The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 2680 • Peak 2770 The Pan Quemado Hills are a line of craggy volcanic summits at the east end of the Waterman Mountains, west of Tucson. Most lie within the Ironwood Forest National Monument, with a mix of mostly private land and State Trust land fronting the boundary to the east. I was interested in two of the peaks: Peak 2680, which has over 500 feet of prominence and stands off by itself apart from the main grouping, and Peak 2770, which has a road to its top where a tower stands. This would be my first time exploring these particular hills and I had no real idea what to expect. I was on the road at 5:20 a.m., timing my drive so the sun was barely rising as I entered Tucson. I exited at Avra Valley Road and drove westbound about 14 miles, to Pump Station Road. This is one of the pumping stations laid out along the El Paso Natural Gas Line that extends across the state. Studying the maps and satellite images, I could see some roads that curled around the backside (south side) of the pump station complex. There was a track that then veered off heading south. It was my hope I could access this track and possibly drive some of it. So I went in on Pump Station road, and a half mile later, came to a substantial locked gate. I was not expecting this, but I wasn't surprised either. I exited and got back on Avra Valley Road. I went west about a mile, and then doubled back on what may have been the actual gas line clearing. This road led me back to the pump station, but at least offered me a place to stash my car. It was obvious I wasn't getting past the pump station and that I would have to walk it. The day was sunny and clear, and very mild, with temperatures at the moment in the mid 50s. Highs were expected to be in the mid 80s. I got my stuff together, locked the car, and started walking at 7:58 a.m.. I was able to walk around the outer perimeter of the pump station. While fenced, there were breaches and it looks like no one ever actually comes this way to inspect things. In about ten minutes I had walked around the complex, then found that road that veered south toward the peaks.
Date: November 9, 2025
• Elevation: 2,680 feet ✳
• Prominence: 528 feet ✳
• Distance: 1 mile (side hike only)
• Gain: 528 feet
• Conditions: Cool, sunny, clear
• Wildlife: Bees
• Bee stings: 2
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
I was looking at over three miles from here to the farthest-south peak, Peak 2770. I could see it in the distance with its lone tower. Peak 2680 stood to the east (my left), a big pile of boulders with symmetric lower slopes, but a rocky crown for a summit. Peak 2680 was about a mile and a half in the distance.
I walked the road, which was actually in excellent shape. Had I been able to get my Subaru on it, I could have easily driven much of it. But no such luck. I would be obliged to walk it. In about a half hour, I was nearing Peak 2680, studying its lines.
Walking up its north slope looked promising, but that rocky crown looked like trouble. So I stayed on the track until I had a profile view of the peak, both its north and south ridges. From this vantage, the north side looked doable, whereas the south side appeared to have some vertical cliffs.
I left the track and walked uphill through the boulders and sparse vegetation, consisting of the usual: creosote, pencil cholla, some prickly-pear, palo verde, and a few saguaro. I was able to keep to lanes most of the way except for the one time I walked flush into a pencil cholla bulb.
I was soon on the upper ridge coming in from the north. The rocky crown didn't look so menacing from here. It looked like a moderate scramble but without any obvious vertical cliffs or showstoppers.
I got to the base of the rocks, and stashed my pack. I was about thirty feet below the summit. I was going to clamber up the rocks, tag the top and come right back down.
Just then I got harassed by a couple of bees. They were bopping into me. When they do that, it's like a warning to get the heck out. I didn't delay. I dropped down, picked up my pack and hustled my honky ass down the slope. The bees stayed with me, by this time a few more, maybe a half dozen overall (I did not take time to count them).
I obviously had got too close for comfort to a bee hive, and I absolutely did not want to be swarmed. I was moving very fast down the slope, to where I did not have time to actually strap on my pack. I dropped about a hundred feet. I did not get away unscathed. I got stung twice: on the forehead, and on my upper back right thigh. Another got caught up in my hair, trying to sting me. I brushed it aside. Only when I was well down below the peak did they leave me alone. That was way too close a call.
I am aware that bees are a concern when hiking in the desert. I've had bees bop me before and each time, I just got out of there quickly with no stings. Bees are everywhere, and 99% of the time they're just flying by, not minding me. I even got caught in a swarm once (in the McDowell Mountains) but they were just moving to a new spot, not actually swarming out of aggressiveness.
