Great Basin Trailheads UT, most of NV, and part of AZ Mojave Desert Trailheads Death Valley and Las Vegas areas
all Sonora Desert Trailheads
GENERAL NOTES:
Drive or fly to Phoenix, then take I-10 west and Hwy 85 south through Gila Bend (at the intersection of Hwy 85 and I-8). Continuing south on Hwy 85, go through the town of Ajo to the junction with Hwy 86 in the town of Why. This is significant because you might be bored with the drive and need to ask why about something to pass the time. It is also significant because you would take Hwy 86 east from Why to Baboquivari if you're doing both peaks.
Warning: Editorial paragraph follows! Kino Peak is near Mt Ajo, but the rangers confirmed to us that the area around Kino is closed. There are so many illegal immigrants and smugglers that instead of fighting THAT battle the border patrol and the rangers threaten to give US citizens tickets instead. It seems easier to control the legals than the illegals.
23 miles south of Why is the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument visitor center turnoff (waypoint H85AJO). The visitor center is a tenth of a mile west of Hwy 85, the road to Ajo goes east. If you don't have a National Parks Pass, you'll need to pay at the Visitor Center before entering the monument.
Ajo Mountain Road is a scenic one-lane one-way road that goes in a clockwise direction. Some maps mark it as one-way in the other direction. Plan a little time for sightseeing, since the views before and around Arch Canyon (near waypoint ARCHCN, which has a double natural arch that photographs best in the evening) are great.
The trailhead for Mt Ajo (waypoint AJOMTH) is a picnic area with shaded tables and a toilet, signed as Estes Canyon. Follow the signs for Bull Meadow, NOT down into Estes Canyon.
Leave the trail at waypoint AJOTXC and sidehill slightly downhill to the draw at waypoint AJOBUL. This is NOT the bearing described in the DPS guide, nor is it the use trail which skirts Bull Pasture, but it is the best way to go by far. Turn northeast and then east-northeast and go right around a very narrow deep gorge (waypoint AJOGOR is the head of the gorge). From the head of this gorge, go almost due east past some huge boulders (waypoint AJOXC1) until you rejoin the use trail which has gone from where you left it all the way south around a draw and climbed up and down high on the east slopes. Make sure you're back on this trail by waypoint AJOXC2 or you'll be in really bad brush.
The use trail above Bull Pasture is critical, and does NOT match the DPS guide! The trail goes up steeply, staying at least 100' above the canyon floor on the right (south) side. It skirts left of the weathered pinnacles. At waypoint AJOXC4 the use trail hits a a saddle between two pinnacles, above which there is a man-sized arch you can climb into for hero shots.
The DPS guide says you cross the canyon at the base of the cliffs, but in fact the use trail climbs above the cliffs on the right and traverses ABOVE them (starting at waypoint AJOXC5). Keep track of the use trail, as it crosses from side to side on the ridge and sometimes traverses level before climbing steeply, because it's the only way to avoid pokes and scrapes from the widely varied plant life.
The summit (waypoint AJOMT) has multiple radio towers and a huge tackle box as a register. The high point, or at least where the register is, appears to be the shoulder nearest the cars. You can see forbidden Kino from here, even on a hazy day.
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