Mt Tipton

[sbkelley]

Mount Tipton
June 27, 2009
Total trip: 8 miles, 3400'

Mount Tipton from the west


The appeal of a mid-summer trek up a desert peak slowly materialized as I lived in Arizona longer and longer. As I've slowly, and sometimes painfully, learned the tricks of hiking in these conditions, a full day in the heat seemed more and more plausible. Why? I don't know - something new to challenge myself with, I suppose - but that seems like a flimsy excuse.

Thankfully, I have equally insane friends, and one in particular wanted to hike this peak. Matt Ellis, working for the summer in Chinle as a pharmacist, met me in Flagstaff, and we trekked over to Kingman and then north on US 93. After 30 miles of driving on this painfully straight road through some pretty barren terrain, Mt. Tipton appears on the right as a forested island above. The pines look inviting, but they are high up and appear a long ways away. At the Pierce Ferry Road, we took a right and followed that for just over a mile, turning right on 5th St (a dirt road), which goes directly east to the Mt. Tipton wilderness boundary. My Taurus wagon handled the road just fine. After about 4.5 miles, look for a turnoff on the left - a dirt road leaves the main track at a bit of an angle, and deposits you at a parking area with a small kiosk with a trailhead register. My brave wagon made it within about 100 yards of this spot before we encountered rocks too big for it to handle. A high clearance 2WD could easily handle this stretch. From here, I donned my long, thin pants, anticipating blistering sun and heinous brush. The hat, bandana, and sunscreen went on, along with the 1.5 gallons of water and gatorade. Game on.

We left the car just before 8 a.m. and made our way about .5 miles to a locked gate. We walked over it and slowly started gaining elevation through the shadeless desert. Elevation at the car was about 3700', so trees were nowhere to be found. Though it was warm, the going was easy since we were still on the dirt track and a strong breeze blew in our faces. The road moves into a drainage, where an old corral still stands, and we dodged some bulls and started moving up in earnest. The road climbs a short, steep hill, drops briefly, then slowly climbs to around the 4200' mark. This is the last of the easy walking.

From here, I pulled out the GPS and started tracking. Short, prickly brush abounds, and I picked a route carefully, keeping Matt's decision to wear shorts in mind. We aimed for a drainage that we'd read about in route descriptions, which leads to a saddle west of Mt. Tipton. Shortly, we passed the first pinon pine, and it was a welcome sight. The brush got thicker, but soon we found the drainage bottom, and it was surprisingly clear of brush. A few cairns marked the route - we knew we were in good shape. We rock-hopped up this shady gulch, keeping the cairns in sight, as we got higher and higher. By 9:30, we were at the 5200' level at the saddle. We took a breather here and looked up.

Aim for this drainage to get you to the saddle.


The route gets steep. Some descriptions tell you to swing wide to the south to avoid "brush", which really wasn't bad at all, so we opted for a direct line to the west ridge. From there, we gained the ridge and saw the inviting pines atop Tipton. The goal in sight, we settled into a comfortable pace as the temperature got higher and higher. The views got more and more impressive - Tipton really dominates this area. It was definitely warm, but there was plenty of shade to be had, and the occasional refresing breeze. Route-finding on this ridge is tricker than you'd think - plenty of brush to confuse you, but occasional cairns point to a path of least resistance. At last, we broke into the ponderosa forest and the going got easier. We happily strolled up the final 300' to the breezy and cool summit. No point rushing - it was only 11 a.m., and still had plenty of water. Time to relax, eat lunch, and soak in the views, which were incredible.

Views to the west. Easy to see the north-facing slopes here


We found the old ammo can and saw signatures in the summit log back to the 80s. This peak doesn't see much traffic at all. The route down follows the ascent route, and other than a minor diversion off-route, navigation was easy back the saddle and into the drainage. The temperatures were climbing as we got lower. 90 in the shade at 4500', but we were almost home. We broke back out into the desert, skirted the brush, and got back on the road. Now it was 100, according to my trusty thermometer. Hot! Hoping for an easy stroll back to the car, we ended up having to dodge another bull - this one was near the corral and didn't hesitate to show us our presence was unwanted. We gave it a wide berth.

Mt Tipton from the bottom. Aim for the saddle at the base of the west ridge, running from center of photo to the right


Back at the car, we donned clean shirts and enjoyed the A/C and water we'd stashed there. The drive out was a breeze and it was on to Kingman for a cold drink! Great day and great challenge. The Mt. Tipton Wilderness is certainly remote, rugged, and beautiful and the views were unforgettable.

Last thoughts, for those interested in climbing Mt. Tipton - the navigation is pretty straight-forward. The key is finding the drainage that goes to the saddle west of the Mt. Tipton at 5200'. Once at the saddle, following the ridge isn't too bad, but a bit brushy between 5500' and 6500'.

Parting shot of Mt. Tipton:

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Mountains complement desert as desert complements city, as wilderness complements and completes civilization. - Ed Abbey

[Davis2001R6]

Nice hike Scott, I see you off bull fighting again

[Suz]

Looks really HOT. So you have conditioned through the heat issues?

[Desert-Boonie]

Enough of this wearing pants Scott, break out the shorts it is summer time. Nice trek, but where is the summit shot of you guys? Gotta include that in the pictures.
_________________
~Never Satisfied~

"If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead"