Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Hiking around Quartzsite

    Airway beacon


Mine trail at Granite Mtn




Geoglyphs near Loves are the best I've seen in the state. Go east on the frontage road from loves to mp 18. Go a east a few more feet and turn at the next driveway. Go south along a fence and the road will swing west to the site, about a mile in from the frontage road. Or stay on the frontage road to Q Mtn Parkway. Take that to Connor and that road will swing west then turn to dirt for half a mile to the site.




  • AIRWAY BEACON TRAIL - this is the only real peak trail around town I know of. It shows on the topo a mile and a half north of Cunningham Mountain. From Loves at exit 17, go west on the frontage road for a mile and a half then go left on the paved Cholla Rd. When pavement ends, keep going south on the main road for 1.8 miles to a main fork at road #134I. Go right for a fifth mile on that to another main fork then go left. Stay on the main road which is soon to be road #129. In about a mile and a half you'll come to road #142. Turn on that and go a couple hundred feet to road #143, but don't turn there. Keep going another couple hundred feet then go left on an unsigned road reading N33 35968, W114 19562. Go 3/4 mile on that to the end at a parking area where ATVs keep going another quarter mile then have to turn around where the trail shrinks to a foot trail. 2wds will have to walk or bike the last mile or more of the road. If walking, I would just make a beeline for the parking area at 35720, 20098 el 1600. It's a 2 hour hike with 1200 gain from the parking area. I cleared the trail several years earlier. A stick or golf club is useful to knock cholla pieces off the trail. Posted 2017.

