Pine Mountain is a fairly obscure peak - set way back from the major highways, and only visible from a small stretch of AZ-260 east of Camp Verde. And that's only when you're in a specific area, and you know when and where to look. Furthermore, this particular highway is not a heavily traveled one, so suffice to say, Pine Mountain hides very well for a 2000-foot prominent mountain. Pine Mountain tops the Pine Mountain Wilderness Area, a sub-enclave of the Prescott National Forest. It is roughly located in the center of the state, about 50 air-miles north of Phoenix, sitting on the eastern highlands of the raised Yavapai Plateau. Thousands of travelers ride Interstate-17 daily between Phoenix and Flagstaff; the stretch between the Sunset Overlook (roughly milepost 251) and the grade into Camp Verde (roughly milepost 280) is a scape of rolling highlands, grassy rangeland and a few scattered ranches. Aside from the travel stop at Cordes Junction (exit 259), there are no amenities along this stretch of highway. I think it's very pretty, and am surprised that it has remained so undeveloped over the years. Much of it is private land, which explains much. There's also a checkerboard of Forest lands, BLM lands and Arizona State Trust lands as well.

I have known about Pine Mountain for awhile, seeing it on my hike up Mazatzal Peak a year before, and reading about it in my hiking books. The general consensus is that it's a neat place to visit and camp, with little traffic. It's close enough to Phoenix that I haven't made any grand expeditions to it, figuring I could visit it on a whim at my convenience. Pine Mountain itself is part of the Verde Rim, a run of peaks, ridges and cliffs that ring the Verde River Valley on its west (with the Mazatzal Mountains being the valley's eastern bulwarks). It's a roadless, expansive and beautiful region of Arizona, difficult to reach except by hiking or a few rough 4-wheel drive tracks. With nearly 3,000 feet of differential between the rim and river, this valley compares well with some of our larger 'grander' canyons in the state. Anywhere else and this would be a major tourist draw. With the weather cooling down for fall, I had a weekend open and decided to visit a couple of close-by peaks, this one and Mount Ord.

I left Chandler late Friday afternoon, managing to avoid the worst of Interstate-17 traffic. I zipped up the highway to the Dugas/Orme exit (exit 268), in all about 90 minutes after I left home. I wanted to get a good campspot before it got too dark, but by the time I exited east onto Dugas Road (Orme Road goes west), it was essentially completely dark, with no moon. I rumbled along the good dirt road into the community of Dugas, located about 7 miles from the interstate. In the dark I came to a junction that confused me a bit, so I decided to forget about driving all the way in and back-tracked about two miles where I found a great camping spot at about milepost 5. I had the place to myself. Occasionally a vehicle would drive by on the road, but that was it for distractions. I had a dinner by lantern-light, and when it got too cold, I sat a spell in my truck and read some books. I camped in the bed of my truck, and the next morning it was cold enough to have had a minor frost build-up on the windows.

I started driving about 7 a.m, heading east and directly into the bright sun. I drove through Dugas again, getting a peek at this 'town'. It features one fairly large and active ranch house (for the Dugas Ranch). I spotted maybe 2 or 3 other homesites that looked occupied, plus some old ruins from about 60 years ago, standing but just barely. The Dugas Ranch seemed to be active, and there were a lot of trucks coming and going. Anyway, at the Y-junction where I turned around last night, I took a left and forded a stream, then followed the main road another three miles as it gained out of the valley and up onto some higher ground. At times I was blinded by the sun, and in a few cases I just had to stop and lean my head out my side window to see anything - my windshield completely glared up in the morning light. Three miles past Dugas the road comes to a junction, and I went right, following the signs to Pine Mountain. A sign mentions the end of Yavapai County road maintenance. The road got rougher but not too bad. It continued to snake its way up onto higher ground, then, two miles later, I went right again at another junction, again following the signs to Pine Mountain. The rest of the drive covered about 6-7 miles and was generally bumpy but never too bad. I never needed 4-wheel drive, and often could keep up a 20-mile an hour pace. Even so it took almost an hour to make the drive in. Toward the end the road descends into Sycamore Canyon somewhat steeply, passing the Double T Ranch, and a mile later, ending at the Salt Flat primitive camping area. This is still Prescott National Forest, but outside the wilderness boundary. A couple of cars were there already, some having camped out the night before. I gathered my gear and started my hike about 8:30 a.m.

