Peak 5,961', Santa Catalina Mountains

Essence: Peak 5,961' is the highpoint on a northern extension of Samaniego Ridge. Probe into the northernmost quadrant of the Santa Catalina Mountains, expanding your home ground. Drive and/or hike 6.5 miles to Charouleau Gap. From there, the summit is one mile north off-trail with 900 feet of vertical. View the northern ramparts of Mount Lemmon, Samaniego Peak, and Oracle Ridge. Westward, the range splays out onto the desert floor in Oro Valley. The suggested alternate descent route features sheets of weathered Catalina granite and spheroidal boulders. The road to Charouleau Gap is equivalent to being on a trail. The technical 4WD track is trenched and has solid rock moguls. Crushed granite on bedrock is slick for the hiker. This description begins two miles out the Gap road on Arizona State Trust Land. Most of the hike is in Coronado National Forest. LiDAR increased the peak's elevation by one foot to 5,962'. The saddle at the Gap measures 5,094' and the rise is 868 feet.

Travel: From AZ 77 in Oro Valley, turn east on paved Golder Ranch Road and measure distance from there. At 1.1 miles turn left on Lago del Oro Parkway. The mountain and Gap are visible from the road. At the top of a rise, 4.2 miles, turn right into a large dirt OHV lot with placards. 2WD vehicles must park there. High clearance, 4WD low, and beefy tires are required to park two miles out the narrow road. Beyond that, a specially modified vehicle is required. Cross two stream channels and Cañada del Oro at 1.4 miles. Do not attempt to ford in high water. Park in a tiny pullout with room for one vehicle at 2.0 miles. Display your State Trust Land permit.

Distance and Elevation Gain: 10.0 miles; 2,800 feet (Starting 2.0 miles out the Gap road.)
Total Time: 5:30 to 7:00
Difficulty: 4WD road, off-trail; navigation moderate; Class 2 with no exposure; hike on a cool day and carry more water than you think you will need.
Map: Oracle, AZ 7.5' USGS Quad

Reference: A Guide to the Geology of Catalina State Park and the Western Santa Catalina Mountains, by John V. Bezy, Arizona Geological Survey, Down-to-Earth No. 12, 2002.
Date Hiked: November 26, 2024
Quote: Nature is not a place to visit. It is home. Gary Snyder

 

We've covered a fair amount of territory in the Santa Catalina Mountains and yet Peak 5,961' rested in obscurity until a friend said she could see the mountain from her home in Oro Valley. If you are partial to granite, place this piece into your embedded landscape puzzle.

Route: Either walk or drive east on Charouleau Gap Road. While we parked at 2.0 miles as indicated on the map below, some vehicles may make it to The Wall at 3.3 miles, or even to the Gap at 6.5 miles. From the Gap hike north to the summit. Return as you came or divert west on a granite slope and then southwest on a ridgeline back to the incoming road.

We started hiking from the tiny pullout, elevation 3,320 feet. This image was shot from parking. Beyond, stone moguls, and sheets of solid rock will be problematic for most vehicles.

  

Catalina granite is a plutonic mass of igneous rock that formed when magma cooled and crystallized underground. It is widely exposed on the west flank of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Peak 5,961' is composed entirely of Catalina granite, a homogeneous, non-layered rock made up of tightly interlocking quartz, feldspar, and mica crystals. Large crystals are visible throughout the great sweeps of rock. As the rock disintegrates it leaves granular gravel called grus on the surface. It is intensely slippery! All three of us lost our footing walking back down the road.  

 

We had the road entirely to ourselves, no hikers, no motos. Generally, hiking up a road can be a letdown. But the Gap road presented more as a trail as we traversed across the stone quiet desert. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

As we gradually rose into the foothills, we were accompanied by the usual Sonoran flora mix--saguaro, mesquite, pricklypear, and ocotillo. We passed by dozens of granite islands sculpted by weathering and erosion into distinctive and resistant landforms called domed inselbergs. 

Approaching "The Wall," an inselberg functions as the bypass for vehicles. 

A corridor with vertical sides leads to The Wall at 1.3 miles, 3,860 feet.

The Wall is a ten to twelve foot lift. A local riding a Yamaha YZ250 caught up with us in the Gap. He was able to bust up The Wall, taking it just right of center. (THW, photo)

On our return, we walked down the inselberg, image-left. (THW, photo)

Cross the boundary between State Trust Land and Coronado National Forest shortly beyond The Wall at a cattle guard. The ultra cool welded sign reads, "Charouleau Gap, 4 Wheel Drive Trail maintained by the Tucson Rough Riders in cooperation with the United States Forest Service, 'Adopt-A-Trail.'"

We had no regrets walking the road. On our return, the silhouettes of peaks we'd explored in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness were lined up from Pusch Peak (image-right) to Cathedral Rock.

Looking east, more granite hills precede Samaniego Ridge. As you close in on the Gap there are excellent views of Mule Ears, points 7,022' and 7,435', and distinctively tapered Samaniego Peak.

At 2.2 miles cross the primitive track shown on the Oracle quad. Gap Tank, 2.8 miles, was a dry bowl of fine, gray dirt fluffed up with tire tracks. The road circles a bowl above Dodge Wash, swings sharply northeast and takes direct aim at the Gap. Below, the false summit of Peak 5,961' is graced by a mantle of white gold grass. (THW, photo)

If you parked two miles out the road as we did, reach Charouleau Gap at 4.5 miles, a reasonable distance. If you started from the parking lot off Lago del Oro, you've already pounded out 6.5 miles, whew--it's going to be a big day. Before LiDAR, I would have extrapolated the saddle's elevation at 5,100 feet. The  LiDAR measurement, supposedly accurate to within four inches, reads 5,094 feet. The Gap road continues east, drops into the inner Cañada del Oro, and then continues to Oracle for a total of 19 miles. (THW, photo)

 

While we were taking a break on the saddle, the motocross rider from the immediate neighborhood met up with us. While he was an experienced rider, this was his maiden run on the YZ250. Impressive. (THW, photo)

On our most recent visit to Samaniego Peak in 2018, we were tempted to carry on to Mule Ears. However, we were dissuaded by The Santa Catalina Mountains: A Guide to the Trails and Routes, by Pete Cowgill & Eber Glendening (out of print). In the most recent edition (1997), they wrote the trail was nearly overgrown with dense brush and was difficult to follow. They stated it was more of a route than a trail way back then. (THW, photo) 

The route to the summit is obvious. We crossed back west over the cattle guard then mounted the subtle, rounded south ridge. The climb was pleasant, grassy, not too steep, not too thorny, not too rocky. We easily swerved around patches of beargrass and Arizona oak.

After crossing a barbed wire fence the slope pitched but footing was good as we chased after the false summit.

This image looks back on the Gap and the location of the elusive Samaniego Ridge Trail. (THW, photo)

 

Boulders were tightly bunched as we approached the false summit. Now we were getting to the best part.

There is a minor cliff on the north side of the false summit but go stand on top before bypassing on the west. The roller is composed of gigantic weathered boulders and a perfect sphere. How on earth?

Crest the false summit at 5.1 miles, 5,900 feet. On the very top the bedrock has been divided into compartments. According to geologist John Bezy (see the reference at the top of the post), the joints could have formed as the molten granite cooled and contracted. Or, the earth's crust might have faulted and folded after the rock was in place. At any rate, sets of joints intersect other joints at various angles and create rock boxes. Check it out. A second roller stands between the false summit and the peak.

The only aggravation on the hike was the abundant agave. It busted up our lines, sent us dodging. No matter how hard we tried, we all got poked time and again. There was some boulder hopping and deflecting as well but that's pure fun. 

It is moments like the one shown below that make this seldom visited mountain so exceptional. (THW, photo)

Boulders moderate on the final rise to the summit. There is evidence that the Bighorn fire swept across the mountain. It burned almost 120,000 acres in the Santa Catalina Mountains in July, 2020.

We crested the peak at 5.5 miles. The highpoint is rather indistinct among all the big boulders. The summit register, dating to 2002, is buried in the peak cairn. We were amused by a recent entry. I wouldn't be surprised to learn locals call the saddle "Sharlow Gap." (THW, photo)

 

We contemplated dropping down the north ridge to Point 5,565' (shown) and going on out to the final roller. I have to believe it is wildly beautiful. But the 500-foot drop was complicated by boulders and brush so we abandoned the idea. The collection of white buildings seen below is Biosphere 2 located in Oracle and operated by the University of Arizona. 

