Kitt Peak is famous world-wide as the home to over two dozen telescopes and astronomical observatories, including the gigantic Mayall 4-meter optical telescope, whose building sits very near the actual summit and can be seen from over 50 miles away. The peak was chosen in 1958 by the National Science Foundation to be the home to this telescope complex, due to its remoteness, calm and usually clear night-time weather, and distance from city lights - yet close enough to a major city (Tucson) with a major university that could act as the learning nexus for all the activity on top the peak. Kitt Peak actually sits on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, from whom the NSF leases the land to house the telescopes. The peak is named for Philippa Kitt, the sister of Charles Roskruge, surveyor of Pima County in 1930. Roskruge himself has a small nearby range named for him. The Tohono O'odham name for the mountain is Iolkam.

A state highway, AZ-386, winds for 12 miles from the main highway (AZ-86) to the summit, and is 'open' daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to coincide with the visiting hours for the telescopes. A gate spans the highway at the bottom, but may not necessarily be shut during 'closed' hours. Kitt Peak is enormously popular as a tourist destination - for those with astronomy interests or just those who want to see the views, enjoy the drive, and take in the evening programs that are sometimes offered. Despite the high numbers of tourists, the summit of the peak is enough off the beaten path so that it is unlikely that more than a handful of people visit it on a given day. To visit the very top requires a short scramble through rock and juniper trees so that only the dedicated will likely bother.

My first visit to Kitt Peak occurred way back in 1996, on Christmas Day. With a day open and everyone off the streets and in their homes, I decided to do a driving tour of southern Arizona, making a loop south through Tucson, across the Tohono O'odham Nation to Ajo, then up through Gila Bend and back home. There was no agenda; just curiosity. The traffic was extremely light, as expected, and I had a good time overall, but alas, I was disappointed to find the road up Kitt Peak gated at the bottom, closed for the day, even though the big sign says the road is open daily. I had no choice but to move on. My second visit was earlier this year - actually over the New Years holiday. I had hiked Mount Ajo on New Years Eve, with the plan to hike up Kitt Peak for New Years Day. When I drove by late the afternoon of December 31st, the road (and the gates) were open. I camped that night at the Tucson Mountains Park campground. But alas, the next morning I drove back to find the road 'closed' for New Years Day. The gate was just shut for the incoming traffic; the left side of the road was open, and I was tempted to drive in anyway, but I feared I may be locked in afterwards. That, and the gloomy weather that had moved in prompted me to pass on Kitt this time around, so I decided to spend the remainder of the day driving through some of the remote parts of the Tohono O'odham Nation on my way home.

Beth and I have talked about spending the day up on top of Kitt and taking in one of their evening presentations, and we'll likely do this soon, perhaps in the summer when night-time temperatures atop the peak will be nice. As for myself, I was eager to hike up a jeep road shown on the map that generally approaches the top from the northeast, coming up from a side road that leaves off of the paved road near the bottom. I had seen this road etched into the side of the range on my January visit, and it looked straightforward enough. I wasn't interested in any bushwhacking or long ordeals of navigation, but instead I wanted a good hike, enough to tire me out pretty good, with hefty gain and good distance. The weather was looking pretty good for this weekend, so I made quick plans to spend a half-day down south hiking up Kitt. It's close enough to home that I didn't bother to leave the day before and camp; I just woke early and drove the 150 miles through Tucson out to the base of Kitt Peak, leaving a bit after 5 a.m. and arriving about 8 in clear, windy weather. The route from Tucson follows Ajo Way, which is state highway AZ-86, whose main purpose in life is to connect Tucson to Ajo, 120+ miles away, and cross the Tohono O'odham Nation in the process. It's a pretty drive and very, very remote. I hoped the gate wouldn't stay closed until 9 a.m.; fortunately it was open, so in I went. I wonder if they ever actually shut the gate during the 'closed' hours announced on the big sign, of if they just close it during the holidays and bad-weather days.

I drove south along AZ-386 almost exactly two miles; just before the second mile marker, a dirt side road stays left while the paved road bends right. I stayed south on the dirt road for another mile. It eventually turned left for a short bit, and passed an old gate and fence near some interesting rocky formations and an old 'borrow' pit, presumably where they get their gravel to keep the few dirt roads in good shape. The area is kind of open, and I was hoping to find a shielded place to stash my truck. No such luck; I just parked it to the side, backing in to a grassy area near an old fire pit. There we recent ATV and dirt-bike tracks on the road, plus a few boot prints, so the area sees visitors. I don't imagine this area has any trouble with border crossers and smugglers, but you never know... I just hoped my truck would still be there when I got back. I left a note in the dash for the benefit of the Border Patrol if they should happen to come across it. The map said my elevation was right about 3,900 feet.

