Peak 5749 lies north of state highway AZ-82, about halfway between Whetstone and Sonoita. It's a big hill with a long profile, set back about a mile and a half from the road. It could be considered as the southwesternmost peak in the Whetstone Mountains.
The peak lies on private land, but with State Trust, BLM and Forest land all within close proximity. I know people have accessed the Coronado National Forest from this way, but I never quite knew just how they did so.
Last week, coming back after a successful hike of Peaks 5830 and 5953, I decided to explore the roads in the region. These are scattered small ranchette properties. The roads tend to be narrow, sometimes unpaved, but usually in decent shape.
The road I wanted is called Rain Valley Loop and/or Clyne Ranch Road according to the map sites. It is 1.25 miles east of the Elgin Cutoff Road. I found it easily. It is unpaved but in good shape for about a half mile, then is paved for the next half mile (this is the county line between Pima and Santa Cruz County, which may explain why it was suddenly paved). It passes by one house. Up ahead is a right turn, near a clump of trees, with a Sportsman Access sign and log-in register.
Now I knew I had a viable way in toward this peak and also the forest for future adventures. I did not climb the peak on this day, but chose to come back a couple days later, being today. I was out my door as the sun rose, and 50-ish miles later, at the turn for these side roads.
The road at the Sportsman Access point is dirt but in good shape. I signed myself in. The last person was here about two weeks ago. The last few people here were hunters, which does not surprise me.
I drove the road a mile east, passing one gate along the way. The land east of this gate belongs to Pima County, some sort of land management program. In fact, this is the southeasternmost point in the county. The tricorner, where Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties come together, is about a mile more to the southeast.
The road then bends north paralleling power lines. I found a side road that dropped into a small basin ringed by trees, with fire rings. This would be a perfect place to park. I was a mile and a half west of the peak. It was a little past 8 a.m. by now, cold but pleasant.
I had to cover that mile and a half, so I got busy walking. The lower terrain is all knee-high grass, easy to push through and not the kind that wraps around my ankles. I followed cattle paths whenever possible. It was easy walking, and I covered this segment in about a half hour.
The highpoint is dead-center of the mountain mass, and three good-looking slopes lead up to the top. I chose to take the middle one, the one that should lead right to the summit. I had to battle one very thorny arroyo along the way. Otherwise, the brush was very light and spaced nicely.
The slope steepened incrementally. It was the usual — limestone with embedded rocks and lots of rubble. The bigger rocks offered excellent footing with traction, while the rubble offered nothing but slipping and sliding.
This uphill grind covered about a half mile, with about 500 feet of gain. It wasn't difficult. Just one long slope that got a tad steep at the very top before levelling off. Then there it was, the summit. It was that easy, just an hour after starting.
The top is bare, with a cairn at its top. It was cool still, but pleasant, and I was able to shed a layer. There was no breeze, which was nice. I had excellent views of the peaks and ranges in all directions.
I found the register bottle amid the cairn and signed myself in, the first signee in two years. A benchmark was underneath. I had to take apart the cairn to get sunlight on it for a photo. It is stamped "4F 890" and was placed here by the Army Corps of Engineers. I rebuilt the cairn afterwards.
Being monumented by the Corps of Engineers, this benchmark would not be logged in the usual benchmark sites, most of which are USGS benchmarks. With Fort Huachuca nearby, I am sure they had a good reason to monument a benchmark atop this hill. What "4F 890" stands for I am not sure. Documentation for these non-USGS benchmarks is almost impossible to find, if it exists anymore.
I stayed up top about ten minutes, enjoying the morning. For the descent, I considered going south and taking a different ridge down, but I came upon some cliffs that I did not want to mess with. So I went with what worked for me, my ascent route. I took baby steps down the slope until I was off the steep stuff. Surprisingly, I had no DFOs or CBLs.
Once off the hill, I just had to walk the grassy meadow back to my car. I had parked near some power poles and figured it would be easy to walk back with that alone as my guide. I got lazy and followed some cattle paths that led me a little to the north. Trouble was, the poles all look alike and I was parked in a depression. I came out to the road and walked it back south and in minutes saw my car. The outbound hike also took an hour.
This was a pleasant hike with easy logistics and access was not as difficult as I had assumed. The roads are good, just reasonable high clearance is necessary. The grass in the meadows was heavy, and I would be hesitant to hike this in warm weather. This would be perfect snake-hiding terrain. Today, with temperatures in the 40s, ensured the snakes would not be out, or if out, doing their best impression of a stick.
The day was still young and I had a second peak on the agenda, a simple bump over in the Tombstone Hills. I drove into Sierra Vista then up Charleston Road toward Tombstone, where my story picks up.