Northwest is Oro Valley and unmistakable Picacho Peak. To its east, Newman Peak is the highest point in the Picacho Mountains.

 

Below, Mule Ears is image-left. Point 7,435' is almost eclipsing Samaniego Peak. Even Baboquivari Peak is visible beyond Pusch Ridge.

Samaniego Ridge is separated from Oracle Ridge by Cañada del Oro, the principal watercourse draining the north slopes of Mount Lemmon. Yes, the very arroyo we crossed on the way to the Gap. It hooks an about-face around the north base of our mountain. All three peaks shown, Marble, Rice, and Apache, can be traversed in one long day on Oracle Ridge.

As we were leaving the peak we decided to see more of the mountain by diverting from our ascent route. We left the ridge at 5,860 feet (shown) and descended southwest, aiming for the road. This was a superb decision. The first 300 feet were pure joy as we walked down the granite slope upon which perched massive spheroidal boulders. 

 

So, how did they get there? John Bezy writes that the spheroids are characteristic of many granite landscapes. I always assumed they'd tumbled from a ridge long ago, but no. They are the remnants of curved sheets of granite that once formed the outer layers of inselberg domes. Weathering and erosion reduced the sheets to individual angular slabs of rock that were rounded by prolonged exposure to the atmosphere, disintegrating crystal by crystal. Boulders that form on steep slopes eventually succumb to the pull of gravity and roll to the base of the domes.

We came across a pricklypear with the biggest pads I've ever seen. It was growing from a patch of resurrection moss, of course!

We threaded sheets of stone creating a granite highway.

While the rock surface was sticky, the slope was steep enough to be a respectable friction pitch. My friend's boots cut loose and she did a full-body slide for 15 feet before halting, tangled up in a shrub. She suffered some serious rock rash. 

Below, two hikers are descending the stone slope. (THW, photo)

 

By about 5,560 feet the surface granite had run its course. (THW, photo)

We turned south and lit upon a southwest bearing ridge. From there it was a practically effortless descent.

 

To the south we could see the one dominant switchback on the Gap road. We saved almost a mile on our shortcut. (THW, photo)

Below, we are about to make contact with the road.

We intersected the road at 4,460 feet. The ridge we came down is image-center.

This image was shot from the parking lot off Lago del Oro Parkway. Charouleau Gap is on the far left and Samaniego Peak is image-right. Although this is a beautiful picture, you have to get out there on foot for the wondrous features of this landscape to be revealed.

Yoas Mountain, 4,431', Santa Rita Mountains

Essence: Yoas Mountain is on the rippling northwestern flank of the Santa Rita Mountains. The ranked peak is so low it would be inconsequential were it not for its unique vantage point on Elephant Head and other much higher summits on the west slope of the range. This description of the "slightly fun little peak" begins from the Quantrell Mine Trailhead (also the Elephant Head trailhead) and descends 950 feet before starting the 800-foot summit ascent. The trailhead is at a higher elevation than the peak. There are other shorter routes but this one is not difficult and it isn't too brushy if you stay on course. Strong hikers could conceivably combine Yoas with Peak 4,259' and/or Elephant Head and Little Elephant Head. The hike is on public lands managed by Coronado National Forest.

Travel: From Tucson, drive south on I-19 passing the town of Green Valley. Take Exit 56, Canoa Road. Start measuring from the bottom of the ramp. In the rotary, go around and under the freeway. At the stop sign turn south on the frontage road. At 3.2 miles, turn left on Elephant Head Road. Turn right on paved Mount Hopkins Road at 4.7 miles. At 10.3 miles, go left on FSR 183. 2WD vehicles with decent clearance should be adequate on the graded gravel road. Park under a large oak in a circular lot 12.7 miles from the interstate.

