Eagletail Mountains, Az

                                           Eagletail Peak                                                     

• EAGLETAIL PEAK has an interesting class 3 route thru the south cliffs. Use the paved Harquahala Valley Road east of the range from exit 81 on I-10. Go south to a T at Baseline Road. Go right to the end of pavement at 547 Ave. Go left for a mile and a third to a corral. Go right thru a gate for a mile then go right on a high clearance road for 2 miles to the end. Hike the trail thru a major gap to N33 22665, W113 17922. Now keep going and choose your own spot to leave the trail and pick your route across the flats to get to a saddle at 23599, 18455. The longer you stay on the trail the fewer gullies to cross. Go thru the saddle then down along the left side of a draw to get to the flats at the base of the peak. Go up a ridge at 24004, 18537 then move left into a gully when forced to. Aim for the first cliff band at 24193, 18383 at the head of the gully. Then go right on a wide shelf. It drops a little at first then angles up. Soon you come to some little tricky climbs. Swing wide right to pass them on an easy ledge. Then the terrain takes you up to the left. Don't go too high and aim for a shelf at 24225, 18346. Walk the shelf around the corner and you meet the standard route on the crest. Go up keeping close to center with some more class 3. The top for hikers is at 24228, 18270. No reg in 2012. I came down the standard route in the easy canyon to the west. 5 hours, 2300 gain. This route only has a few class 3 moves. If it doesn't suit you then you're not going to like what awaits after you join the standard route.
• There is a NW route up Eagletail Peak but a big saddle is in the way. Go south from I-10 on Harquahala Valley Rd for just over 5 miles to Courthouse/Centennial roads. Go west on graded Centennial Road for 7 miles to forks. The main right fork is a pipeline road. Take it for a mile then go left on a crude road for 3 miles and park at N33 26484, W113 19316. Hike the closed road thru a low saddle then at 25905, 18658 veer right to another low saddle at 25471, 18445. Now you can see the notch to aim for to get on the crest. Go thru the notch then turn left and down a little to get in a draw. Take a right fork on bedrock then go up to a point on the ridge at 24494, 18670.DON'T go any higher. Now contour along the right side for 300 feet to a flat spot. The remaining route is visible.You have to drop down a gully for 300 feet to get around cliffs and crags at the big saddle area then connect with the standard route. Hiking time and gain are similar to the south class 3 route.
• EAGLETAIL BUTTE el 2700 is climbed from the same TH as the Eagletail Peak class 3 route. Walk thru a gap at N33 22465, W113 16370. Then go NW along the base of the mountain for 3/5 mile to a main canyon with a good triple arch. A herd of 12 sheep were here with 4 babies. Just go straight up this canyon to the top. The reg is at 23011, 17498. A dam can be seen in the crags at the foot of the north slope. I came down the same canyon along the right side against the cliffs. Below the cliffs I went right thru a saddle to get back to the start. Under 4 hours, 1300 gain. This is the steepest hike on this page.
• EAGLE BM el 3200 is west of Courthouse Rock. Use the same pipeline road as the NW Eagletail Peak route. Go 7 miles west on it to a crude road at N33 30585, W113 23233. Go left for a mile and a quarter to wilderness signs. The route is obvious. Hike to a point in the flats at 29450, 23810. Now head for the peak and don't cross any washes. The high ground will take you to a slope at 28856, 24086. Keep going up into a draw. Use trails on the left side. When the draw goes left get on the right side and follow it up. It helps a lot to get on bedrock at 28689, 24143. Go up until the bedrock fizzles then go up the slope to an easy chute to the left of the summit block. The chute tops out in the open summit area. The reg is at 28595, 24129. 3 hours, 1500 gain. Some light brush. 2wds might have to hike or bike an extra mile each way.
• The INDIAN SPRING PETROGLYPHS are public. Use the same pipeline road as the NW Eagletail Peak route. Go about 4 miles on the pipeline road to a crude road going left. There is a big metal tank on the right about a mile before this turn. Take the crude road for a mile and half to a cable at the end. Hike up the old road past Courthouse Rock. Don't miss a shortcut trail at N33 27636, W113 22478. The petroglyphs are at 26720,23813. They make a horshoe on the rim of the little mesa. Across the wash are more and a golfball pattern. They continue downstream around the corner then end. Another 5 minutes down the wash is a panel on the right with stick men. Some grinding holes are in the wash bottom, some on a flat rock near the main panels. It takes about an hour of easy hiking to get to the panels.