The Mountains of Arizona
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Peak 4685 • Peak 4820 • Peak 4996 • Peak 4433 These peaks lie very near the main highway, US-70, east of Safford. Access is easy and unfettered, this being almost all State Trust and BLM land. I wanted an easy day of peakbagging, no dramas nor epics. The most epic thing I'd do today was get up at 4:30 a.m.. I was on the road at 5:15 a.m., heading the usual way through Elfrida, Kansas Settlement, Willcox and Safford. Traffic was very light. It was cold outside, in the low 30s for much of the drive. The sun was barely breaching the eastern horizon as I entered Willcox. By the time I was in Safford, it was up, but still low in the sky. There were high clouds and it was cold still, but into the 40s. I stopped for snacks and drinks. From Safford, I headed east on US-70 about twenty more miles, entering into the hills. Three of the peaks lie on either side of the highway, at the west edge of the Black Hills. Shoat Tank Wash drains from within the canyon that the highway entered. None of these peaks and very few features have names out this way. The first three peaks have summit elevations printed on the maps, all appended by the "T", meaning it was determined remotely. These "T" elevations are notoriously inaccurate. In order that I climbed them, Peak 4685 had a printed summit elevation of 4675T, Peak 4820 had a printed summit elevation of 4630T, and Peak 4996 had a printed summit elevation of 5010T. Lidar at the 1-meter refinement was used to determine the truer figures.
Date: February 22, 2026
• Elevation: 4,685 feet ✳
• Prominence: 365 feet
• Distance: 2.2 miles
• Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
• Gain: 365 feet
• Conditions: Cool with high clouds and some sun
Arizona
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Main
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PB
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LoJ
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Lidar
I wanted a track that started east of this little peak, and went northwest. I found its entrance, a rough rocky road with a wire-stick gate. This road met with the main road which was in surprisingly good condition.
I drove this road in about another half mile, parking at a second gate. The road was wide and mostly smooth, with a few erosion ruts. I saw hints of very old asphalt. It was paved at one time, which was a surprise. Later, I saw online it was an old alignment of US-70. I was not able to determine dates exactly, but the current alignment dates from 1956.
It was cold but tolerable. I was in long everything including a fleece jacket. There was a steady breeze. I locked the car and started walking at 7:55 a.m., passing the second gate and walking the road a little ways until I had curled around a lower foreground hill and could see my objective peak for the first time.
When it felt right, I left the road and started uphill. The terrain was friendly, covered over in smallish talus and gravel, and easy to walk on. Brush was scattered and light. I angled left and aimed up toward the ridge. The peak appeared as a conical summit, lit by the morning sun whereas everything else was in shade.
Once on the ridge, I trudged up one easy bump and now stood directly abeam of the summit. I dropped a few feet to a saddle, then hiked up the last slope, a gain of about a hundred feet. This last segment was slightly steep, the rocks more apt to slide and roll, but it wasn't difficult. I was on top the peak about a half hour after starting.
The summit is a short ridge with a rocky outcrop at its east end, where I was. I searched for a cairn and register but found nothing. I had a bottle ready with a pencil and scrap of paper, and started one, placing it within a cairn that I also built. I spent about ten minutes up top.
The views were very good. It was clearing to the west and I had a great view of snow-bound Mount Graham and the lengthy Pinaleño Range. To the south and east were more high clouds. It was still cold but not uncomfortable. The breeze was light, "gusting" to about 10 miles per hour. I was close enough to the highway to hear the occasional engine-braking.
I hiked down the same way, the outbound hike also taking about a half hour. This was entirely a walk-up (and walk-down). There were some rocky segments that I could step up and over. Footing was very good the entire way. Usual care in foot placement was sufficient.
I was back to my car a little after 9 a.m.. The next two peaks lie south of the highway, so I would move my car closer to them.
Elevation: 4,820 feet ✳
• Prominence: 348 feet
• Distance: 0.6 mile
• Time: Included with Peak 4996
• Gain: 350 feet
• Conditions: Sunnier, still cool and breezy
PB
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LoJ
I drove back to the highway, then west less than a mile, pulling into a side road that led up to a water tank. Peak 4820 rose above me. I would hike this peak and nearby Peak 4996 on one outing, since both share a common ridge.
From my car, I aimed toward the saddle east of the peak, which forced me into and out of a couple drainages. I tended to angle up anyway, and after a point, just decided to push on upwards. I would move laterally when it seemed wise. The slopes were steep but the brush was light and the rocks generally behaved.
From the slope I was on, the top was pointed, with two smaller points forming a tiny saddle between them. I marched upward and got to the saddle. Hanging a left, I walked up to the top of the rock outcrop, the highest rock topped by an interesting cairn. This was the highpoint.
Only at this summit could I see the rest of the summit ridge. Another rock outcrop about 200 feet to the south looked nearly as high. I descended off this first outcrop and walked over to the second one. Looking back, the first one was higher by a few feet. Looking south again, there were more rocks! The summit ridge actually runs a few hundred more feet, but it trended downhill slightly.
Descending, I dropped off the ridge between the two main outcrops and angled down and left, aiming for the saddle. It was steep here and the rocks were loose. I took them slowly and slid once or twice, but never fell. In about twenty minutes, I was down off the peak and at the saddle. Now it was time to check out Peak 4996.