Distance and Elevation Gain: 7.4 miles; 1,850 feet
Total Time: 4:00 to 5:30
Difficulty: Trail, off-trail; navigation moderate; Class 2 with no exposure
Map: Mt. Hopkins, AZ 7.5' USGS Quad
Date Hiked: November 22, 2024
Poem:
What point of light
& dark do we not
understand?
The morning makes
No judgment
Under blue skies
Everything shines.
Art Goodtimes

 

Seen from the north ridge of Devils Cash Box, our mountains of interest are iridescent in horizontal light. Yoas Mountain is the symmetrical summit on the left. The blip between it and Elephant Head is Peak 4,259'. Little Elephant Head is on the right. 

Route: From the trailhead in Agua Caliente Canyon hike generally north on the Quantrell Mine Trail. In one mile, transition northwest and drop into Chino Basin. At the junction with a secondary track, elevation 3,760 feet, walk south for 0.1 mile. Leave the road and ascend off-trail, bearing west-southwest to the summit. 

 

Walk a few paces back down the access road and locate the Quantrell Mine Trail, Forest Service Trail 950, on the north side of the track, elevation 4,580 feet. The trail is open to mountain bikes but I have not seen tracks. The recommended 30-mile loop begins at the Lawrence Whipple Observatory Visitor Center and utilizes rough jeep roads.

 

The trail crosses Agua Caliente Canyon right away then bears northwest, rising gently. Mesquite, turpentine bush, agave, shindagger, cholla, and sotol grow in the desert grassland ecosystem. For better or for worse (off-trail), this is an ocotillo-rich hike. Look southwest to see the deeply cleaved ridgeline bearing ranked summits Peak 5,012' (image-left) and Devils Cash Box, 4,964'. We found them so enticing, we returned a couple of weeks later and climbed those two, along with our favorite, Devils Throne, Peak 5,359' (further south, off-image). 

 

Elephant Head comes into view from a low saddle at 0.7 mile, 4,700 feet, the high point of this hike. Right on the saddle is a trail bearing west and then north to Peak 5,139', "Little Elephant Head." From the saddle, the footpath gives up considerable ground as it drops into Chino Basin. Be on alert if you hope to catch a glimpse of Yoas along this stretch. Below, it's in the center of the image, down low. 

Arrive at a signed junction at 1.0 mile, 4,520 feet. The Quantrell Mine Trail and the route to Elephant Head bears right. For Yoas Mountain, branch left, dropping into Chino Basin.

 

The thin and rocky crushed granite trail is clearly underutilized. There is grass in the pathway and encroaching from the sides. The visuals of the north face of Little Elephant Head highlight this segment. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)

Just past the spring marked on the topo (which I did not see) is the Elephant Head Mill Site at 1.7 miles. According to the placard the mill was established in 1915 to process lead, zinc, and silver ore.

We didn't see much evidence of the handful of structures once on the site. The vegetation was too intimidating to poke around for a better look. In this photo you can make out the cement dam and pipes going into a steel tank.

 

Just beyond the mill site walk through a gate designed to block vehicles but not hikers, bikers, or stock.

Below the gate the trail turns into an overgrown two-track, Chino Spring Road, FSR 4073. The road was too rocky to be pleasant for bikes but I saw occasional OHV tracks. This image looks back on the barrier fall in Chino Canyon and the abandoned road platform leading from the mill site. 

The topography was alluring and beautiful with Elephant Head on our right and Peak 4,259' out in front of us. It would be easy to confuse this ranked summit (rise 399 feet) with Yoas. I think the two of them would combine nicely. As it happens, our hiking buddy had a scheduling constraint so we had to let it go.

Yoas Mountain is southwest of Peak 4,259'. Below, the actual summit is to the right of the rocky knob we'll be climbing.

The most dramatic take on Little Elephant Head is right from Chino Spring Road. That is one powerful monolithic pinnacle. (THW, photo)

Stay on the road to a junction at 2.7 miles, elevation 3,760 feet, the low point in the hike. Leave Chino Spring Road there and turn south on a secondary track (image-left). Judging from tire tracks, most OHVs coming up from the north turn around here. The first time I climbed Elephant Head in 2012 we started from the confluence of Madera Canyon Wash and Chino Wash. You could save significant vertical by parking at the confluence and hiking up Chino Spring Road to this point.

