Pinnacle Ridge, 7,550', Santa Teresa Mountains

Essence: This climb possesses all the criteria necessary to qualify as one of the finest desert adventures detailed in this blog. As a point of confusion for many, the peak "Pinnacle Ridge" is the highest point on "extended Pinnacle Ridge" which runs southwest to northeast for many miles in the Santa Teresa Mountains. While the summit is an unconsolidated assemblage of massive boulders, with a prominence of 2,490 feet the peak is visually striking from great distances. Hike among weather-sculpted granite spheres, towers, buttresses, gendarmes, slabs, and outcrops scattered throughout the chaotic landscape. The trailhead is remote and the 4WD track is a test for any vehicle. Navigation is challenging. Finish with a series of seriously exposed Class 4 moves tempered by a rock surface with sticky, crystalline features. The peak is seldom visited and suggested for desert mountaineers--the mountain has defeated many competent hikers. The hike is within the Santa Teresa Wilderness managed by the Coronado National Forest.

Travel: From the corner of Klondyke Road and Bonita-Klondyke Road, drive east on well-graded Klondyke Road for 5.4 miles. Turn left at the sign for "Sand Tank, 4 Miles" and measure distance from there. The spur to Sand Tank on FSR 677 requires a serious 4WD vehicle with high clearance and good approach and departure angles. There are deep ruts and steep pitches in the dirt road. There is a generous pullout at the beginning of FSR 677. We parked one vehicle there and piled into two Forerunners. Both bottomed out several times. At the branch at 1.7 miles, turn right. At 2.3 miles, stay straight. Open and close two gates. Park in a turnaround at 3.9 miles by a yellow warning sign, "Entering burned area..." Park on Arizona State Trust Land. Note: Some people have initiated the climb from Devil's Hole but a quick examination of the road via satellite implies it is considerably longer and truly horrible.

Distance and Elevation Gain: 6.8 miles; 2,900 feet
Total Time: 6:00 to 8:00
Difficulty: Off-trail; navigation challenging; Class 4 with serious exposure; rope recommended; avoid sizzling heat in summer and snow and ice in winter. 

Map: Buford Hill, AZ 7.5' USGS Quad
Date Hiked: March 29, 2024
Poem: 

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it. --Mary Oliver
 

The 26,780-acre Santa Teresa Wilderness was set aside in 1984 to celebrate the weathering forces of nature. This wilderness is so remote it is rarely witnessed by humans. And yet wind, water, and time have sculpted formations so beautiful the stone itself rejoices. Pinnacle Ridge is the highest and rightmost point in this image. 

(Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

Route: Walk north up Cottonwood Canyon. Leave the wash and ascend northwest to Point 6,161'. Hike over the top of Point 6,420' (blue-line) or flank it on the west. Bear northwest along the relatively flat divide between Limestone Canyon and Devil's Hole. Do an ascending sidehill traverse to gain extended Pinnacle Ridge west of the saddle and east of the peak. Hike west, staying as close to the ridge as possible. Pitch up a broad passageway. Squeeze through a crack in boulders and arrive in a grotto on the north side of the peak. From there it is Class 4 to the summit.  

 

Pinnacle Ridge is visible from the parking circle at elevation 5,300 feet and throughout the approach. The incoming road continues briefly to the boundary with Coronado National Forest. Open and close the gate.

Just past the gate is a trailhead sign on the banks of Cottonwood Canyon creek. In times gone by there was a functioning trail system on routes kept open by cowboys driving stock. We learned from hikers who have climbed Cottonwood Mountain that the trails have fallen into disuse and have almost entirely disappeared. Looking at our track, apparently we walked right past Sand Tank but did not see it.

We made our way up the flowing creek, stone hopping across a couple of times. We enjoyed a sweet interlude through a sycamore forest.

 

The first route objective is the saddle between points 6,161' and 6,420'. We made an attempt on Pinnacle Ridge with the Southern Arizona Hiking Club (SAHC) a year earlier. Their route started up Limestone Canyon and then broke for the saddle. Although the drainage was pretty easy initially, it got worse as we clawed our way up to the saddle in a boulder-choked gully infested with catclaw. Determined to improve on that route, we left Cottonwood Canyon at 0.45 mile and headed northwest up the first gentle ridge that comes down on your left, the southeast ridge of Point 6,161'. It's going to cost you about 180 feet each way but it avoids serious annoyance. 

The ascent is pleasant, the grade moderate, the footing good, and foliage is never an issue. Below, climbers are approaching Point 6,161'. You may cut the corners on the rollers and prominence if you wish.

