The Mountains of Arizona
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Davis Benchmark • Peak 1650 "Owl Butte" These two peaks are volcanic features located way out in the far southwest fringe of the Phoenix road net, south of Tonopah. Davis Benchmark has a pointed summit, with a lower subsummit to its north, whereas Peak 1650, "Owl Butte", has a flat mesa-like top. Both are mounds composed of big black basalt boulders. These peaks lie set apart from the surrounding mountain ranges, the Eagletails to the west, the Gila Bend Mountains to the south and the Saddle Mountain complex to the north. Just on visual alone, these peaks look like they would belong to the Gila Bend Mountains, which have peaks of a similar appearance to these two. I've been out this way just a handful of times, in 2017 when I climbed Saddle Mountain, and in 2022 when I climbed Rose Benchmark, another volcanic mound a couple miles to the east. The weather had finally cooled to where day-time highs were in the mid 80s, and mornings in the 50s. I wanted to mix things up a little and climb some desert summits for a change. After classes last night, I got groceries for the night, then headed west on Interstate-10 to the Tonopah exit at 411th Avenue, about 50 miles from downtown Phoenix. I went south on 411th a few miles to the Salome Highway, then west about five miles to Courthouse Road, then south and west on it a couple more miles. It was dark but with a clear and starry sky. This is a big swath of public (BLM) land so camping is allowed. I pulled in on one road and drove in about a half mile, stopping in a clearing with a couple fire rings. There was no one else here. I set up my cot and had a meal in the front seat. It was cool, but not cold, about 70°. I was directly below Saddle Mountain, which I could barely make out in the darkness once my eyes adjusted. There was a waxing crescent moon but it was a young moon and it set before midnight. The stars were incredible. I stared at Orion, wondering if tonight would be the night that Betelgeuse goes nova. I saw shooting stars too, and the lights of planes descending into Phoenix. I slept tolerably well. Courthouse Road gets some traffic, maybe a car every half hour, and trucks too, which could be loud. The interstate isn't that far and I could hear the low rumble of cars on it. There are some facilities in the area that shine brightly all night, for reasons I don't know. When I awoke, it was chilly, into the low 50s. I took down camp and was moving while still dark, about 6 a.m.. Back on Courthouse Road, I went west another 6 or 7 miles to Harquahala Valley Road, then south on it about 6 miles to where it meets Baseline Road at a T-junction. I went left, and stayed eastbound on Baseline, the pavement ending almost immediately. The dirt road was wide and in great shape, this being farmland out this way. Two miles later, I turned south onto 499th Avenue. I went a mile to where it meets Dobbins Road. The road net seems to end here, but I found a scraggly track that dipped then gained onto an elevated mound, with some power lines. A half-mile later, the road passed an arroyo and was now just a regular desert track, but in good shape. Another half-mile later, I came to a gate at the boundary of the BLM lands to the south, spot elevation 1,111 feet said the map. Owl Butte rose to the south, Davis Benchmark to the southeast. I continued on the track, which was actually in excellent shape. It goes another mile to the north base of Owl Butte, then bends east, passing an arroyo along the way. My plan was to hike Davis Benchmark first, then Owl Butte.
Date: October 29, 2025
• Elevation: 1,880 feet
• Prominence: 740 feet
• Distance: 2.4 miles
• Time: 2 hours
• Gain: 740 feet
• Conditions: Cool, clear and sunny
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
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USGS BM Datasheet
Now east of the arroyo, I pulled off the road onto some open ground covered in gravel and spotty brush, just creosote spaced about ten feet apart. It was close to 7 a.m. now, cool but very pleasant, the closest clouds in New Mexico. I was in the shadow of the peak, and would be so for about another 45 minutes.
This feature has two summits, the highpoint being a very sharp point to the south, and a lower summit with more cliffs to the north. I had no interest in the lower summit. The presumptive route would be to gain the saddle between them, then trudge up to the south summit. However, just looking at it, I didn't like my chances. I am fine with steep basalt slopes, but this appeared to be too steep, with cliffs.
I had parked about fifty feet off the main road. I walked about a hundred yards and saw that the terrain was flat and solid. So I went back to my car and drove it, figuring I could cut off distance. I was "off road" but following some tire prints. Moments later, I came to a more substantial road, and followed it southwest, then south, until I was abeam of the south summit. I had driven in about a mile from where I had first parked.
From this location, I got a good look at the peak's southern slope, which looked a lot better than the route from the saddle to the north. It looked steep, but well within my comfort level. Also, where I parked would allow me to hike the other peak without needing to drive to a different starting point.
By now it was about 7:30, and I was still in shadow. I walked up gently-sloping desert terrain, still just scattered creosote and some cactus, with a saguaro every hundred feet or so. The ground was gravelly with few rocks.
After a few minutes, I angled toward the mountain mass and the slope gradually steepened. The volcanic rocks became more abundant until after a point, I was walking atop them exclusively. I was angling upward, an ascending traverse. I was aiming for what appeared to be the main south ridge. It didn't make sense to bust straight up quite yet. In the shadow, I could still make out some cliffs and scree slopes up high.
I kept to what I was doing and got myself onto or near this southern slope, having gained about half the elevation in doing so. Looking up, it looked steep but solid, nothing that concerned me. I had sunlight now, still at a low angle forming neat shadow effects.
I crept upward, testing each rock. I avoided the obvious scree sections, these rubbly stones brownish in color and loose as hell. I stayed on the bigger black boulders. I stepped carefully, never taking them for granted. I've had one too many big 500-pounders come loose in the past, so while most are solidly in place, I still moved with care.
