Date: August 24, 2025 • Elevation: 5,414 feet ✳ • Prominence: 332 feet ✳ • Distance: 1.5 miles • Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes • Gain: 474 feet • Conditions: Warm and sunny, but stable with a breeze • Wildlife: Mojave green rattlesnake

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ • Lidar

Peak 5414 lies at the south tip of the Mustang Mountains, a small range straddling the Cochise and Santa Cruz county line, encompassing the hills and peaks south of state route AZ-82. I've been in the range once before, back in 2017 when I climbed the Mustang Mountains Highpoint with the fellers.

This anonymous peak wasn't on my radar this morning. Instead, I had intended to hike to and climb Peak 5224 over in the Patagonia Mountains. I was up early and on the road at 4 a.m., and in the Patagonia area a little after 5 a.m., still dark with the barest twilight to the east.

Peak 5224 looked "doable" even under these late-summer conditions. Expected highs in Patagonia were going to be in the mid-90s, but the morning lows were in the low 60s. There was no chance of storms. I figured with a dawn start, I should have a few hours to bag this peak before things got too hot.

I parked at the small lot set aside for Arizona Trail hikers off Casa Blanca Road, the only one here. I was moving at 5:20 a.m., temperature 62° and very cool. The Arizona Trail trends southeasterly back toward the highway, going underneath at a small bridge. I missed a turn here.

I was on an excellent trail but it trended too far south, paralleling the highway, whereas it should have went more east toward the hills. I corrected this by barging through knee-high grass and getting myself onto a road. This road seemed to agree with my map so I followed it.

The peak is accessible by this road, or the Arizona Trail, or a combination since they cross one another farther into the hills. But as I hiked on this road, I wasn't comfortable that it was the right road. It seemed too scraggly. To be safe, I backed out, retraced my steps, went a little more north, and found the Arizona Trail. This cost me about a mile of hiking and a half-hour. I was annoyed because I had used up some valuable morning coolness.

On the Arizona Trail now, I followed it, but oh-my-gosh, it takes its merry time making any progress. It largely follows old vehicle tracks which wander all over the place, adding distance.

I got to a gate where the trail leaves the road and is a normal trail again. It switchbacked up a bluff. At a bend, I hear a soft rattle and some movement. I look back and see a monster freaking rattlesnake slowly moving to the side, up an embankment, in no hurry. I took his photo. I had walked right by the damn thing.

Crap. I was amping with adrenaline. This was a big-ass snake. It looked like a Mojave Green, which are common to Arizona. Their venom is very toxic. The saving grace is that they tend not to be aggressive. This guy wasn't.

So now I'm hyper-aware of snakes. I was in shorts but I had gaiters in my pack. The trail was in good shape but at times brush grew heavy on the margins. I was on the lookout for more snakes.

The trail zigs and zags tightly with the terrain, almost like a fractal curve, and it seemed I was making no "inward" progress. The peak could be seen rising above and behind a foreground peak.

After an hour or so, I gave up. It was warming now. The trail took just too damn long to cover distance. The road I had been on earlier would be the better way in as it goes in, very little curviness. I was concerned that this was taking longer than expected, it was warming, and I'd be hiking the last 500 vertical feet through grassy terrain, where more snakes could be encountered.

I turned and hiked out. At that bend where I encountered the snake ... there he was, still hanging out on the embankment. I wanted no part of him. I could have ran by him but instead, I carefully poked my way through some low brush to bypass him. I realize I was taking a chance being bitten by a snake to avoid being bitten by a snake.

I was back to my car at 8:30 a.m., having been hiking for 3 hours. I covered about 6 miles overall, and knew I had underestimated the length and time this peak would require. I'll return, but when it's much colder. The road I had been on was the right road, I later discovered. All in all, this was a frustrating experience but I was happy to be out. Seeing such a big snake was scary, but impressive too. He may be the biggest rattlesnake I've seen in Arizona.

I also discovered my error from earlier, where I missed a turn. The trail splits here. I stayed right on the better trail, this being the Patagonia Rail Trail. I should have gone left.

So now I'm back at my car, feeling a bit bummed that my hike was a bust. I got a workout and the day was nice, so I'll take that. I started back on the highway, heading east. The outside temperature was in the mid-80s.

As I drove by the Mustang Mountains, I decided to scout a road I had wondered about. It leads into the hills on State Trust land. I figured I could at least get some scouting done for a later hike.

This road angles southeast, east of and below the main peaks of the range, and west of the lower ridge of peaks. Peak 5414 was in the distance. I wanted to see how far in I could drive, that's all.

The road was in decent shape, most of the time, but would get rocky and rutted in places. I passed three more gates, two that were closed but unlocked, and one propped open. I slowly drove in and past the third gate (the fourth if I count the one at the highway), I went left on a track down toward a corral, in a glade of mesquite. To my surprise, I was less than a mile from Peak 5414 (the map calls it Peak 5412, the new figure derived from Lidar).

It was close to 10 a.m. by now. It was still sunny and cloudless but the temperature was at 84° and hadn't changed. It was "cool" enough that I could hike this short peak without worrying about overheating.

I got back on my hiking clothes, and put on my snake gaiters. I trudged up a slope, angling toward a lowpoint in the ridge and below the rocky summit ridge. The terrain was mostly open, and cow paths cut through some heavier brush. I was very mindful of snakes.

I entered onto the summit ridge, which is rocky and brushy. I thought the highpoint was just ahead, but when I got to it, I saw more slope to go. I was moving carefully, examining each step, each rock, each grassy section, for snakes.

This went on for a few more minutes. I thought I was at the top about three more times, each time seeing a little more to go. But it wasn't a far hike, a little over a half mile, and I was on top the peak after about 40 minutes.

The top is rocky and brushy. The west tip has a large cairn on its edge, but rocks higher were nearby, so I stepped on or tagged them. To the east I saw more rocks and once there, felt these were highest. The mapmakers did too, putting the spot elevation here, whereas Lidar had it more on the west tip. Lidar often overlooks narrow features such as a rock outcrop, which I think is what happened here.

I was just darn happy to be here, being able to salvage the day after being denied earlier. I had fine views in all directions. In spite of the warmth, it was a mellow day, with lower humidity and a breeze. It felt pretty good.

Going down, I chose to just bust downhill due north, which worked well. I got down to a small cliff band and a line of trees and brush. This took some very minor scrambling to ease down (Class-2, plenty of holds, good rock), then find a way through the branches and crud.

Once down below that, I cut across more open terrain and angled around a smaller hill to get back to my car. I had been gone just over an hour, and was feeling pretty good about things. This was a fun little peak and I am glad I was successful on it. I'll be back because this road allows access to a larger peak to the north, but I'll wait a month or two to let things cool down and the snakes to hide in their holes.

I exited back to the highway, then on home via Sierra Vista, arriving about 1 p.m.. I took a nap and later downloaded my images. Even a photo of the snake gives me the willies.