Late April is always kind of iffy in the lower elevations of Arizona - it can be hot, or getting hot - or even pretty cool sometimes. Beth and I wanted to explore Pinal Peak near Globe, figuring it was high enough to avoid the real heat if there was going to be any, and low enough to be mostly snow-free and not too darn cold. The peak itself is the most prominent mountain in Gila County (barely edging out Mazatzal Peak for that honor), and only about 70 feet shy of being the county highpoint. However, the peak's central location and huge (4,000+) prominence makes it an attractive locale for radio towers. As such, the summits are covered in massive tower complexes. A well-graded road leads literally to the very top, so this one can be driven if one so desires. Most of the Pinal Mountains are within the Tonto National Forest, which maintains a number of fine trails and camping and cabin areas on the peak. Despite the challenge of an all-day hike being removed from the equation, we still wanted to spend a night camping and exploring the upper reaches of the range. Afterwards we would spend a night in Globe and visit a street festival in the nearby mining city of Miami. A chance for us to immerse ourselves in Globe, which is normally just a place to get gas, drinks and ice as we rumble to points east and north.

From our home in Chandler it's only about 60 miles to Globe, but Friday traffic, freeway restrictions and road closures (and some bad decisions on my part) kept us on the road for almost two hours. We got to Globe about 6 p.m. and made a food run at the Safeway, then started our way up towards the Pinal Mountain Recreation Area. We pretty much relied on the signage to get us there. We left US-60 near a bridge at milepost 251, then followed a series of local residential roads into the foothills, always following the signs pointing to Pinal Peak. The last of the homes give way about 5 miles out of town, and the pavement ends soon thereafter. Finally, we found ourselves on Forest Road 651, the one that winds all the way to the top. Other roads lead into the range, up Sixshooter and Icehouse Canyons. Our road generally went parallel with Kellner Canyon. The road was in good condition - at worst, some washboard. It gains from low-elevation scrub into tall pines, then comes over a pass and winds precariously on the range's south faces, which are much steeper and exposed than its gentler northern ridges. But the road was in fine shape, and we soon found ourselves way high up on the range, between the two main summits - Pinal at 7,848 feet, and Signal at 7,812 feet. Darkness was falling now; we had enough light to find ourselves a spot at the camping area and pitch a tent. We were the only ones there! The drive up took about an hour and covered about 18 miles from US-60. We had ourselves a nice little fire in the fire ring, too.

Ultimately we decided against sleeping in the tent due to the possible bears in the area - it being late April, they might be out and about, hungry and obnoxious. Even though we know bear attacks are very rare, we didn't chance it so we slept in the truck. Very early in the morning Beth saw an animal backlit against the very dim purplish sky. I didn't see it, but her description of its profile and the way it moved suggested it wasn't one of the other large beasts like a deer or big cat. It very well may have been a bear! Maybe we did make the right decision. Soon, the sun was up again, and we had very breezy conditions. The air was very cool. Our camp was no more than a mile of walking from the top, so after some cleaning up the area and getting stuff in order, I went ahead to walk up to the top, Beth choosing to stay behind and relax her knees which were bothering her. I followed the road up past a series of cabins and on up to the top - very easy and no trouble at all. The one way walk took about 20 minutes. I walked up to the true summit first, with all its towers, buildings and cables. I found a witness marker set in some rocks, but could not find the actual benchmark. A large granite rock about 8 feet tall around the back is the highest point, and I clambered up it. I also explored some other rock piles, plus a short hike up the other hill nearby just to be sure. Then, on back to the truck, a total time gone of one hour.

Beth was still interested in the top so after clearing camp, we drove the good roads back to the top, where we took turns posing atop the summit slab. The views were pretty nice, save for a lot of haze off in the distances. Mounts Turnbull and Bassett were the closest big peaks. Mount Lemmon was visible to the south. After spending a few minutes up top (the stiff breeze wasn't inviting), we drove on down, back into Globe. Well that was an easy peak! We stayed in Globe the rest of the day, and took in the street fair in Miami, about 5 miles west. Our Miami is an old mining community that still has much of its original buildings. The street fair was heavily flavored with mining exhibits, plus the usual jewelry and food stands. The next day, we took a detour home, taking a back road - the Florence-Kelvin Highway - and stopping at a confluence, visiting 33N 111W which proved to be more of a hike than our Pinal experience. Nevertheless, a fun, amusing and relaxing weekend all around.