The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 3577 (South Peak) • Black Mesa (North Peak) There are two mesa formations side by side on the west side of the Beeline Highway, south of Sunflower, near milepost 214. They are volcanic mounds of basalt rock with sloping flat tops, and are easily visible as one drives northbound on the highway. The north one is higher and is creatively called Black Mesa. The south one has no name, but is naturally the "south" Black Mesa as far as I'm concerned. I hiked these two peaks on two separate outings. Despite their proximity to one another, it becomes clear that getting between them is not easy, and there are easier options to approach the peaks individually. I hiked South Black Mesa in 2020, then a year later hiked North Black Mesa.
Date: March 23, 2020
• Elevation: 3,577 feet ✳
• Prominence: 307 feet
• Distance: 6 miles
• Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
• Gain: 1,230 feet
• Conditions: Sun with fast-moving clouds, blustery and cool
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
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Lidar
From Payson, I drove 75 miles to my office at ASU. With the lockdown and social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak, there's almost no one on campus ... but I wanted to just get out for a day. I had a couple small errands to do anyway in Scottsdale. I spent three hours in my office, answered a few emails, talked to a couple colleagues, and spaced. By noon, I was done, so I headed home.
The day was sunny and pleasant with high puffy clouds moving through, the front of a system up to the north. As I drove north up the Beeline Highway, I had maps handy for a number of hilltops in this corridor. I chose to hike the south Black Mesa today. I arrived to the Sycamore Creek ATV staging area off of the highway at 1:15 p.m., the day still sunny but noticeably cloudier up here. These clouds scooted through fast. They did not linger. As such, I would have periods of sun and warmth, then muted light and cooler temperatures. They were pretty clouds, perfect for photography.
I chose this hike because it had a forest track for most of the way, and given my late start, felt I should still be able to complete the hike well before sundown. The peak has only 307 feet of prominence, but from where I was starting, I'd be looking at over 1,200 vertical feet of gain.
I had my hiking duds, boots and pack already in the car. I was ready to go in moments, and started hiking north up a sandy road bed. Soon, I found the Forest Road marker for FR-1333. The road turns right up a ridge and out of the roadbed. For the next two miles, I followed FR-1333, north then northwest. The road is atop a long ridge and is not a bad road for about a mile. It gained at a steady and moderate rate, and I made good time.
The road sweeps westbound below the south-facing slopes of South Black Mesa. Here, the road steepens, and gets a little rockier in spots. It enters into a small canyon where erosion has done a number on the shoulders. Then it suddenly gains steeply out of the canyon, now trending north to gain the saddle (elevation 3,240 feet) west of the summit. Up here, the road was basically a layer of rocks, each about a foot wide. The slopes were blooming with Spring's flowers. I saw lots of yellowaniums, some purpletonians, and a few orangeariums. I was at the saddle roughly an hour after starting, gained just shy of a thousand feet. Up here, the wind was brisk, funneling through the pass.
I then angled upslope. I found a weak path through the low grass, cactus and shrubs, but soon found myself on a long cascade of black talus. These rocks were solid (except a couple) and pitched at a reasonable gradient so that I was able to get up them without much issue. This talus "lane" covered about a hundred vertical feet.
Now I was on the upper plateau. The whole place was covered in this interesting tall grass with thick stalks. Each "blade" stood about two or three feet tall, and when I walked though them, they did not make me itch. I was able to find the apparent summit without any trouble. The highest point could be any of about four big boulders. I tagged each one and found the register in a cleft of one rock. I was the third to sign in, the first in two years.
I spent ten minutes up top. The views were awesome. The grass contrasted well with the colors of the surrounding mountains and the blue sky with the white (and gray) puffy clouds. I enjoyed this perch a lot. Only the steady and cold breeze prompted me to get moving.
The hike down went well. I carefully eased down the talus slope, then once back on the road, fast-walked and even jogged some of it back to my car. I was back by 3:30, a two-hour, fifteen-minute journey. I was pleased that I was successful and that it went quickly. As things developed, the clouds were the edge of a fast-moving front, which up in Payson (which abuts the Mogollon Rim) meant they just piled up and dropped a few showers, but nothing heavy. By the next morning, all the clouds were gone and we had sunny skies.
