Date: April 5, 2026 • Elevation: 5,103 feet ✳ • Prominence: 331 feet • Distance: 7.5 miles • Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes • Gain: 1,680 feet (gross) • Conditions: Sunny, cool at first, warming later

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ

This peak rises in the Coronado National Forest, south of Kunde Mountain and north of North Saddle Mountain. A forest road runs along the peak's northern base, but it is blocked by private property down low. I'd need to come in a round-about way.

I was on the road at 5:45 a.m. and rolling into Patagonia about 7 a.m., then to the Arizona Trail access parking lot on Harshaw Road a couple miles southeast of Patagonia. I pulled in a little after 7, the only person here.

I got suited up and started walking about 7:15. I got in about two hundred feet and realized I had forgot my map. I had even placed it in an obvious place where I would remember it, and I still forgot it. I went back and got it.

I started again, walking eastbound up the Arizona Trail Connector. A sign said the actual Arizona Trail was 3.7 miles ahead. I was last on this trail in early 2024, when I climbed Kunde Mountain. At that time, it was still wet from a recent storm and the mud was heavy. Today, it was dry and solid.

This trail goes up and down, then up some more and down some more ... then up and up and up, switchbacking up the hillside to reach an apex a little south of Peak 5218. Then it dropped again, about 60 feet, then steeply one more time to reach the main pass north of Peak 4902.

The trail then drops a lot of elevation, curling downward into some small canyons. Where it bent left to head north, I found a path that went south. Peak 5103 was visible ahead, about a mile away. Bigger North Saddle Mountain rose behind it. In the morning glare, it was hard to tell the two peaks apart.

The Forest-Service maps show a road in this canyon, this road ostensibly leading up to Kunde Mountain. There was apparently a road here decades ago, but these days, not a hint of the road exists.

This canyon segment went very well, better than I was expecting. There was a cow-path nearly the entire way, and when I was forced into the drainage bottom, it was usually wide with minimal brush and no rocky obstacles. In about twenty minutes, I had covered this segment and emerged into an opening, now on Forest Road 4641.

Peak 5103 rose directly above me, but any notions of tackling it from this angle were quickly set aside. It was way too steep and brushy, with cliffs higher up. So I angled left and started walking the road.

I stayed on the road for about a mile, going up and down with the lay of the land, studying the ridges and slopes from different angles. The summit could be seen better, topped by a rounded dome of rock.

I came to East Well, where there are a couple circular water troughs and two large water tanks and a solar-power panel presumably to power the pump hidden somewhere. I was northeast of the summit, and from here, had a good view of the peak and its slopes. It was not nearly as brushy as it was on its north slopes.

I dropped into a drainage, then soon, ascended out of it onto a ridge, making some educated guesses along the way. The ridge I was on generally went south, then after crossing a fence, angled west. I stayed atop it, going up and down some more, losing about twenty feet each time before gaining it back and then some.

In time, I was past these lower bumps and on the home stretch, a long sloping ramp leading directly up to the summit knoll. The terrain was mostly open, with some mesquite thickets in places. Higher up, the slope steepened and the tread became looser and more rubbly. But I went slowly, testing each step. And soon, I was at the knoll, angling right to catch a small platform to its north.

I assumed there was still more mountain to climb, but to my surprise, this rocky knoll was the highpoint. I went up through some openings, gaining about thirty feet, and presto, that was it. I was on top. It had taken me 90 minutes to get here, covering about 3.75 miles.

The summit is rocky and open, with some large blocky rocks piled atop it. I tagged the highpoint contenders and looked around. It was warming, but still pleasant, about 70° with a breeze. The sky was blue with just the barest of clouds. I had fine views of the Santa Rita Mountains, big Red Mountain to the west, and the various peaks here in the Patagonia Range in all directions.

I found the register buried deep within a crevice beside the top rock. It was placed here by Mark Nicholls in 1993. Two other people signed in on April 3, 1996 — exactly 30 years and 2 days ago. That was it until I added my name. As usual, I thought about 1996 being 30 years ago even though I remember it well, and that I'll probably be dead in another 30 years. A comforting thought.

I spent about fifteen minutes up top, enjoying the scenery and having a drink and snack break. I could hear a small plane flying nearby. Otherwise, it was dead quiet. I reset the register, wondering if it will be in 2056 when the next person signs in.

Going down, I moved carefully down the rubble slopes, then made better time on the lower ridges, generally following the same route out with tiny variations. I was back to East Well where I took another break, then I resumed the hike out.

The rest of the hike went fine, but it was warming now. I followed the road to the small canyon, then that to the trail, then steeply uphill to the saddle, then down the west side. It was here I saw my first humans, a group of four mountain biking. The leader was actually biking, the three behind him were pushing their bikes up one steep part.

I was back to my car about 10:40 a.m., roughly an 80-minute egress and a 3-hour, 30-minute day overall. I felt good but tired. I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, and started the drive out. I made a pit-stop in Huachuca City for a drink and a snack, then motored all the way home to Bisbee, arriving a little after noon.

The hike had gone well. The route worked out and was on better shape than I was expecting. This hike also served as a scout of the route up to North Saddle Mountain. I plan to hike that peak and nearby Indian Head Peak, but when it's colder, probably next fall or winter.

There were a lot of drops and regains on this hike. The big drop was about 280 feet from the high saddle south of Peak 5218 to the forest road. The road also would drop about 40 feet once or twice, then there were the many drops along the high ridges. I easily put on over 1,500 feet of total elevation gain today when the drops and regains are figured in, and that's likely a conservative value.