The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 2343 • Peak 2355 • Peak 2431 Today was my off-day between teaching. With the weather cool but stable for now, I looked at a handful of high-desert summits in the Hieroglyphic and Wickenburg Mountains as a possible way to waste a day. I wanted to re-do a peak I had first hiked 4 years ago, Peak 2334. This is one of a batch of peaks on the west side of Lake Pleasant. Turns out Lidar revealed a higher point along the ridge to the west, so I wanted to go back and tag that point to regain this peak into my records. I was actually more interested in a pair of peaks about 25 miles to the west, San Domingo Peak and Peak 2794. My plan was to hike those, then on the way back, revisit Peak 2334 (its new highest point is 2,343 feet), then head back into town. I was on the road a little after 6 a.m., heading north toward the Carefree Highway/AZ-74 and Interstate-17. I get on westbound AZ-74 and see a sign that there is road construction a few miles ahead at the New River Road intersection. I got to the back-up of cars right at 7 a.m. as they were staging all the big vehicles for their work, which meant about a fifteen minute delay. Once through that stoppage, I proceeded west on the highway to the western terminus of Castle Hot Springs Road near Morristown, then went north about three miles. I then took a left at a junction. This road should get me close to the aforementioned peaks. I got in about a half mile before its condition started to deteriorate. I pushed ahead maybe another half mile until it was clear the road was too rough for my car. This caused me to cancel these two peaks. I was not interested in walking the entire road. Getting out, I was driving right into the rising sun, on a crappy road with rocks jutting out, uneven tread and some ruts to avoid, and I cannot see a damn thing. I actually would stop, get out, study what I needed to do, get back in and blindly inch forward, remembering my moves. I got out back to the better road, but I wasn't happy. I drove back to where Castle Hot Springs Road meets AZ-74 and pulled to the side to study maps on my thingymabob. I was going to return to the other Castle Hot Springs Road near Lake Pleasant for that one peak I wanted to redo. I looked up a few other peaks, saved some maps to my phone, and headed back eastbound. It was almost 9 a.m. when I got to the Lake Pleasant/Castle Hot Springs Road.
Date: January 14, 2026
• Elevation: 2,343 feet ✳
• Prominence: 477 feet
• Distance: 2.2 miles
• Time: 45 minutes
• Gain: 643 feet
• Conditions: Sunny and cool
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
I drove north on Castle Hot Springs Road a few miles, with Peak 2343 in view to the right (east) of the road. I parked in a pullout slightly below the grade of the main road to where I was hidden. I was just a half mile from the peak.
I got properly attired and started my short hike, walking up the main road briefly before finding a spot to gain the slopes. I had to scoot under a fence a few feet up from the road.
The hiking was simple as the grade was very lenient. The brush was low and scattered, any cactus easy to avoid. In about twenty minutes, I was on top Peak 2343.
There are two humps, so to be sure, I walked along the ridge to the next one over, but it was plainly lower. Nevertheless, I got good views down into Lake Pleasant, now reflecting the strong glare from the morning sun.
I walked back to the first bump, the highpoint, and took a few photos. Then I walked down back to the road and to my car, a round trip of about 45 minutes. This had gone fast and was easy. I was happy to get this done after this morning's extra drama.
My next peak was nearby. I stopped back at my car and had a brief rest, then got out and started walking toward Peak 2355.
Elevation: 2,355 feet ✳
• Prominence: 342 feet
• Distance: 1.6 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 583 feet
• Conditions: Sunny, some high clouds, very pleasant
• Beasts: Burros
PB
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LoJ
Peak 2355 is a pointed summit directly astride the road, to the road's west. From where I was parked, it was a half-mile to the south. The peak lies barely outside the boundaries of the Lake Pleasant Regional Park, but barely inside Peoria city limits, which makes me wonder what Peoria will ever think to do with this peak in the future.
I followed some vehicle tracks down into a drainage, and followed that until I could get onto the slopes below the peak. I just picked one that looked good and hoped for the best.
Once higher, it seemed the ridge coming off the peak to the northwest looked better. It's a symmetrical peak with very steep slopes on all sides for the top 150 feet. There are some small cliff bands I wanted to avoid.
I was able to get over to that ridge, then I just aimed and headed uphill, now in the shadow relative to the sun. The grade steepened and steepened some more. Brush wasn't too bad, but the rock was small and scree-like, and easily moved underfoot.