The jeep road is intended to be an emergency secondary route up and down the mountain if the main road should be closed or damaged for whatever reason. An old hand-painted sign said the road should be used for emergencies only, but did not prohibit access otherwise. From where I parked I could see the jeep road running up the side of the ridge in a straight diagonal, until it achieved the ridge to the southwest near a large rocky pinnacle. I started hiking up the road, following it east shortly before it swung south, made some random turns then started its long sweep up and across the north-facing ridges. It was still cool and I had mostly shade. That, and the steady breeze made for some nippy weather. I was fine as long as I moved; once I stopped I got cold quick. The views opened up as I gained elevation. I could see the few roads below, and my lonesome truck. To the east was the giant hulk of Coyote Mountain. Tucked into the canyon between Kitt and Coyote were the few buildings composing the community of Pan Tak. The wind was kicking up dust and the views fruther off were kind of hazy, unfortunately. In about an hour I had covered about 2 miles and had finally come to the point where the road achieves the main ridge crest, elevation 5,260 feet, a gain of about 1,300 feet. Here, the road crosses an open gate and cattle guard (cattle?), and now moves onto the steeper, more barren south-facing slopes of the peak.

I had my first views of the summit telescopes from this vantage point. The giant building housing the Mayall telescope is probably the summit's most visible and notable feature. It is absolutely huge, so big in fact that it played tricks with my perception: it made it seem the top was much closer than it really was, although I knew I still had about 1,600 feet of 'up' to go. As the road works its way across the southerly slopes, the summit complex becomes more evident, as more buildings come into view. The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope also stands out for its unique appearance, an inverted-V of sorts. It is the largest optical solar telescope in the world. The route continues to gain steadily toward the top, and the barren slopes of desert scrub slowly gives way to a simple forest of juniper and manzanita. The road now turns south (on east-facing slopes) and switchbacks a few times. Views east include vast desert plains and a multitude of ranges, including Keystone Peak in the Sierritas, and Mount Wrightson further back, plus numerous smaller ranges in all directions extending off to Mexico. Above me the summit grew bigger; I could now see an antenna structure off the highest rocks, plus the huge Mayall Telescope building.

Eventually the road starts to pass some small piles of junk, some clearings and all sorts of evidence that the buildings are getting closer. There were more footprints here which suggests a lot of people hike down this from the top, but not necessarily all the way to the bottom. Actually, it's kind of ugly for this short stretch. Finally, the jeep road meets up with the main paved road; a gate spans the dirt road and a small sign mentioned 'no trespassing' ... now they tell me! However, I don't think it's enforced at all. I walked onto the asphalt and down a little bit to an open area where I could drop my pack, get some drinks and put on my jacket. The wind was blowing pretty heavy up here - maybe 30 m.p.h. - and it was dang cold! Cold enough to make my front teeth hurt. Soon, I was moving again. I walked up the little side road to the Mayall Telescope Building, following a father/son duo ahead of me. As the road curled to the top, I left it near some railings and went left, entering into the boulders and junipers to seek out the true summit. A very scant path leads in about 40 feet to the base of the rocks. I went left into a small cleft, then found some wiring conduit and some exposed guy-wiring for the antenna. I worked my way into the rocks, using the junipers to either grab onto for holds, or push aside if they were in the way. The final few feet is up some good sloping boulders with great traction, and quickly I was at the top! The summit is essentially three slabs of about equal height, with the USGS BM "Kitts" placed into a small depression, with two witness markers pointing to it. I found a sign-in register in some rocks, and added my name to the list, which wasn't very extensive at all, and mostly consisted of names of people I know, further proof that most people who come to the top probably don't bother with the actual summit. It was now 11:30 a.m.; it had taken me 3 hours exactly to make the top, in what I figured to be 5 miles and 2,900 feet of gain. I snapped some photos, mainly looking east at Coyote again, and south at the rest of the buildings and of mighty Baboquivari Peak in the distance. The views were lovely, but the brisk cold wind was very uncomfortable, so I decided to get moving again. I spent maybe 10 minutes at the top.

I descended back to the pavement and on down to the main road. I thought about walking over to the other buildings, but I was getting a chill and decided it wise to stay moving. I figured we'll be back soon anyway. I got myself back onto the jeep road and hiked down, covering a mile and about 800 feet of loss pretty quickly, before I felt good enough to stop and relax in an area shielded from the wind and a bit warmer. I took a longer break here and enjoyed the views, both up at the mountaintop and down into the deserts below. The remaining hike down went very quickly, even faster than I had figured. The road's gradient was always consistent - sometimes kind of steep but never too steep, and enough so that I could do a half-walk, half-jog gait - in fact, sometimes it was easier to let gravity swing my legs forward and proceed rather than to stop and rest! The road is overall very well-maintained, with very few sections of annoying ankle-turning rocks. I ended up walking out the rest of the way without any further rest stops, and I was back to my truck a bit after 1 p.m., for a 90-minute egress and a 4.5-hour day on the mountain. My legs were screaming, however! I took a few minutes to relax and change into some drier clothes. Somehow I stepped on a cactus barb in my Teva sandals and it poked my foot, but I couldn't see the damn thing; I finally had to dig it out with a knife and pliers.

The drive home went quickly and without event. I stopped a few times to snap photographs, plus a meal stop in Casa Grande. I was home by 5 p.m., a great day of hiking.

Here are some links pertaining to the Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Tohono O'odham Nation:

• The Kitt Peak National Observatory Page

• The Mayall 4-meter Telescope

• Mr. Eclipse Photo Gallery of the Mayall Scope

• The Tohono O'odham Nation