Date: November 1, 2025 • Elevation: 5,197 feet • Prominence: 397 feet • Distance: 1.7 miles • Time: 1 hour • Gain: 490 feet • Conditions: Sunny, mild, nary a cloud

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ

I was in Green Valley visiting with this lady I met on the internet. We were in town for a couple days to do some looking around. Neither of us had ever been there except to pass through.

Today, Saturday, I left the hotel about 8 a.m., intending to head back to Bisbee. I had the day open and it was looking to be a nice day, with clear skies and moderate temperatures. I had to head south through Nogales anyway, so I looked for an easy peak in the area to hike, to break up my drive.

The drive to Nogales went quickly, just a half hour. I wanted state route AZ-82. There is no direct interchange with Interstate-19, so I was obliged to exit onto surface streets and follow the signs. Once on AZ-82, I followed it northeast out of town.

A few miles later, I turned right onto Duquesne Road, which heads east into the Patagonia Mountains. The last time I was on this road was in 2017 when the fellas and I hiked Mount Washington.

The road is paved for a couple miles, passing through some homestead properties, then it is hard-pack dirt as it heads toward the hills. I went in just under 8 miles total from the highway, to where the road bends north behind Peak 5197. The peak is just a foothill of the main range, nothing special about it.

I parked in a clearing due east of the summit. On the map, it looked easy: less than a mile away, about 400 feet higher. The slopes looked steep but not that bad. I got properly dressed and started hiking, roughly 10 a.m..

The grass was higher than I would have preferred, and it was still warm enough for a snake to be out. There did not seem to be a best way to the base of the peak. The lower terrain is a mix of brushy gullies. I just picked one, went in, dealt with the brush and hoped for the best.

I always went up whenever possible, and even followed a game path once or twice, but once above the gullies and ridges, I was now on the main slope, and it was steep. There was ocotillo and other brush, and I had to make adjustments to follow lanes. The regolith was loose flakey rock that slid with each step.

This portion was a chore but it was short. Higher up, I came upon some low cliffs of angled heaped rock. I chose to scale them directly and this put me on the high ridge. A right turn, up and down one bump, and the summit was just ahead.

There was a fence blocking me for the last ten feet. It was a sturdy fence too. I found a spot where I could push down the strands and carefully step over it. And that was it. I was on top, the summit open with a rock outcrop, but no registers or cairns. It hadn't taken long, just a half hour.

Views were good, especially of the big Mount Washington and its high ridges. I could see some of Nogales to the west, and many other peaks in the area. I don't get here often so much of this was new territory for me. I didn't stay long, just a couple minutes.

I wasn't eager to go down the way I had come up, so I gambled and followed the hill's main south-trending ridge, which had a lenient grade. This would add distance but hopefully would have better footing.

I followed the ridge (and the fence) until I came upon a slope that looked promising to descend. It was steep and loose, and it dropped me into the lower gulches with the heavy brush. I was able to push through it without too many scratches. I was back to my car quickly, an hour after starting.

This was a fast hike, and I think my gamble wasn't worth it. The slopes were about the same, so I should have just gone down the way I had come up. This would be a good peak to tack on as a bonus if already in the area.

I got back out to the highway and followed that east through Patagonia, Sonoita and into Whetstone, then stopped in Sierra Vista for groceries before heading home.