I still wanted to tag the peak, so I sidehilled across its upper slopes until I was somewhere below its southern ridge and the cliffs. If I encountered any more bees, then yes, I'd leave for good.
On the southern ridge, things narrowed quickly and I was at the base of the lowest cliff, which stood about fifteen feet high but with tiers. I was able to sidle up one tier, but then had to scramble up about eight feet, this being the crux. I'd rate it Class 3. Good holds but with some exposure, definitely a no-fall zone.
This put me on a narrow fin with loose rock, but the scrambling from here was easy Class-2, although with drops to both sides. Then suddenly, I was on top.
I found the register in a cairn, opened it and saw it was a mess. Then a bee started hassling me! So I reset the register and started right down. I was on top for maybe twenty seconds. Hey, it counts.
I eased down the rocks and moved with authority downslope, not too picky about what route to follow. As long as it went down, I followed it. The bee left me alone and I had no more bee encounters. I was soon back to the main track.
The stings stung but didn't seem to hurt too bad. This side trip covered just a mile and took an hour or so, but came with more excitement than I wanted. Sometimes, this is to be expected when hiking in the desert.
I was happy that my second peak would just be a road walk. I wanted no more drama and epics.
Elevation: 2,770 feet
• Prominence: 368 feet
• Distance: 8.5 miles
• Time: 4 hours (whole hike)
• Gain: 710 feet
• Conditions: Sunny, warming up
PB
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LoJ
Back on the track, I got busy walking. I had another mile and a half until I was near the access road for the peak. I could see its ascent road easily, much of it covered over in light-gray concrete.
In about a half hour, I was at the fence bordering the track. This track comes in from the east, but I could not see how it would be accessed without crossing private property. Obviously, the tower workers know of a way.
I started up the concrete road but stopped in a shaded spot for an actual sit-down break, my first for the day. This took ten minutes and felt refreshing. The track leads to a locked gate, but there are no signs barring access nor fencing. All I had to do was step around the gate.
The road then gains steeply uphill, concreted almost the entire way. It's steep, although not as steep as that on Thompson Peak, which is crazy steep. This road was steep but maybe at a 25% gradient, with some short stretches at 30%. It was free of gravel, and easy to walk. I just slipped one foot in front of the other until I was at the top.
The concrete ends but the track continues a little more to the tower and its associated building, all surrounded by a fence. I walked the track up one last steep segment to as high as it would go. The fencing has a vehicle gate at the bottom, and a pedestrian gate at the top.
Unfortunately, the highest rocks were inside the fencing, about two feet higher than anything outside. One batch, near the pedestrian gate, seemed highest, while another batch near a windsock seemed almost as high. I was literally five feet from the closest batch but blocked by the gate and fencing.
Normally, I would count the ascent anyway, using the "but for" argument regarding the fencing. But I wanted to see if there was a breach I could use. I wanted to exhaust all possibilities first before invoking that principle. The fencing was substantial, topped by razor strands, and the bottoms meeting flush to the ground.
I walked the entire perimeter. On its south side, downslope near a bank of solar collectors, I found a possible breach. I was able to ease out a couple large rocks creating an eight-inch high opening. I got on my back, slid upward and somehow maneuvered my way through that opening!
I didn't press my luck. I got up, ran to both rock outcrops, tagged them, took an image of one, and slid right back out that same breach, all this in less than a minute. It felt good to touch the actual tops. I reset the large rocks and got myself back on the track.
Views were nice, but I did not stick around to admire them. I was getting tired by now, having hiked over 6 miles now, and it was warming. I baby-stepped down the steep concrete path and was down off the peak in just about fifteen minutes. If I lived close by, this would be an excellent fitness hike.
Now I had over three miles to walk out. I could see the pump station as a splotch of white buildings way off in the distance. A Border Patrol vehicle was making its way down the track I had walked, and I wondered where he had accessed it. Not that it would help me any. I needed to walk it all out.
The walk took over an hour. It was an easy walk but tiring and tedious, and it was warm now, into the low 80s. I was back to my car at noon sharp, almost exactly a 4-hour hike covering just under 10 miles.
I was feeling good, but tired, naturally. Both peaks required a little more effort than planned. My bee stings seemed to be doing okay. They were sensitive but not painful. I was dang happy not to have been swarmed.
I had a third peak in mind, only if it looked like an easy one.
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