Yesterday’s hike

From my campsite near Ajo AZ I can see a small mountain/large hill with a large stone pillar separated from the side. It looked like a suitable destination for a hike. And the weather was perfect for it.

The first half was along a dirt road. Not that interesting or demanding, but then I cut into open desert and picked my way through cacti and creosote, in and out of washes, sometimes following animal trails, sometimes not, until I reached the base of the mountain.

Progress from there required a little scrambling over scree and boulders. Scrambling back down is always trickier, but I would deal with that later.

Once I got to the pillar I saw a faint trail leading along the face of the mountain to a more gradual, less bouldery descent. Ah, that’s better than the way I had come. The route also revealed a small arch (or hole) behind the pillar.

After working my way off the slope and back through the cacti and creosote it was an easy but boring walk back along the road. I was grateful, though, that ATVs weren’t ripping around the place. At that time. My only human encounter was with a bicyclist wanting to know if I was Scott or Jeff or if I knew where they were camped. I did not.

According to the distance measuring feature of Google Maps, my little trek was about 3.7 miles. Maybe four if I counted all the zigging and zagging as I bushwhacked (chollawhacked, ocotillowhacked, saguarowhacked, organpipewhacked?) my way across open terrain. Nice day.