The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 7413 • Antelope Hill Today would be the fourth (and final) day of my weekend in Flagstaff. I had arrived Friday and had climbed nine peaks over the previous three days, including three crater peaks yesterday. I had two peaks on the agenda today, and figured I could be finished by mid-morning. I wanted to spend the rest of the day doing a driving tour in areas I rarely ever get to. The two peaks of interest are on the CO Bar Ranch, which abuts the Coconino National Forest to the north, about twenty miles north of Flagstaff. A free permit can be downloaded by the state's Game and Fish website. Nobody checks, but I wanted to have it for the peace of mind. I camped last night near the San Francisco Peaks, arising at dawn. I was on the move before 6 a.m.. The day was sunny and clear, and warmer already than it had been before. I could expect highs near 80°, so I did not want to waste time. I descended highway US-89 to the S P Crater Road, then followed it west. The road bends south of S P Mountain itself, angling southwest, then west again. The two peaks I was aiming for lie next to one another, southwest of S P Mountain and west of Colton Crater. The road was an excellent road, but it started to trend away from the peaks, so I knew to look for some side tracks that bent more south. The road I wanted runs between the two peaks and eventually connects back to the Coconino Forest. I could see it, but getting to it took some guessing. One track led me to a corral and some ranch buildings, so I backed out. I turned onto another track that was rocky. It dropped about twenty feet to a gate. Past the gate, the road makes a hard left to a second gate, just about thirty feet apart. This enclosure seems to encompass a watering hole, although today, it was dry and the ground was solid. I passed through both gates (no negative signage, no locks) and proceeded south. The road was a good road and I was able to drive another mile until I was close to the first peak, Peak 7413. I parked off the road in an open spot northwest of the peak.
Date: May 26, 2025
• Elevation: 7,413 feet
• Prominence: 813 feet
• Distance: 2.2 miles
• Time: 90 minutes
• Gain: 1,013 feet
• Conditions: Sunny and cool for now
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Peak 7413 rose steeply about a mile distant from where I parked. A symmetrical cinder cone, no one way looked best, and all ways looked steep. Grass and scattered low trees dominate the lower slopes, while higher up, the trees grow thick together.
I started walking, the time about 6:30 a.m.. It was still cool for now, about 60°, with an intense sun. I walked directly toward the peak through the grass meadows, and soon, started up its slopes.
The slopes soon steepened, with no variation. The ground was grassy with cinder kibble that moved with each step. I would grunt up about thirty feet, stop and rest, then repeat. After about a half hour, I was on a ridge where I could see the top for the first time.
The slope barely lessened on this ridge. I chose to aim straight for the highpoint, which means steeper slopes. I figured it was no different than what I had coming up. I pushed upwards and soon was on the highpoint ridge.
The summit features a few large agglutinate rocks along with the smaller cinder and low brush and grass. I found no cairns nor registers, but the views were superb, with the sun still low in the east providing good lighting. The rocks were convenient to sit on, so I took a few minutes and had a rest. It had taken me a little under an hour, gaining a thousand feet in a shade over a mile.
Going down, I repeated the same route, but this time, slid alog with the kibble so that the downhill hike took just a half hour. I was back to my car after 90 minutes. This was a tiring peak but one I am happy to have tagged.
The next peak, Antelope Hill, rose about a mile to the west.
Elevation: 7,008 feet
• Prominence: 528 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 90 minutes
• Gain: 548 feet
• Conditions: Still very pleasant
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I could have just walked it from where I parked, but I wanted to drive the road a little more, at least to the forest boundary. There is one more peak back here that I will return for, and this road is probably what I will follow.
I parked due east of Antelope Hill, still on the CO Bar Ranch property. I was probably a tenth of a mile closer here than where I was previously. Antelope Hill was considerably lower and less steep than Peak 7413.
I had to squirm under a fence, then I just walked west through the undulating countryside, the land here mostly level but with small ridges and hills. I made good time through the low grass.
Now on the peak's east slope, I marched upward, stopping every minute or so to rest, until I was on top. This summit was completely bare, just a hump of low grass and no interesting rocks or large trees. I found a register and signed in, the first for 2025. The views were about the same as on Peak 7413, so I didn't stick around long.
The outbound hike went quickly, and I was back to my car about 9:30 a.m.. This was a fine second peak for the morning, no fuss, no muss.
It was warming now, pushing 70°. I was done. These two peaks gave me eleven for the weekend, a very satisfying haul. But I was beat now and ready to head home, home being almost 400 miles away.
This being Memorial Day, I knew traffic would be horrible on the Interstates into and through Phoenix. Instead, since I was up here already, I looked forward to a scenic drive that would add more miles, but have about a hundredth of the people.
Back to the highway, I drove north on US-89 through Cameron and over the Little Colorado River (which ain't so little), to where US-160 branches east toward Tuba City. The landscape changes dramatically and the few times I have been up this way, I've always enjoyed it. The initial few miles of eastbound US-160 is through a scape of low sandstone formations that rise only about 20 feet, but there are hundreds of these little spires.
Tuba City is about 15 miles past the junction. The city is named for a Hopi man named Tuuvi, which got transliterated into "tuba". The city is on the Navajo Nation but is shared with the Hopi, who have their own town, Moenkopi, adjacent to the main city. As far as these Indian nation cities go, Tuba City is a major one with modern amenities, hotels, shops, gas stations and so on. Anyone heading north or east from here should fill up and stock up. I stopped briefly for some cold drinks. I was good on gas.
My main goal for the next few hours was to drive highway AZ-264, which crosses through the Navajo and Hopi Nations, and is essentially the main highway through Hopi country. My wife and I drove a portion this highway once back in 2004, from Ganado to Second Mesa. As usual, I remember little of it.