Date: February 18, 2021
• Elevation: 3,826 feet
• Prominence: 448 feet
• Distance: 4.5 miles
• Time: 3 hours
• Gain: 1,530 feet (gross)
• Conditions: Sunny, cold at first then warming
PB
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LoJ
Today, I had most of the morning free, the weather was sunny, cool and stable, and it was a weekday, which was important as this area is popular with shooters. I figured being a Thursday, no one would be here. I left Payson as the sun was rising, timing my drive to arrive at the general area when the sun was just high enough to poke over the larger mountains (e.g. Mount Ord) to the east.
Fom my home, it is a 33-mile drive to Sunflower, then less than a mile south to Tonto Forest Road 1705 on the right (west) side, which I almost overran. I eased onto it, then followed FR-1705 a little under a mile to a sharp right turn. There was a fantastic open area where I parked, a little south of an old gravel pit. The whole area is used by the shooters, and their trash was everywhere. I got situated, packed my pack, and locked everything up, hiking at 7:40 a.m.. It was cold in the shade, about 35 degrees F, with a breeze. I was the only one here, no shooters or anyone. I was at roughly 3,670 feet elevation to start.
The hike follows FR-1705, and other forest tracks. The initial segment along FR-1705 dropped a little in elevation, and here the breezes funneled into a steady wind. I walked quickly to get back into the sun. I walked about a quarter-mile, topping out on a soft saddle north of Hill 3733, the saddle's elevation about 3,650 feet.
Soon, I came to a split, with FR-1705 going left and FR-1697 going to the right, more southwesterly now. I walked along FR-1697 for a mile, dropping 410 feet in elevation, bottoming out near Rincon Tank. The whole way I had Black Mesa's mass ahead of me and I studied the slopes for what looked friendliest. Typical of these mesas, the apron of slopes were steep, grassy with areas of brush and low forest, then a caprock with weaknesses. My initial plan had been to follow FR-1700 northwest, which would then bend back south to a saddle north of the mesa.
However, at Rincon Tank, I had doubts about this plan. The road meandered too much for my liking and there were cows. I'm not afraid of them but I don't like dealing with them on trails because they just stand there getting agitated. Instead, I bailed off the road and walked up a slope to a small ridge, then down about 40 feet to an arroyo, then up another slope, now on the northern tip of the mesa, the summit directly above. From Rincon Tank, this slope looked open and there was an obvious breach in the rock walls on the mesa rim where I could surmount the mesa easily.
I started up the slope, which was angled leniently at first, and mostly open. Slowly, the grade steepened and I entered into the brush. I was able to get through the brush without too many scratches, aided by a good game path that cut through the brush nicely. I was on top fairly fast. I then angled right and uphill, aiming for the highpoint. I was soon at the highest area on the north lip of the mesa. The highest point could have been any of about a half-dozen boulders, but the log and cairn is located on the northeast tip of this lip. I signed in, the first one here in a year. Up here, the wind was stronger, and cool. Other than a brief stop to sign in the log, I did not sit still much. The views were fantastic on this clear and dry morning.
Next, I wanted to seek the "Blacky" benchmark, which I knew was located farther down the mesa-top, where it lowers in elevation overlooking the Beeline Highway. I figured I'd find it in an "obvious" rock outcrop. Problem was, there were many such outcrops and I spent about a half-hour inspecting each one, never finding the disk. So I gave up. But one good thing was I found a slope downhill that looked far better than the one I had come up. This slope was less brushy and went straight down to Big Rincon Tank (spelled "Ricon" on the map). Once at the tank, I found a sitting rock under a tree and took my first long break, drinking and relaxing.
I started walking back to my car, having to regain 400 feet along the way. The grade was barely noticeable, and I was back to my car at 10:39, a two-hour, 59-minute journey. I changed into more comfortable clothes and drove home, ready to do whatever it is I do for work. I'm always happy to get in a hike and was pleased this hike went well with no mishaps.
Forest Road 1705 looked decent to me, and I could have driven it carefully to where it split with FR-1697. FR-1697 was in choppy shape, needing a Jeep or equivalent. When I was at Big Rincon Tank, where FR-1705 comes around again to meet it, it still looked pretty good, but I cannot comment on the parts I didn't hike. But I suspect it's a better-than-average road that a stock truck with 4-wheel drive could manage. If so, then I would recommend to climb the slope above Big Rincon Tank and not do what I did, although my way worked.
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