Soon, I was nearing the very top. It gets steeper here to where I was using hands for balance. I was now at the south base of the summit ridge. Here, I needed hands to clamber up the rocks, but the climbing was easy, just Class 2, but with some exposure to both sides.
Now on top the summit ridge, I could see what I thought was the highest point. This ridge is just a rock fin that can be ten feet wide, or two feet wide, with drops of up to 30 feet to a side. Naturally, the highest rocks were at the far end, about 200 feet away, so I got busy easing my way through the rocks.
When the ridge was wider I just walked it but when it narrowed, I would get on all fives and carefully work my way through the jumbles. I tagged any "high" rocks as I came to them. There is a drop of about fifteen feet to a saddle, then up about the same to the presumptive summit. I tagged its highest rocks.
The "Davis" benchmark is monumented on some flatter ground nearby. I found the two reference marks and the main benchmark, all in good shape after about 80 years. I could not find a cairn or register or any hints of past visitors. Lists of John shows just three previous visitors, and HikeArizona has two listed.
Views were outstanding, with clear dry air, no clouds and the sun still low enough to provide good lighting for images. I could see Saddle Mountain, Palo Verde Hills Highpoint, the Gila Bend Mountains including Cortez Peak and Woolsey Peak, and peaks way off to the southeast, into Yuma County. It was cool still, just in the 60s. I spent about ten minutes up top looking around.
For the descent, I followed the same route down, carefully picking my way through the summit boulders, then slowly ambling down the steeper slopes. I had no troubles, just being sure the rocks were in place, and I was back to my car a little before 10 a.m.. I stopped in and had a break in the front seat.
Elevation: 1,650 feet
• Prominence: 470 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 75 minutes
• Gain: 500 feet
• Conditions: Sunny and warming up
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LoJ
After a few minutes, I started the trek over to Owl Butte. It was warming now but still pleasant, in the 70s but with a bright sun. I walked across the desert flats for about a half mile, aiming for a gully on the peak's southeast corner. The terrain changed from gravel and creosote, to steeper grades, more rocks, and bigger cactus.
In the gully, it was steep but not bad at all. The rocks here weren't as big and beefy as over on Davis Benchmark. They were smaller and more apt to roll, so I walked carefully, kicking just a couple loose. I hiked up toward the obvious lowpoint in the skyline above, reaching it after about ten minutes on this slope.
Now on top of the mesa, I turned left and started up the very gentle slopes toward an obvious highpoint. It was rocky up here too, but with openings to walk through, and at such a gentle grade that kicking one loose wasn't so dangerous, although I tried not to. I was at the rocky highpoint soon, a total one-way hike of about a half hour.
The mesa top is very flat, but the highest point seemed to be where I stood, the rocks piling up here a few feet higher than the surrounding rocks. I found no registers or cairns, but I did stop to relax, take photos and have a drink.
Looking west, the land that way seemed high but nothing obviously higher, no random rock protrusions. I felt where I stood was the highest point. I did a water-bottle sighting and it seemed to confirm I was higher here. Lidar at the 1-meter scale has not been released for this region yet.
I hiked down the same way, and was back to my car a little over an hour after starting, the time a little after 11 a.m.. I was happy to get both peaks done, and they both went well with no issues. I had a third peak in the area as a back-up, but was happy with today's haul and decided to head back into town. I needed to be on campus anyway later in the afternoon for a meeting.
I drove out the same way, taking my time. I stopped briefly at the signpost at the corner of 499th Avenue and Dobbins Road, amused that the county or state felt it important enough to put a street signpost here. The roadnet out here follows the same grid system as metro Phoenix, but this is about as far west and south as one can get before leaving the roadnet. For all intents, Harquahala Valley Road is the westernmost main road and Dobbins Road is the southernmost road out this way. Other roads continue onward but are just desert tracks or specially-designated highways (like Salome Highway).
For road nerds, 499th Avenue would be 62 and 3/8 miles west of Central Avenue, which would be "0th Avenue". Harquahala Valley Road would be about at the 515th Avenue alignment. Each mile is split into 8 alignments, thus the "counting by 8s" effect when going from one main boulevard to the next. Dobbins Road is on the same alignment as Guadalupe Road. Baseline Road, one mile to the north, is the boundary where all townships with a south designation start. It's mostly open desert out this way, with a few farms, and about one residence every mile.
A few months ago I saw a trip report on HikeArizona from a pair that hiked the Davis Benchmark peak in April of 2025. A few weeks earlier, a regular on that site, who went by the avatar FLYING FLIVVER, went to the peak and climbed to its summit, but perished on his return. No details of what happened have been released.
The two hikers were able to get ahold of his camera and it showed definitely that FLYING FLIVVER had made it to the summit. His thing was benchmarks and all associated marks (reference marks, the azimuth marker). Since many are on top of peaks, he climbed many peaks in these hinterlands and provided very good narratives with photographs.
I check in on HikeArizona almost every day, always looking for ideas. I don't participate in the forums or post reports. Those days are gone for me. But I still like to peek in and see what other people have posted. As with any site composed of contributions from the public, the quality of submissions vary. Some are confusing and not of much help, but FLYING FLIVVER's reports were always among the best, and I daresay I hiked a few peaks precisely because I saw his trip report with images, and that got a fire lit under me.
I was sad to learn he had died. I don't know his real name, and I never met him. I don't know any of the details. But I was here largely in part of reading about his death and the follow-up reports and images from the two hikers who came here in April.
The hikers did not climb the western peak, Owl Butte. However, they gave it its unofficial name, for a ranch in the area. I like the name and use it here, and hope it catches on.
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