    • GRANITE MOUNTAIN el 1707 is a steep peak on the SW side of town. The SW ridge is one of the easier routes.  From Loves at exit 17, go west on the frontage road for a mile and a half then go left on the paved Cholla Rd for 1.2 miles to road # 138B. Go a mile on that easy 4wd road to the SW canyon. Mtn bikes would work. Walk up the canyon to a saddle at N33 38606, W114 15152 el 1150. Start up the ridge there, or go thru the saddle then up the creekbed a short way then climb up in order to bypass a minor bump on the ridge. Go up to a DOD BM on the summit at 38835, 15060. 90 minutes, 700 gain. MINE TRAIL - miners built a trail on the SE side of the mountain. I walked from the RV camp area on the west side. I used OHV trails to walk along the south side to the trail going up a canyon at N33 38316, N114 15008 el 1050. The trail tops out at el 1150 then goes down to the east side where a road can be followed to Loves. Or stay along the base like I did and over to the Motel 8 where I had a bike stashed. It took me 80 minutes to get to the motel then I had a nearly 2 mile ride back. It's a rocky trail. Some private land is on the NE side of this peak, but it wasn't posted. Posted 2017.
    • CUNNINGHAM MOUNTAIN el 3316 has an ultra steep road up to the towers. A locked gate at el 1500 is where hikers start. Take US 95 to mp 99.4 and turn on paved 53RD St. Go west to the end of pavement then keep going west on road #143 for nearly 3 miles to a 4-way at road #134. Go south on that for nearly 3 miles to powerlines. Follow those west for 3/4 mile then go left on the road up the peak. In a fifth mile there is a small parking area right before the gate. The hike takes 3 or 4 hours with 1800 gain. The roads are easy 4wd. Mtn bikes could work but the last mile to the gate is hilly. Posted 2017.
    • OLDMAN MOUNTAIN el 2100 is NW of town. The west ridge is the shortest route. Get on Kofa Ave near the Pilot at the west end of town. Go north a mile and a third to Saguaro St then turn west on a decent dirt road. Go 3 miles to road #123B. Go north on that for 2 and a half miles to Diablo Pass. One tricky fork is in a wash about halfway along. Stay left there. At the pass, go down the other side for a bit over half a mile then park at el 1150 and hike up to a steep drainage at N33 41225, W114 18352 el 1300. Get on the right rim of the drainage and follow it all the way to the reg at 41172, 18031. 90 minutes, nearly 1000 gain. All roads easy 4wd. Mtn bikes would work on most of it. Indians used the pass. Some trail segments can still be seen such as at 40966, 18430. OLDMAN TANQUE is on the east side as shown on the topo. About a mile in from Kofa Ave is where road #120 forks to the NW for a couple of miles to the tank at 41421, 16324. One small pool was there. About a half air mile south of the tank is where an Indian trail can be seen crossing the road. The road goes on to access the NE canyon which is another hiking route up the peak. I could see no issues getting to the high saddle east of the summit. That saddle is just below the "n" in "Oldman" on the topo. Posted 2017.
    • LIVINGSTON HILLS HIGH POINT el 2600+ is a jagged peak just inside the Kofa boundary. Take US 95 to mp 95.6 and turn at the sign for Crystal Hill. Go nearly 6 miles on a bumpy road to post 77 then go right for a mile and a quarter and park where the road bends left. 2wd trucks could make it. Walk the flats up into a canyon reading N33 29830, W114 06254 el 1850. At that point, cross over to the right bank of the creekbed and go on up into the obvious saddle el 2300+ to the south. Then go west up the ridge using a spotty sheep trail that stays low along the south side of crags. A cholla whacker is useful on this sheep route. The sheep don't keep it trimmed. The route tops out at the reg at 29749, 06609. For the descent, I went back east down the ridge a few feet to a saddle then north down a steep draingage. 3 hours, 1100 gain. Posted 2017.
    • SAWTOOTH MOUNTAIN el 2990 is west of town. Take I-10 to Dome Rock Rd at exit 11. Get on the south side frontage road and go east a fifth mile to road #127. Go south on that nearly a fifth mile to a gas road then go west .7 mile to road #128 at N33 38693, W114 20749 . Then go south a mile to a T at road #127C and park el 1300. Walk west on 127C over a saddle into the next canyon then go up the canyon but use the left bank at first. Climb out of the canyon on a ridge at 37556, 21180 el 1550. Keep going up to the reg at 36784, 21517. 3 hours, nearly 2000 gain. Mtn bikes would work on the roads here and 2wd trucks could get close. Posted 2018.
    •   LA PAZ MOUNTAIN el 1343 can be done as a loop hike with peak 1444 to the east. Take I-10 to exit 5 then follow Tom Wells Rd along the east edge of a truckstop to a T at the old highway. Then go east on bad pavement for half a mile to a barricade. Go left around that and the main road bends left toward the peak. It has 4wd drive spots and is mtn bikeable. Go on to a fork at N33 40036, W114 25077. Stay left for a mile and a third to a road going up a hill at 40675, 24421. That road goes a mile to Goodman Tank, but I only went a fifth mile on it to a fork then went right a fifth mile and parked on high ground. I then went to the south canyon at 40915, 24979 el 600. I went up the left bank of that until it got steep then merged into the canyon and went up to a main fork el 1000 about a quarter mile before the summit. I went right and up to the saddle el 1200 then up the ridge to the reg at 41620, 25258. Placed in 2003 by M&L, no one had signed in. But I did just to help'em out. Then I retraced from the summit for 300 feet then descended easier ground to the flats. I walked around a point at 42102, 24685 el 600 then up a valley to a ridge at 41864, 23444 el 850. That's not smooth so next time I'll use the canyon on the north side of it to get on the north ridge of the peak. That ridge is easy to peak 1444 at 41731, 22870. There are 2 more summits in the next tenth mile but none had a reg. From the third summit, I kept going on the main ridge to the next saddle and could see a decent route going south down the drainage. I hit bottom and had a good wash going bank to bank. I got on the far right bank at 41177, 23200 el 850 to skirt a trench. When that bank fizzled, I only walked the banks again at the major bends. A shortcut thru a saddle would save a third mile, but I didn't think it was worth it. I just stayed in the wash until I saw a jeep road on the left bank leading back to the start. That took 5 and a half hours with about 1500 noticeable gain. Just doing La Paz would be less than 2 hours. This has the best scenery of any hike on this page. And the best bank walking I can remember. Goodman Tank was dry even in a wet winter. Indian trails run by it. ALTERNATE - in 2021 I looped back from the summit by walking the flats east of peak 1444. I went around the point at 42102, 24685 and up the valley to the left bank of a side canyon at 42098, 24286 el 600. I went straight up canyon and over the saddle el 700 then down the drainage on the other side to the flats. I went on to 42458, 23486 then on ahead over a saddle el 700 with deer trails. Next, I walked the flats to 42015, 22495 then hit a wash in half a mile and walked up that along the base. I left that at 41379, 22298 and on to the return canyon at 41163, 22437. I stayed on the right bank then over to the left bank then stayed in the bed to 40767, 23066 where I got up on the right bank. It soon makes a right bend and it's better to drop back down. At 40802, 23544 there is an Indian trail going up on the right bank. It crosses to the left bank then took me back into the bed. I stayed in the bed then picked up the trail on the left bank at 40827, 24129. It goes along faint and climbs a little to the top of the rim to shortcut a bend then down a point to the bed. A road is just ahead that leads back to the start. That loop took 5 hours, 12 minutes with 1000 noticeable gain. A lot of stinky horse shit is on the north flats. Good canyons. Posted 2020, 2021.
    • SOUTH TRIGO PEAKS HIGH POINT el 2660 is on the YPG and hikers aren't supposed to go in there, but guess what? They do anyway. Take US 95 to mp 82 and turn on the graded and public Cibola Rd. Go about 13 miles to a sandy wash at N33 24348, W114 23632. It's washboard the whole way but that's half the fun, huh? Drive up the wash a third mile to a faint road on the left bank then go a mile to the end and park el 1150. Aim for high ground at 24696, 22045 el 1150 that goes half a mile to a deep wash at 24748, 21501 el 1250. Walk up that and stay right at forks. I left a cairn where I went up a point to walk the left bank on smooth ground. The wash bends left to the best ridge at 24950, 20841 el 1400. It's smoother than it looks and has no major dips. The reg and Gauna BM are at 25350, 20317. A new book is needed. 4 hours, 1300 noticeable gain. This is a pristine route. The parking spot is at 24660, 22615. This is best done on major holidays. ENTER AT OWN RISK. Posted 2020.