 

Arrive on Blue Ridge at 1.3 miles. From there, get a good look at what's ahead. Point 6,420' is a little hard to make out in this image because it is sitting in front of spire-topped extended Pinnacle Ridge. You may either climb Point 6,420' or contour on its west side. Either way, you need to achieve the soft shoulder northwest of the prominence at about 6,300 feet.

 

Drop into the saddle between points 6,161' and 6,420' at 1.5 miles, 5,980 feet. Devil Tank in Devil's Hole is visible to the southwest. While this is a viable starting location for this hike, I can't vouch for the integrity of the 4WD track into the Hole.

 

From the saddle, ascend the southeast slope of Point 6,420'. Our group in 2024 had no interest in topping the little bonus hill.

Point 6,420' qualifies as a "Club Peak" for SAHC. They regard it as the "high point of Blue Ridge." This image was shot from the prominence in 2023. From my field notes, the top yielded an "...astounding view of massive granite structures, great clumps of stone, spheres, and towers."  From there, the route goes over the divide in the center of this image. Then it pitches up to extended Pinnacle Ridge hitting it just left of the tower seen below, west of the saddle. 

On that day in 2023 the group turned around at 6,500 feet because one member wasn't up for continuing. That was a major disappointment given the four hour drive from Tucson and camping in sub-freezing conditions in Klondyke. So we returned with four veteran desert and high mountain climbers from Colorado.

 

For those skirting Point 6,420', at about 6,300 feet cross over a barbed wire fence and start contouring, tracking along the fence line. You want to just head a gully coming up from Devil's Hole. Of note, you will cross a geological contact line on the southeast slope of Point 6,420'. The hike begins in metasedimentary gneiss and schist. The rock from here on is composed of intrusive, igneous granite.

Assuming you did the contour, arrive on the shoulder of Point 6,420' at 1.9 miles. Look ahead to the most chaotic and difficult section of the route to navigate. The next half mile is relatively level on a low divide running north-northwest with a significant drop into Limestone Canyon on the east and Devil's Hole on the west. Little rivulets run here and there. The objective is to stay near the middle of the divide. Walk to the east of the first major stone mass, pictured.

 

The Desert Mountaineer climbed Pinnacle Ridge in 2013 under infinitely more punishing conditions. Every step was encumbered with manzanita and other foliage. Please link to the website for an excellent story and images. What a difference a fire makes. In June, 2021, the Pinnacle Fire burned 34,417 acres. On our hike we walked through scorched terrain, barging easily through Arizona rosewood. We could see and enjoy the creatures in the stone world.

 

As we walked, we didn't know exactly which feature on the peak was the highpoint. We had to get up there and sort it out.

Walk across a flat on the west side of a buttress with a gigantic slab of stone that broke loose from its mother rock and is now sliding forever further away.

Here's another view of that orientation landmark and erosion in action.

We made a gentle, slight descent and crossed a creek running southwest into Devil's Hole at 2.4 miles, 6,260 feet. Below, the saddle east of the peak is image-right. There is no reason to go there. Rather, we did a pitched side hill climb toward the two pinnacles west of the low point, shown. The pinnacle on the right is on the ridgeline, the other slightly lower.

 

We stopped shy of the saddle and cut west between the two pinnacles. (THW, photo)

 

This hiker is hefting up the rising traverse into the space between the pinnacles. (THW, photo)

We took a break between the pinnacles at 2.8 miles, 6,780 feet. 

This photo was taken of the climb to come from there. It looks complicated and it is.

We arrived on the ridge at 2.9 miles, 6,860 feet, just west of a massive stone block, image-left. (THW, photo)

The ridge itself is disorganized. Moving west there are a lot of obstacles. Stay as close to the ridgetop as possible, bypassing on the south when necessary.

The route to the peak goes up through a passageway, a broad chute, between two massive buttresses. (THW, photo)

The passage is preceded by another friction pitch on bedrock. This image shows off the rough texture on the granite that is an assist in the climbing to come. (THW, photo)

We went up the center of the chute. The passage is very steep. Moist soil worked to our advantage. (THW, photo)

Emerging from the chute we were greeted by this enchanting outlier. How does the Earth sculpt these anomalies? (THW, photo) 

We paused to reconnoiter. We were at an inflection point with the summit block above our heads to the north. 

(THW, photo)

The outcrop to the south seen from this same location is the decorative top of the extended buttress on the south side of the passageway.

 

Turn north and continue climbing for a short bit. The peak was visible above our heads but we still hadn't parsed that.

