the cliffs where we found anchors and climbing chains. We probed, got repelled and pinched, and backed out. Eventually, we found a route to the south ridge. Looking at the image below, start by ascending just to the left of the free-standing square tower, image-right. 

You will see a break in the cliffs. Descend about 50 feet to the base of the climbing zone, shown. Scale southeast to the ridge, gaining it at 5,220 feet. 

The low Class 3 passage to the north is unmistakable.

The extraordinary, pure-stone summit is to the west at 2.5 miles. We felt a sense of elation that the little mountain permitted us access. As peaks go, this is one of the best. 

A weathered, old rock creature lies in recline mimicking the mountain-topped ridges to the east--Agua Caliente Hill and Mica Mountain.

We looked down on the pillars we'd probed earlier, awed by their complicated and wild nature and our successful trip through the maze. (THW, photo)

We could see two sets of chains buckled to the shorter companion tower (image-left) but getting there was risky. Return to the pass at 3.4 miles. (THW, photo)

Peak 5,166' (Molino South)

If you have not yet climbed Molino South this is a superb opportunity. It is only 0.3 mile with 366 feet of rise to the highest point on the Molino-Agua Caliente divide south of the Arizona Trail. For a more elaborate description, follow the link given at the top of this post. In brief, the south spur to the peak begins east of the gate. The start of the footpath is deliberately obscured by slash. Once past the initial obstruction the trail is clear. The slim path is all business, kicking steeply up the north ridge to the summit. Molino South looks downright impressive when viewed from Point 5,260'. (THW, photo) 

Hitchhiking velcro-plants (Arizona blazing star, Mentzelia isolata) were particularly bothersome in November, 2021. Denim jeans and cotton shirts are best suited for repelling the pesky plants. Rattlesnakes are common in this area. Snakebite guards afford good protection.