Then the grade steepend to heinous level. Now I was on the steepest incline. I moved slowly as each step would cause a small slide of these little rocks. Even some of the bigger ones would scoot out from under me.
I tried to follow lines with some larger rocks that I hoped would offer stability. I got to a very sloppy cliff band and was able to scoot up a chute-slope, then another steep slope to another weak band. Here, the incline lessened and I was on the home stretch to the top.
The top was open and bare with a simple cairn. I snapped a few photos but did not stop. I wanted down immediately. It hadn't taken me long to get here, maybe 35 minutes. This peak was my 1,500th ranked summit climbed worldwide.
Going down, I moved very slowly. Each foot placement had to be tested. On those scree slopes, I'd plant the poles downslope and very slowly ease down. More than once I just sat on my butt and scooted down that way. My concern was that I could cause a torrent of these rocks and I'd slide along with them, likely into a cactus or a big rock.
I got down that nastiest part, back onto regularly-steep slope, which was much easier to handle. I made better time now, dropped into the drainage, then found a track and followed that back to my car. Along the way I played cat-and-mouse with a group of burros (called a "pace", "drove" or "herd"). They'd run away ... but near the road, so I kept catching up to them. Burros are common here and generally semi-tame.
I was back to my car, the time about 11:30 a.m.. It was a sunny day with some high clouds, and very pleasant. It had actually warmed into the 70s. Then I remembered. It's January. Summer is just around the corner.
Elevation: 2,431 feet ✳
• Prominence: 347 feet
• Distance: 2.4 miles
• Time: 90 minutes
• Gain: 550 feet
• Conditions: Warming a little
PB
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LoJ
I had identified a couple other peaks not too far up Castle Hot Springs Road that I could try if I had time, and since it was not yet noon, I had the time.
I drove north about four miles, going left at a T-junction, where the pavement ends, and going to where the main road makes a sharp right, with a lesser road, called Lake View Road, going left. Two peaks, Peak 2682 and Peak 2431, rise about a mile to the west. I had not decided which one I would do. I might do both.
I parked in a pullout and walked Lake View Road west about a half mile. This is a good road as there are some private properties back in behind the peaks (mailboxes at the junction indicate this). I walked as far as a gate with the usual Private Property signs. I was below Peak 2431.
Peak 2682 was of more interest to me because it was higher, but a road that was on the map appeared not be in existence any more, and I did not want to bush-whack the entire distance. So I opted for Peak 2431.
Back near the gate, I angled left a little and started walking up slope, following a trail briefly. I angled down into a weak drainage and up the opposite side, now on a more substantial ridge that looked promising.
The grade wasn't too steep and I made good time. The rocks held together well and brush was moderate. Soon, I was on top this ridge, where it gets rockier with some big cliffs to the south (my left as I faced up). But it wasn't narrow. It was completely safe and I never once needed hands.
The ridge ends at a small cleaing, from which the final slope to the top picks up. I walked up this slope to the rocky ridge, all this about another half mile since leaving the road. The highest point was at its southern tip, where I found a cairn and register. I was the first to sign in since 2022.
Views were quite good. I could see the residences to the west of the peak, and some very impressive peaks farther west in the Hells Canyon Wilderness. This is an area I've never been to, so all this was new to me. From this high up, I could see the waters of Lake Pleasant. The climb had taken me about 45 minutes.
I repeated the same lines going down, going slow due to the rocks and slope, but making decent time, about the same going out as coming in. I took another look for the alleged road to Peak 2682, but was not going to climb that peak today. I'll save that one for a later date.
Back at my car, it was about 1 p.m. now, with a three peak day, and feeling much better than from this morning. I changed clothes and headed back south to the highway, where I got myself into the long line of cars waiting to get through the construction zone. This took a half hour, so I just relaxed with the car off while sitting in line.
The drive back into town went well. I took the scenic route via the Carefree Highway and Scottdale Road, then vegged and napped at my hotel room.
Castle Hot Springs Road runs about 30 miles, with its two endpoints at the west end of AZ-74 near the US-60 junction, and the east end near Lake Pleasant. I've never driven the entire route. I have driven in about ten miles from the west end, and about the same from the east end.
In 2020, almost exactly six years ago, I climbed Governors Peak near the historic Castle Hot Springs Resort. Earlier, in 2002, I was part of the support teams as a member of the Sheriff's Mountain Rescue Team for a long Ironman-type race. We were stationed about another five miles farther in from the Resort. That's been it. I should explore back in there a little more.
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