Squeeze through a crack. (THW, photo)

Step into a grotto immediately below the peak to the northwest. In this image we are taking a lunch break after we mounted the summit. (THW, photo)

Where is the peak in this jumble of massive boulders? We knew we were practically on top of it for we were in compact terrain. Our group paused in the grotto while one member went off searching for the way upward. He intuitively nailed it. His head is in the photo directly above my camera. 

To reach the summit, cross the grotto and start ascending at the only place you can climb higher. My partner with the red backpack is where you want to be.

The first move is a Class 3 friction pitch with a couple of options for mounting. This is followed by a series of exposed Class 4 moves.

 

Turn right and stem a lengthy crack.

The crack is much more airy than these images let on. There is a sense of infinite air under the butt-feet stem my friend is doing. The snow-filled slot that followed was a safe reprieve. (THW, photo)

 

The crux is the final pitch up a 1.5 foot-wide ribbon of rock. It is so steep we were working the limit of our ability to stick to the rock. This last move is in a very exposed place. If you fumble, you're gone. 

 

Mount the high point of Pinnacle Ridge at 3.4 miles. The top is three feet wide and ten feet long with vertical drops to the north and south. There was just room enough for the six of us to sit in the order of our arrival. It was flat and comfortable. The peak register was placed in 2,000. We were the first visitors in 2024. (THW, photo)

As expected, the field of vision rippled off into the blue distance. Looking westward, snow capped Mount Lemmon is on the horizon beyond the Galiuro Mountains.

Pictured below, my partner is descending the crux. He was at the limit of traction and risked loosing his grip on the rib. Even at 5' 10" he couldn't quite stretch to the safety boulder without a hop. By the way, Mount Turnbull, the highpoint of the Santa Teresa Mountains and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation is seen in the north.

Feeling a rope taut around my waist made all the difference. 

On the return we made almost no route changes and basically unwound ourselves. Below, we are plunge-stepping back down through the passageway. (THW, photo)

We enjoyed walking upon rock lying down.

We concluded our hike in desert grassland with Mount Graham in the Pinaleño Mountains framing the backdrop. 

(THW, photo)

We saw one little patch of redmaids, some verbena, and bajada (or scarlet) lupine. (THW, photo)

Reportedly, black bear, mountain lion, mule deer, coatimundi, and javelina live in the Santa Teresa Mountains. We did not see any wildlife other than birds on our hike. However, on our drive back to Tucson that evening we saw a herd of pronghorn in the Aravaipa Valley just off the Bonita-Klondyke Road.

Castle Dome Peak, 3,788', Castle Dome Mountains, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Essence: From the highway this landmark peak looks unscalable for all but the technical climber. And yet, there is a safe route for solid Class 3 scramblers. Seen from the west one might imagine the square summit block to be cube-shaped, but in reality it's a narrow rib of stone with 2,098 feet of prominence. The climb is well covered in trip reports and a social trail leads to a cairned route. But still, we missed a crucial and abrupt jog in the approach and chewed up a lot of time looking for passage. This post seeks to mitigate any ambiguity in the way forward. Good scrambling and navigation skills are required. I would joyfully welcome the opportunity to repeat this climb, a tribute to the magnificence of this mountain. An alternate route directly up the seriously exposed 400-foot vertical front wall is discussed at the end of this post. Castle Dome is within the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Travel: A 4WD vehicle with high clearance and good approach and departure angles is required to reach the trailhead. US 95 runs north from Yuma on I-8 to Quartzite on I-10. A few yards south of mile marker 55, leave the highway on the Castle Dome Mine Road (signed Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Castle Dome). This is a gentle right branch for travelers coming from the south and a sharp hook left for those coming from the north. Measure distance from there. Pavement ends at 1.8 miles. To begin, the gravel road is wide and well graded. Enter the refuge at 4.9 miles. At 6.9 miles turn left toward McPherson Pass. "No Vehicle" signs on either side of the road protect desert pavement. There is plenty of dispersed camping elsewhere, including two sites tucked against the base of the mountains (11.8 miles). The narrow two-track isn't too rocky but there are serious dips in and out of washes and the road is high-centered. At 9.2 miles the track doubles back on itself--keep going! Continue until there is an opening in the cliffs and a major wash system. Park at 13.6 miles where metal stakes block travel up the wash. Our vehicle underestimates mileage. It took us 36 minutes to travel from the highway to the trailhead.

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge: The refuge is located in the southwest quadrant of Arizona, between I-10 and I-8. The 666,640 acre refuge was established in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife. Both the Kofa Mountains and Castle Dome Mountains are within the refuge and are further protected by the Kofa Refuge Wilderness. There are no fees or facilities. At-large camping is allowed--bring all the water you will need. The refuge is named for the King of Arizona gold mine which operated in King Valley between 1896 and 1910. Of historical interest, soldiers stationed at Fort Yuma in the 1850s named the peak Capitol Dome. The name morphed over the years to Castle Dome.

