The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 2409 • Peak 2386 • Peak 2624 These peaks rises north of Newman Peak a few miles east of the farms and houses of Eloy and Coolidge. The main thing out here is the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Canal, which runs from the northwest, then angles south long the range before curving southeast again. The canal presents both a challenge and possibly some assistance. The canal itself is impossible to cross in a vehicle except in spots where it goes underground. However, roads to it are usually well-maintained and often paved, so getting close to the canal and the general area is easy. I hiked one peak back here, Pump House Peak, in March of 2025. So I got to looking at the maps and seeing if there were ways to access the hills farther to the north. The satellite images seemed to show good roads going to and beyond the Brady Pump complex.
Date: December 9, 2025
• Elevation: 2,409 feet ✳
• Prominence: 386 feet
• Distance: 5 miles
• Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
• Gain: 740 feet
• Conditions: Sunny, cool but warming, gorgeous
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
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Lidar
I chose Peak 2409 as my first objective. I left Bisbee a little after 7 a.m. and followed the usual route through Bencon and Tucson, with some heavy traffic in Tucson, before emerging out of the city. In Picacho (Exit 211), I went north on state route AZ-87 for 3.5 miles, then went right (east) on Houser Road for 5.5 miles, bringing me to Brady Pump Road.
By now, I was miles apart from any home or building or even a farm. It's all State Trust land out here, with a few slivers of BLM land. On Brady Pump Road, I went north about three miles toward the Brady Pump facility. I went right at a stop sign.
The CAP Canal runs underground here for about a mile, and crossing over it is unfettered, no gates or signs to stop anyone. I went right at a Y-junction and proceeded east, paralleling the canal, for a mile. I passed through a wire-stick gate, and drove to a raised berm.
The peak I wanted was visible a couple miles to the east, a hill covered in rocks even visible from a distance. As to where I parked, I explored the roads a little, but they got a little rough. I parked in a depression near the berm. There is a tower back near the Brady Pump facility that I could see from a distance and that would be my azimuth for the hike out.
It was a little past 10 a.m. by now, cool and very pleasant, temperature in the high 50s, with a strong sun. It was actually warm in the sun, but in any shade, it was chilly. I got dressed, got my pack and sticks and started walking almost immediately.
I just walked on a direct bearing toward the peak. The desert terrain was very easy to travel through, with the plants always spaced apart so I could walk unimpeded, there was no heavy grass, and what grass was here grew about an inch high. Everything was green. The plants were the usual: saguaro, cholla and various other cactus; palo verde, mesquite and creosote. I followed cattle paths when I found them. This was some of the prettiest and greenest desert I've ever walked through.
About a half-hour later, I was nearing the peak. I came to a fence going north-south, and a road on its other side. I eased through the strands and followed this road north, then a lesser track east, now directly below the mountain mass. I was aiming for a gully that looked promising as a way up.
The hill is nothing but rocks and small cliffs. Even from fifty feet out, it all looks very steep. But once I was at the base of the rocks, suddenly it all leaned back and did not look so bad at all.
I had about 300 vertical feet of these rocks to get to the saddle on the ridge. The rocks are all granite boulders in heaps, and getting through them was easy but slow. I often had to move laterally to find better ways up. What wasn't rock was loose grus-type gravel which slid with each step.
But, it all worked out nicely. It was steep, often brushy and often awkward, but it all went up with no surprises, no cliffs or impassable barriers. I used my hands maybe twice. I wouldn't say I scrambled at all. The poles were critical for balance and yes, more than once, a massive rock would teeter under weight. I kicked loose a few mid-sized ones.
At the saddle, the peak appears behind a foreground hill. The rocks going up from here were more of the same, steep but simple to manage. I was able to weave through the rocks and openings, going up until I was on top. It had taken me just over an hour to get here.
The top has three rocks that could be the highpoint. I tagged all three and felt the middle one was highest. I looked for a cairn or register, with no luck. I snapped a few images, then sat for a few minutes to relax, have something to drink and check my texts and emails.
Views were good, with a cloudless sky and dry air. Newman Peak rose high to the south. To the north and east were the Superstitions and a lot of undeveloped State Land desert. To the west was the canal, then some farms and houses. I spent about ten minutes on the peak.
Going down, I stepped carefully down the rocks until I was back on flat ground. Then I just had to walk a couple miles of desert back to my car. I could not see that tower most of the time, but when I could I just aimed for it, keeping a little left of it. I had a failsafe: if I got too far off my bearing, a fence line would stop me and I was parked near this fence.
The walk out took an hour, and I was able to get back to my car almost exactly on point. When I was closer, that tower was visible, and also the berm. I was back a little after noon. I changed and started the drive out. I drove another road to check out a gate situation for a future trip, now that I know how to get here and what the roads are like.
I was happy this hike went well and the roads to it were excellent roads. There are a few more peaks back here and these roads at least get me within shouting distance, so I'll be back. I saw a couple campers but not many people. I saw just one canal worker in his truck.
I stopped in Eloy for gas and a lunch, then drove into Tempe for my class's final exam, and the end of my 63rd semester at ASU.
Date: January 27, 2026
• Elevation: 2,386 feet ✳
• Prominence: 352 feet
• Distance: 3.6 mile
• Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
• Gain: 646 feet
• Conditions: Cool and sunny
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LoJ
I returned to the area six weeks later to hike two more peaks. This week would be unusual in that I would be in Tucson between my teaching days in Tempe. As such, I picked one peak for my Tuesday hike, and another for Thursday. I chose Peak 2386 for Tuesday.
Leaving Bisbee before dawn, I was at the AZ-87 exit off Interstate-10 about 8 a.m., following the same roads as before. Peak 2386 rises to the south of Peak 2409, so I drove some of the roads that way that I had ignored in December.
