Off The Beaten Path
This peak guide is presented here for the convenience of our visitors.
Neither the Desert Peaks Sections or the Sierra Club guarantees the accuracy of this document. Use at Your Own Risk!
| No. 22 | Big Horn Peak (3,480') | Arizona |
| 18-Mar-94 |
This guide is based on a Sage article by Mark Adrian.
Topo Map:
Big Horn Peak 7½
Coordinates: Lat 33 36 30 Lon 113 09 00
Trip Stats: 7 mi., 2100', 5.5 hrs., Class 3
DRIVING
From the N side of I-10's exit 81 (Salome Road) overpass, proceed 0.3 miles on pavement, NW to an excellent dirt road on the N side of the blacktop, just E of a "DIPS" sign. Turn N onto this excellent dirt road and proceed 0.65 miles N to a fork where the excellent dirt road turns W and a fair dirt spur continues NI passing a "Borrow Pit" on the W. Continue N on this spur for about 2.0 miles to where there is a "T" intersection with a powerline road. Turn W here and continue for 0.3 miles. to near pole number 27 (poles are numbered with metal plaques high on their structures). There is plenty of roadside parking here, and careful 2WDs should be able to get this far.
HIKING
The peak is obvious directly N of the parking area. From the parking area, walk N for about 0.5 miles and locate, then cross: the footbridge over the aqueduct. Continue up to the top of a large earthen berm. The top of the berm is a good place to orient a map and pick out a route. From the summit, a gully can be seen immediately below the top as it drops over a series of parallel, horizontally-oriented, series of cliffs. The gully is a landmark for the general direction up the S face. We stayed to its right/E side. Basically, though, You're on your own adventure! Drop down the berm, cross over the service road, and continue N for 0.25 miles to where there is a barbed wire wilderness boundary fence. Slither under the fence and continue N, passing through the low saddle between points 1,458' and 1,855'. From here, curve NW, picking your way up to the summit's third class mound.
NOTES
Big Horn Peak is situated in the Big Horn Mountain Wilderness.
feet elevation gain, 7 miles, 5.5 hours