Distance and Elevation Gain: 6.2 miles; 2,100 feet
Total Time: 5:00 to 6:30
Difficulty: Wash walking; trail, cairned route; navigation challenging; Class 3 with mild exposure; carry all the water you will need and hike in cool-weather months.
Map: Castle Dome Peak, AZ, 7.5' USGS Quad
Date Hiked: March 3, 2024
Poem:
To understand the world
knowledge is not enough,
you must
   see it,
      touch it,
         live in its presence
and drink the vital heat
of existence in the very heart
   of reality.
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

 

Great sheets of flat and uniform desert pavement on the Castle Dome Plain come to an abrupt end at the foot of the violent mass of volcanic Castle Dome Mountains. The scrambler's route is hidden from view on the back side of the consolidated volcanic block.

Route: The route roughly bears southeast to the base of the monolith and then scales the northeast face to the summit. For clarity, I have partitioned the trek into three segments: the obstacle-free walk in the wash; the approach up the debris apron to the stone "Sphere" at 3,220 feet; and the Class 3 scramble to the summit. Each segment will take 45 to 60 minutes. Note: the Castle Dome Peak quad uses 20-foot contour intervals.

 

The Wash Segment (1.7 miles, 330 feet of gain)

Several washes draining the west slopes of the Castle Dome Mountains come to meet in the flats by the parking area at 1,700 feet. The stream beds are gravely and free of vegetation and large rock. You'll make fast work of this segment provided you get started up the correct wash. I passed by the vehicle barrier stakes and blithefully started marching up the wrong drainage system.

 

We sorted this out on our return. At 0.1 mile, leave the initial wash and follow a pathway northeast into the main drainageway. A cairn may (or may not) assist. The unnamed wash swings to the southeast and holds that trajectory to the approach trail. 

 

The correct wash passes on the north side of a massive two-pronged heavy fin, seen below. Castle Dome is at the center of the image. The pinnacle to the left of the mountain is the most important landmark and navigation feature. The route goes between the slim tower and the peak.

 

Mudstone walls contain the streamway. There are two circular arches in the vertical rhyolite wall on the left at 0.6 mile. The geology of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is a typical volcanic mix of basalt, andesite, dacite, and rhyolite. Bedrock comes to meet itself at 0.9 mile for a few blissful steps. Outside the channel are signature plants of the Sonoran Desert--saguaro, ocotillo, paloverde, barrel cactus, beavertail prickly pear, and brittlebush. Nothing was blooming; we were ahead of spring.

 

Debris Apron Approach to the "Sphere" (1.0 mile, 1,200 feet of gain)

Leave the wash at a gateway cairn, 1.7 miles, elevation 2,030 feet. Judging from trip reports the exact location for exiting the wash has evolved over the years. This particular route is highly efficient. The social trail ascends the embankment to a bench and then weaves between shiny black and brown volcanic boulders holding a southeast trajectory.

 

Cairns guide onto a narrow, two-foot-wide rim walk. The structure is eroding and further narrowing. I found this incredibly amusing.

 

Follow the cairned trail up the north slopes of the mountain to the Sphere indicated below.

The mellow grade and welcome trail is simply delightful to begin. This image looks back from the ascent trail. 

(Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

Typical of a classic apron, the terrain steepens and gathers more rubble as it closes in on the flanks of the mountain. The trail passes through a notch in a fin buttress at 2,700 feet. The black and sharp rhyolite features jutting from the slope in such a powerful manner quickens the heart. What is to come? (THW, photo)

 

Below, my partner is standing in the notch. We've just gotten started and already the relief off the desert floor is visually remarkable.

Past the fin, footing is loose but there is sufficient stable rock to shove from. The trail passes to the left of a subsequent dark fin. It's a good idea to make mental notes of these features because the trail is braided and harder to peg on the descent.

At 2.7 miles, 3,220 feet, you will arrive at the Sphere, my informal name for this unmistakable solid stone pockmarked feature. Be sure to climb the Sphere, both for shear joy and to analyze the route to come.

 

From the Sphere, the Kofa Mountains stand tall to the north of the chaotic and chromatic Castle Dome Mountains.

 

Sphere to Summit (0.4 mile, 570 feet of gain)

As seen from the Sphere, the trail climbs to the base of the wall on the northeast side of the mountain. It skirts below a cluster of standing stones and then enters a notch between the detached pinnacle and the peak.