I drove one track south a half mile to some cattle watering troughs, then east about another half mile on a sandier track, pulling into a cleared area below a small hill. I was a little under two miles from the objective.
The day was sunny and clear, and very mild. I was walking by 9 a.m., following the sandy track a little over a mile until roughly north of the peak. The road could have been driven in a Subaru, but there were a couple of erosion spots that would have stopped me.
The peak is the easternmost of three bumps of about equal size. From below it's not obvious which is highest. I left the road and aimed southeasterly for the lowpoint in the ridge. The overland walk was easy, the brush being light and spread out.
I did not get as far as the actual lowpoint, instead I veered slightly right and up as I approached it, following any open lane and slope that looked attractive. Some water tanks sit at the saddle.
Now on the peak's eastern slope, I just walked steeply uphill through the various rocks and gravelly slopes. It was steep but not bad, some of the rocks just lying atop the gravel and easily moved. Up ahead was an obvious cliffy rock band.
The slope up to this band was a notch steeper and footing was delicate, the rocks easily sliding atop the gravel. I got to the base of this cliff, which rose about fifteen feet. I did not look for a walk-around. I found a ledge that got me up about ten feet, then scampered up about five feet of rock to get above this cliff. This was my only "hands on" portion of the hike.
The slope moderated a little, aiming for more rocks higher up. I got to these, then saw the highpoint, still a few yards away. The highest point is a large boulder on the western tip of the peak's small summit ridge. I tagged it, then found the register within a cairn below this boulder. The one-way hike had taken about 45 minutes.
I sat for about ten minutes, looking at who signed in and enjoying the views. It was warming into the comfortable range. I could see Peak 2409, Newman Hill and the CAP Canal, and lots of desert in between.
I had to get moving so I headed down the same route. I saw a work truck that I hadn't seen on the hike up. It was parked on a side track a little north of the ridge's lowpoint. I did not see anyone.
I angled so that I would walk by the truck, to make sure it wasn't abandoned. It looked like it had just been parked here, hauling a big spool of flexible water piping, presumably to hook into those tanks up on the ridge. I said "hello" and "a-hoy" but no one answered. I just walked on past it and back to the main road.
The rest of the walk went quickly. I was back to my car a little before 11 a.m., a 1-hour, 40-minute hike covering a little over 3 miles round trip. It had gone very well and was very easy. I changed into driving clothes and headed out.
Normally, I'd just get back on Interstate-10, but one of those electronic signs that gives the number of minutes to the next town (Phoenix in this case) said it was a 100 minutes to Phoenix. Normally, it'd be half that. Either a wreck, or a pinch-point where they're doing construction.
I stayed northbound on AZ-87 into Coolidge, then went west at the T-junction where a right (east) is AZ-287 and heads to Florence. This route took me through the Gila River Indian Reservation. Twenty-five miles later, I was at the south end of Chandler, then a half-hour later, in Tempe.
I taught my classes then drove to Tucson that night, where I'd be for Wednesday before returning north early on Thursday back to Tempe.
Date: January 29, 2026
• Elevation: 2,624 feet ✳
• Prominence: 618 feet
• Distance: 3.3 miles
• Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
• Gain: 834 feet
• Conditions: Overcast, cool but not cold
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LoJ
So here I was again, now Thursday morning, having left Tucson about 7:30 a.m.. I exited at the same exit and followed the same roads to Brady Pump, this time going north through an unlocked gate for a mile, then east for a little over two miles.
Peak 2624 is the highest point of a big sprawling mountain, with a slightly-lower summit to the north marked by the "Peak" benchmark. These roads were in excellent shape, obviously maintained. There is an active mine a little more to the east which would explain why the roads were in such good shape. I had to pass through one more flimsy gate.
I was looking for a side road that went up toward the peak, then curled around its east and north sides. I found it, and drove in a few feet, parking in some palo verde, hidden from the main road.
It was cool with a sheen of high clouds that muted the colors and actually kept the temperatures from being colder. I arrived at 9 a.m., the temperature in the 50s. I went light. I wore a fleece jasket but carried no pack, just jamming what I needed into my pockets.
I started walking up the road, which was rocky but in fair shape for about another hundred yards. I went right at the first junction. The road meanders east, dropping into and out of a few drainages. It was not a good road by now, steep and eroded, bad ruts and a lot of loose rocks, suitable only for a Jeep or an ATV.
I followed the road, gaining and losing elevation, until it bent mostly north again and gained up a slope, now at the base of the main southeasterly ridge of the peak. It made sense to leave the road here. I was about a half mile from the top, about 450 feet lower, and the terrain looked friendly.
The lowest slopes were rocky but not difficult. Once on the ridge proper, it was a typical desert ridge: slopes leading to rock outcrops sequentially.
The brush was light and the rocky portions very easy to manage. In a few spots I used hands for balance but never needed to actually scramble. I'd either walk up and over, or find a way around, the various rocky segments.
I closed in on the summit, arriving about 45 minutes after starting the hike. The weather had not changed, still a dingy gray morning with no breeze. The top is open with a low rock pile that a packrat has built a midden into. I found the register and signed in. Not many people come here; I was the first in the log in 4 years. One commented how easy it was to get to and hike this peak, and I agree.
I did not spend long up top. I got what I came for and started down, repeating my ascent route back to the road, then following that back to my car. The outbound hike took about the same amount of time. I changed into driving clothes and returned to civilization. This time, I went with Interstate-10 into Tempe with no problems.
These two peaks could easily be done in half a day. Given my schedule, it made sense for me to spread them out. I returned a couple weeks later to hike Treadway Benchmark, the last remaining ranked peak out in these thar hills.
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