There is a great trail network in the Wilderness area, allowing for a variety of possibilities, including some loop hikes. The first leg along the Willow Trail (#156) went past a gate and gently up Sycamore Creek for about 2.5 miles, always at a very gentle gradient. About a half-mile from the start I came upon the old Nelson Place homestead. The only hints of past habitation were some stone walls, a wooden platform of some sort, and some apple trees apparently planted as an attempt to start an orchard. The area is very pretty and features a flowing spring. I made the first 2.5-mile leg (2.7 miles says one of the maps) in about an hour, coming to the junction with Trail #12, leading directly to the Verde Rim. The gain here was about 600 feet and I barely felt the uphill except for some short sections. The trail itself was well marked and easy to follow. I decided to turn right and stay on Trail 156. It began a short but moderate uphill, gaining about 400 feet in a half mile to top out on a broad saddle called Cloverleaf. I met a man on a horse coming down, plus his half-dozen friendly hounds. At the junction I went left, heading generally east, as the new trail (#14) worked its way up a subridge and onto the Verde Rim. I had my first views of Pine Mountain and its subsidiary summits, strung out along the rim's ridge. I was making good time, except for some places where the trail got real scant. This was the only trouble I had all day. I always got back on route easily enough but I did spend time 'looking around'. It's not a well-traveled trail, and is overgrown in spots. Nevertheless, I made the Verde Rim at the junction with the Rim Trail (#161), where I had my first views down into the Verde River Valley. Outstanding!

Pine Mountain itself - according to the map - is about 3/4 of a mile north along the Rim Trail from where I was, but the map also shows three other bumps with the same contour elevation, all south of the main peak. Two of the three have enough rise to be genuine contenders for the highest point, so I chose to visit all potential spots. I had deliberately chosen this route as it put me just feet north of the southernmost summit. It took all of five minutes to walk up the 30 vertical feet to its broad top and tag its boulders, and back down to the trail junction. I sighted toward the northern peaks but everything looked equal. The second-from-southernmost area was just a short stroll north along the Rim Trail. This is tiny and is marked at 6,810 feet, and is probably not a contender for top honors. Even so, it did have good open views and a neat rocky prow right on the cliff's edge.

The two northern areas were now better visible, and I honestly couldn't say which one was higher, so I visited both. The second-from-north area was brushy and I had to wend my way up through grass and bushes to get to the top. Views were hard to come by in the foliage. I descended back to the trail. It descended into a saddle between the two areas, then rose up to meet the northernmost area. A spur trail leads steeply to the top, which is graced by a nice small patch of open grass, some rocky outcrops, and a big pine tree. I took an extended break here, had lunch and took in the views from all directions. The Mazatzals were to my east, and the Mogollon Rin further back, north and east. Humphreys Peak stood up on the Coconino Plateau off to the north, framed by the flat tops of nearby Tule Mesa. The views west were occluded by trees, but as I decsneded I had better views out that way. To the top had taken me about three hours, covering about 5 miles and 1,700 feet of gain. Once fed and watered I was ready to scoot.

I continued north along the Verde Rim Trail as it descended very steeply, 400 feet down to a saddle and the junction with Trail #12, the one I had ignored on my way up. I went west on this trail, and a mile and a half later it came to the junction with Trail #156, signifying the end of a loop. I was in thick forest with minimal views. Once back on #156 I startted encountering a few more hikers, and had a friendly chat with an older couple who were renting out one of the Forest Service cabins in the area, which I thought was a pretty cool idea. I was back to my truck by 2 p.m., where I changed into drier clothes and crashed for a short bit in the bed of the truck. The weather was just beautiful and the nap felt really good. By 3 p.m. I was ready to roll. It took about an hour to make the drive out to the interstate. I stopped for a food break in Camp Verde and drove on into Payson where I camped for the night, in preparation for tomorrow's hike up Mount Ord.

I enjoyed my day hiking in this wilderness. It's a fairly easy peak to gain, the trails are easy to follow and all junctions are well signed, and the views over the Verde Rim are outstanding. Not many people come out this way - I couldn't find very much on the web about this peak or the Wilderness Area, and what I could find, wasn't very complimentary (I do agree, the restrooms at the trailhead are scary). Overall, I beg to differ. This is a pretty neat, out-of-the-way place. Catch it on a good weather day, and it's a real treat. I'd go back. I would say that summer would be too hot, I think, and occasional snow or rain might make the approach roads a real mess (some signs along these roads warned against driving on them when wet, and that you'd be liable for penalties if you did).