The Hopi lands are dominated by gigantic mesas that cover many hundreds of square miles, and themselves referred to as First Mesa, Second Mesa, and so on. The land is high desert. Once out of Tuba City, the vistas open up. In all directions, you get this feeling of vastness. Photos don't do it justice. All you'd see is desert and horizon, but not sense the "bigness".
I had one ranked peak to look at but did not hold out hope I would do it. It's called Howell Mesa. A radio tower is on this mesa tip and a road leads to it. Would the road be closed? Would it be gated with prohibitive signage? I wasn't too encouraged, but I did not mind.
I found the side road to this radio tower. It wasn't gated and there were no signs. I followed the road about fifty feet. It was very sandy with a high center. I stopped, got out and wanted to see how high. I had about an inch of clearance. I immediately backed out. This would not be a good place to get stuck.
I debated walking it, about a mile each way, but that meant leaving my car visible and I did not want to attract attention to myself that way. I didn't debate this much, maybe two minutes. I decided it wasn't worth the hassle, so I got back on the highway.
For the next couple of hours, I drove leisurely eastbound on AZ-264. The Hopi towns along the way are spaced out. I came to Hotevilla first, then a few miles later to Oraibi and then Kykotsmovi.
Oraibi has been inhabited continuously for over 900 years, obviously pre-dating the Americans and the Spanish alike. My wife and I briefly toured the tiny town twenty years ago, but we never got out. These towns tend to have their centers off the main highway, so all you see along the main highway are decrepit houses and other buildings. You don't get to see any old historic structures, and the Hopi generally don't allow for one to free-roam explore.
The highway will gain uphill onto these mesas where the villages are located, then drop and cross a big desert valley. Often, the villages are not signed, so I wasn't sure what the name(s) to the town(s) were. I determined that I later passed through Shungopavi and Second Mesa, then later, First Mesa, then later, Keams Canyon, these towns coming about every 25 miles.
The highway then enters into a Navajo enclave within the Hopi Nation, where the town of Jeddito is located. It was here that I got onto southbound Indian Route 6, which would later become state route AZ-77. This highway heads south, passing again back into the Hopi Nation, than back onto Navajo Nation.
This highway is scenic. It is dominated by smaller but abrupt mesas and volcanic diatremes, which are towers of hardened lava that remain after the surrounding mountain has weathered away. None of the towns are signed. I passed through a number of them, never knowing what they are called.
The main geological point of interest here is the Bidahochi Formation. This was a giant ancient lake that covered many hundreds of square miles millions of years ago. It has since dried up, but driving through it, you can sense the basin effect and the surrounding mesas forming the boundary.
Finally, I passed though a fence, now off the Navajo Nation. I was now about 15 miles from Interstate-40, and 20 from Holbrook. I had been on my Hopi drive about three hours now.
The rest of my drive home was just a long-ass drive. I stopped briefly in Holbrook for a cold drink and to check texts. I proceeded south on AZ-77 through Show Low, then south through the White Mountain Apache Nation, aiming for Globe.
This route passes through the Salt River Gorge, which I normally enjoy, but today, it would be crowded. Sure enough, traffic picked up such that the last ten miles or so to the bottom of the gorge was slow, usually just 20 miles per hour. The culprit was a big semi-truck way ahead. I was about the eighteenth car in line.
Going up the other side, there are passing lanes, but often, someone in an RV pulling a toy-trailer would try to pass the truck, and do so slowly, so the rest of us clog up behind. I was trying to roll with the punches but I was growing frustrated at the idiocy of these RV-toy hauler people.
After more leapfrogging, I was able to get in with a group of cars going about the speed limit all the way into Globe. It was about 3 p.m., and I had 200 more miles to Bisbee. I stopped in at a gas station to just relax and sit there, and observe.
Just about everyone coming down AZ-77 (which is also US-60 for the stretch between Show Low and Globe) was going to Phoenix, so at the light at the base of the hill, 90% of them were going west. Some were passing others, as though they want to get to Phoenix faster. Trust me, there is never any reason to get to Phoenix faster.
I also watched the people at the gas station. One thing I noticed here as well as up in Holbrook and Flagstaff is that people dump their trash into the bins at the gas station, which is good, but the gas station people don't empty them, so these bins just pile higher with trash and people try to fit in or balance their trash on top of what's already there. Also, I like to see what people buy to eat on the highway. Me, I like a Coke-Zero and sometimes a couple cheese sticks and a small pack of jerky. People were coming out with big bags of chips, or ice cream treats, and so on. Reminds me of an old Carlin routine. I sat here at the hot gas station in Globe for about 45 minutes.
I then got moving, driving my sweaty ass into Safford, about another hour away to the southeast. Traffic wasn't too bad. I was hungry by now and wanted to kill an hour, so I stopped at a Jerry's restaurant. Jerry's is similar to Denny's (maybe they're related?). I've eaten at this Jerry's and it isn't bad. It was exactly what I wanted: a diner to sit in and veg for an hour in air conditioning eating comfort food. I had meatloaf and taters and successfully wasted another hour. By now, the sun was setting. This was by plan, so that I would do the remaining drive home in the evening dusk and lower temperatures.
From Safford, I made it back to Bisbee in one long 120-mile push, through Willcox and Elfrida, then finally home about 7 p.m., a 550-mile drive. I was happy to be home and very happy with how the trip went. It was good to get back up to Flagstaff for a few days, and I enjoyed the Hopi Nation tour. But I was also happy to be able to properly shower and sleep in my own bed, too.
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