The secondary road points due south to start. Santa Rita pricklypear is common on rocky hillsides in this region. An exceedingly colorful specimen was growing beside the two-track.

After just 0.1 mile, leave the track and climb to a low saddle (3,860 feet) between what appears to be two little hills. Actually, this saddle is at the base of the south ridge of Peak 4,259'...in case you are tempted. Ocotillo interference is the main obstacle between here and the Yoas summit. 

From the saddle we made a mess of our route to the base of the rocky knob. We were duking it out with catclaw and the whole assortment of slashing plants. On our return we avoided that entirely. So, from the saddle walk a few paces southwest and you will see a multi-step pouroff. 

Head the dry fall. 

Walk southwest in a water-sculpted wash. Alas, it is short lived.

 

This image looks back on the emergence from the wash, your best access route to the base of the rocky knob.

 

Less than half a mile from the junction at 3.2 miles, 3,920 feet, leave the wash and start climbing the roller. The knob is distinguished by the cluster of boulders on its head.

It's not too steep. There are shindaggers but you can mostly avoid them. The brush isn't bad. It feels so good to be going uphill, finally. Toward the top you'll work around some granite boulders with good examples of case hardening.

 

Top out at 4,220 feet and get a good look at the remainder of the route. It was starting to look like fun. Give up about 40 feet, staying on the ridgeline. On our return we cut off the top of the roller on the south but the further south you go, the brushier it gets. In retrospect, I wish we'd just gone back over the top. (THW, photo)

Simply follow the ridge as it curves from southwest to north. Go directly over one more insignificant roller in the arc.

Below, my partner is nearing the summit ridge. The ridgecrest is mildly scrambly with mostly fractured boulders and a few nice big ones. I admit to being a little disappointed. I was hoping the mountain would have more of a solid stone structure like Elephant Head.

The ridge constricts to about eight feet wide but there is no sense of exposure. 

We crested at 3.7 miles after 800 feet of vertical. The top was covered in pointed rocks so it didn't qualify as a picnic peak. It's worth noting that we are pretty darn close to the international border with Mexico. Judging from all the trash strewn about, this is a migrant holdout. The Yoas Benchmark was placed in 1935. The registry dated to 2019. The next entry was in November of 2022 when Mike Williams signed in. The beta we had for this hike crossed private land so I'd like to thank Mike for turning us on to this public lands route. Check out his excellent description and track in Hike Arizona.

The lookout from Yoas is much better than its 371-foot prominence would imply. There is an intimate perspective on the south face of Elephant Head. I assume that everyone climbing Yoas has been up Elephant Head, but just in case...On my first climb we went up the Chino Spring Road apiece and then did a "shortcut" straight up Chino Canyon. It was brush infested with Class 3 bouldering. It would be faster to stay on the road to the standard route on the Quantrell Mine Trail. Of personal interest, I left my boots at home that day and did the whole hike in backless clogs. (THW, photo)

The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory can be seen on the summit of Mount Hopkins at elevation 8,585 feet. While there are facilities at three different elevations the summit observatory is operated jointly by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the University of Arizona for solar system, galactic and extragalactic astronomy. Tree-clad Pete Mountain, shown, is typically climbed from the Old Baldy Trailhead. 

The escarpment encircling Little Elephant Head gives one pause. Hikers are fortunate to have a walk-up on the south ridge. (THW, photo)

From this perspective, Devils Throne is clearly visible south of Devils Cash Box. There is an exposed Class 3 route up its south ridge that is way fun for experienced scramblers. (THW, photo)

Baboquivari Peak resides in the west beyond the Santa Cruz River valley. The beautiful intervening range is the Cerro Colorado Mountains. (THW, photo)

As you leave the summit be sure to make a hard turn onto the east ridge. It would be all too easy to skitter right down the south ridge. On our hike, our little group separated momentarily and at the low-point junction, our friend absentmindedly started walking down the Chino Spring Road. I was on alert because I didn't see his boot prints going uphill. It took a little while to sort this out. It was a gentle reminder not to separate out in the wild. Upon reaching the Chino Spring Road you've got some ascending to do. It's roughly 950 feet from the low point back up to the 4,700-foot saddle.