Elevation: 4,996 feet ✳
• Prominence: 489 feet
• Distance: 2 miles
• Time: 2 hours
• Gain: 795 feet
• Conditions: Very breezy on the ridge
PB
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LoJ
At the saddle, I had to sidehill around a middle bump. Lidar gives a summit of 4,668 feet and a prominence of 143 feet for this bump. The sidehilling went well, following a good path for much of the way. Footing was secure the whole way and brush was not a problem. Ocotillo, creosote and prickly-pear were the main plants to be seen. There were some barrel cactus, some agave, and the usual bunches of grass.
Now at the next saddle below Peak 4996, I hiked up a steep lower slope that only ran for about a hundred vertical feet. Once atop it and on the main northwest ridge, the grade lessened. I followed the ridge upward. The only obstacle was a rock outcrop about midway up, but I found an easy walk-through option.
The last hundred or so feet fed me onto the top, which like the others, ran for a few hundred feet from one end to the other. I was at its northern tip, which was the presumed highpoint. I found a register within a cairn and signed in, the first in almost 15 years.
A point about 300 feet to the south looked as high, so I went over to it and sighted back. It was too close to call. Lidar gives it a 4,995-foot reading, a difference of one foot. I think it wise to visit both points. The terrain between them is easy and it took just a few minutes.
I never really stopped except to sign myself into the register. In fact, I had not had a food or drink break yet. It was warming slightly, into the 50s, but the breezes were picking up too, gusts in the 20 mile-per-hour range, just enough to be cooling and annoying.
I hiked down the same way, and back to my car, total time gone about 2 hours. I covered 2.6 miles on this hike, and so far today, had walked about 4.7 miles, with three peaks in the record now. I had barely broken a sweat. Only back at my car did I actually drink and eat something.
It was not yet noon. I had a fourth peak planned in case I had time, and it seemed I had that time. These first three peaks had gone very quickly. The terrain on all three was easy, open and friendly.
Elevation: 4,433 feet ✳
• Prominence: 363 feet
• Distance: 1.3 miles
• Time: 1 hour
• Gain: 540 feet
• Conditions: Sunny, very windy
PB
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LoJ
Back on the highway, I went west a couple miles to a turnoff heading south, onto Hackberry Road. This road is a good road which eventually leads to the Hackberry Ranch about ten miles south. I was last on this road a little over seven years ago when Matthias and I climbed Whitlock Mountains Highpoint.
I went in a couple miles, and could see my intended peak the whole way. It's the first big peak one sees heading south, a trapezoidal summit with a long west-trending ridge.
I needed a lesser track that angled more toward the peak, and after a couple wrong turns, I found it. I was able to drive in about a mile, going slowly through one rocky segment and easing through the ruts. I found myself due east of the peak, with nowhere to pull off and park.
I turned the car (a 7-point u-turn) and heading north again, looking for a place to park. The road grader had pushed up a berm of rocks on both sides without any breaks. I found one spot and had to move aside about ten rocks so I could drive up onto the shoulder and off the road. I was slightly northeast of the peak by now.
I locked the car and started moving. I was essentially "on" the peak the moment I started walking. The slope rose upward barely, but slowly steepened. The terrain was rocky with light brush. The rocks were all volcanic, most of them about the size of a baseball.
The slopes steepened slightly to where I was on a long ramp to the top. I had no plan other than go with whatever presented itself. Now higher, the rocks were a little more stable and more embedded. The slope was covered in Arizona poppies, all about six inches off the ground, with yellow flowers and an orange center. It was very pretty!
I just kept at what I was doing and soon found myself at the lip of some heaped boulders and small cliffs. I found a spot to walk up one chute and was now "on top". I angled left and walked up another twenty feet, now on the summit ridge.
The highpoint was about another fifty feet ahead. I got to the general area and tagged about ten rocks, then walked to the far end and back to be sure I hit everything. It had taken me about a half hour to get here.
I found a register buried within a cairn. It was busted open. It was one of Mark Nicholls; here was here in 2000, and only one other name was in it, but no date (maybe they were together). I had a glass jar from last week that I re-used here. I transferred their names onto the new paper and added mine. I built a new cairn. Their cairn had been a little too hidden, or not obvious. It was only by luck I found it.
The wind was really blowing now, gusts into the 30 mile-per-hour bracket. It was kicking up a dust cloud in the playa about ten miles to the southeast. The view of the mountains that way were all filtered by the fine particulate mist. I did not stay too long as a result.
I hiked down the same way. I had parked in the open so I could see my car easily, and this worked well. I walked right to it. It was now nearing 1 p.m., and I was officially done. I had 4 peaks done and felt good about that. I changed into driving clothes and started the drive outward.
I stopped in Safford for gas, a coke and some chips, then in Willcox for some groceries for when I got home. The drive back home went without event, except for the wind, which was heavy at times. I was home about 3:30 p.m..
These peaks are fun to hike and I'll be back. The roads all look promising and the terrain is gentle. It's a bit of drive (about 120 miles one way) but it's an easy drive, rarely any traffic.
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