Abut the wall at 3,240 feet. This monolithic mass looks very much like the intimidating west face but thankfully, there is a weakness on this back side that favors safe passage. (THW, photo) 

There is a growing sense of exposure but most climbers will consider it mild from here to the summit. Wrap just to the outside of the cluster of towers, shown. (THW, photo) 

 

After passing the standing stones, stay tight to the base and look for cairns leading into a notch to the right of the free-standing, 60-foot pinnacle.

Here's a better perspective on the notch you must enter. We are off-route in this image. You should be snuggled up against the row of stones.

The real climbing begins within the notch. It is a Class 2+ friction pitch requiring some fancy footwork. 

 

This image looks down the notch. Gain the tiny saddle between the pinnacle and the mountain. (THW, photo) 

There are two routes to the summit that initiate from the notch. Some climbers have gone from the saddle directly up the crack, pictured. It's rated Class 4 by some and Class 5 by others. It was more than we wanted to tackle and since I have not gone that way, I can't recommend it. But if it looks like your thing, consult Stav Is Lost for illustrative photos.

For the Class 3 scrambler's route, back down the notch a few paces and locate a four-foot-wide chute across from the pinnacle's base at 3,470 feet. This is the navigation crux and perhaps the climbing crux for some. On our first pass up the notch, we blew right by the hard right hook into the slot. We killed a considerable amount of time and effort scrambling all over the area looking for a viable route. Eventually we reclimbed the notch and there it was. Yes, the chute is cairned but those pesky rock piles are easy to overlook. (THW, photo)

The 20-foot chute is a sweet little step up with solid rock nubbins for hand and foot holds. One trip report ranks this slot Class 4 but I didn't need a spot or a hand or a shove and I was giggling all the way up and down, a personal gauge for Class 3.

From the top of the pitch make for a small cave with an arched entrance. 

 

From there, follow cairns across a lateral to the south.

You will be adjacent to the pinnacle, our ever faithful navigation landmark. The absolute power and beautiful form of this earth pillar is mesmerizing.

 

The route up the northeast face is sinuous and complicated. Follow cairns faithfully even when the way seems counter intuitive. Up, down, around, and through. (THW, photo) 

The entire upper face is a low Class 3, super fun scramble. Stone is mostly well seated and while the slope is high angled, exposure remains mild. (THW, photo)

Develop an eye for the cairns--they tend to blend into the surrounding rock. Can you find it in this photo?

 

Over the years footsteps have created a white slash through burnished rhyolite.

 

Contact the summit ridge and the view corridor to the south opens to reveal a conundrum of spires and nameless shapes with a fierce beauty that typifies the landscape in the Kofa Refuge. (THW, photo)

Walk north on the boulder strewn ridge to the highpoint of the Castle Dome Mountains at 3.1 miles. The ridge is surprisingly slim but there's plenty of room to move about. (THW, photo)  

The peak register located in an ammo box was stuffed. We couldn't locate the Castle Dome Benchmark but we did find the No. 1 Reference Mark placed in 1964. (THW, photo)  

Look out over the rockscape to the Kofa Mountains. Signal Peak and Ten Ewe Mountain are image-left.

Looking northeast, the Castle Dome Mountains ripple softly away and hatchet-edged Polaris Mountain makes its pronouncement across King Valley.

Make a mental note of where you contacted the ridge so you can initiate your descent in the same place.  

We found it wise to descend on our upcoming route because it worked so well. Things could go wrong in a hurry on the steep pitch and we paused frequently to confirm together that we were on the right track.

In this image, our friends have done the short lateral to the north and are standing at the mouth of the cave mentioned earlier. (THW, photo) 

 

From the cave (image-left), descend directly to the top of the crux chute.

I hadn't climbed the Sphere on the ascent so I scampered up on our return. It was harder to keep track of the braided trail as we descended the debris apron and the rubble pile slid underfoot. (THW, photo) 

The walk down the wash was fast and enhanced by brilliant rhyolite walls.

The Front Wall

This is the route detailed by the Desert Peaks Section of the Sierra Club. Our friend and proven navigator, John Bregar, led my partner and four friends from Colorado up what I am informally calling the "Front Wall" on March 4, 2023. 

(THW, photo) 

Initially, they headed up toward the saddle southwest of the peak. As they approached the saddle, they moved left to walk right along the base of the cliff (above the saddle). Look for cairns that lead directly up through small weaknesses in the wall. (THW, photo) 

 

Follow unreliable cairns or find your own route up the wall to make progress. (THW, photo)

 

Exposure is serious all the way to the top of the near vertical cliff. This route is solid Class 4 for an extended period. (THW, photo) 

The group of veteran desert climbers celebrate on the summit. (THW, photo)