Date: January 13, 2026 • Elevation: 2,583 feet ✳ • Prominence: 477 feet • Distance: 2.2 miles • Time: 75 minutes • Gain: 640 feet • Conditions: Cool, sunny, clear skies

Arizona • Main • PB • LoJ

Today, Tuesday, was my first day of teaching at ASU, the start of my 64th semester there. So I left Bisbee well before dawn and wanted to be in Tucson as the sun was rising. Three days ago I had hiked two peaks to the west, and wanted to return to hike this one to complete this little batch.

The day was very cold but not as bad as three days ago. It was in the low 30s in Bisbee, and in the mid 40s as I arrived in Tucson. My timing was good. I exited at Marana Road while the sun was barely breaching the east horizon. About twenty miles later, I was on Sasco Road, abeam of this peak.

This peak has no name, and is marked by spot elevation 2,576 feet on the map, whereas Lidar says it's 2,583 feet. Most of the peaks in the Samaniego Hills have a loaf-shape, but this peak is more spread out with multiple ridges leading up to the top.

I parked along the road, about a mile from the peak, deliberately parking in the open so I'd see my car on the hike out. I got dressed and the pack in order, and started walking about 7:45 a.m.. By now, the sun was up but I was still in shadow. It was cool, in the 40s, but very calm and pleasant.

I walked on a direct line toward the peak. Whatever slope and ridge my bearing fed me onto, that's what I would follow. It all looked about the same.

The walking was easy with plenty of openings and well-behaved rocks. The grade slowly steepened and the ridge I was on narrowed slightly. For about a hundred vertical feet, it steepened considerably, now on a slope of volcanic talus. As long as I moved carefully, the rocks stayed put.

This fed me onto a rocky knob on the main ridge itself. Looking east, I could not yet see the actual peak. It was hidden by a foreground bump (I did not realize it at this very moment), and the sun was very intense.

I just started walking that way, up and down the rocky knobs. It was easy but messy in spots. I ascended what I thought was the top, but when I got onto it, saw the real summit not too far away.

The final segment went well. Some low cliffs were easily avoided and at worst, I just had to high-step up some blocks and avoid loose talus, and presto, I was on top of Peak 2583, about a 40-minute one-way hike.

It was chilly up here but nice, and I spent a minute or two walking around and taking in the views. The sun was still low enough to create long shadows on everything, with crisp lighting on the lit sides.

A helicopter was buzzing the range. I could hear it and it was flying very low, often just a few dozen feet above the lower terrain. He would make long circles, so I'd hear it, then see it, then not see it for a few minutes at a time. Was this a search, a training, or just some guys having fun? I suspect a training.

As I hiked down, the helicopter got real loud and I could see he was coming toward me. I stopped and watched as he passed. I got an image of it but it did not look like a Sheriffs' or DPS unit. It looked like the kind of flying a pilot would do if looking for a person, flying low then up and over any ridges.

I followed the same ridges down, although any other one would have worked. I wanted to retrace my route so I'd stay on route back to my car. The last quarter mile across the flats, the car was invisible, but I came out to the road about a hundred feet from it, just a half-hour egress.

I changed into roomier clothes and started the drive out, being back to the interstate in about a half hour. I was happy to get this peak done as it helps fill in another blank spot for me here in these hills. It was an easy and fast climb and perfect given today's restrictions.

The drive into Tempe went fine. I enjoy being on campus but always get first-day jitters, even after 30+ years of doing this. But it went well, as it always does. I don't care for the big city but I have to do what I have to do. I am convinced that eventually every major arterial in greater Phoenix will be coned off and lane-restricted. "Lane closed merge left" should be the city's new motto.