Hiking AZ pt2

Post by **JeffH** » Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:06 am

I think I ran into a photo limit of 10 on my first report when trying to combine. Oh well this gets my post count up.

At the end of the week, I drove towards home but then detoured 50 miles south from Quartzsite, through the US Army Proving Ground to tackle Castle Dome Peak. The guide I read stated that it was a landmark view from I-10 and I-8 but I confess to never having noticed this big hunk of rock. In my defense, it does look much different from the west side than the others.... I drove for a few miles on a dirt road and spent the night on BLM area near the Castle Dome Mine museum and in the morning drove a half-mile to the access road. There I was informed that the road would be closed until around noon due to some construction, but when I explained that I would be hiking the peak - well past the work area - I was allowed to go ahead. It's an interesting drive from there, nearly five more miles on rough dirt road to an unmarked trailhead - once again the helpful guide noted it as an obvious parking area. Fortunately I was in the right place and took off on the trail, which follows a wash for a little more than a mile. It was hard walking, slightly uphill through very loose sand and gravel but there were a few helpful cairns placed throughout. Actually hard to get lost in this section since the wash is a good 10-20 feet lower than the surrounding area. From there the trail heads steeply uphill along a ridge, again with cairns placed liberally along the route. The guide mentioned a 20-foot rock climb from a saddle, when I reached that section I tried going up but bailed about halfway because I didn't see a way around a large rock in the notch without really exposing myself. There was a pretty easy way up nearby, and I followed more cairns while contouring around the east and south side of the summit to reach the top. From there the view of the vast desert is really good, a whole lot of dry rocky hills surrounding this high point. I stayed up here for a long time, enjoying the near-total silence and also drying off my sweaty shirts. On the way down I slipped and fell with my hand landing on a small cactus - this necessitated a stop later to perform a bit of surgery on my little finger so that I could extract the last spine. After that I managed to follow a cairn that led me to the wrong ridgeline, however I had noted my entrance point from the wash and was able to maneuver back to the correct spot. There is a semblance of a use trail for the lower ridge portion, but the steepness made it necessary to go slow until reaching the sand and gravel once again. Just as I was finishing the water in my Camelbak I saw my truck in the parking area so life was good once again. Afterward I stopped at the McDonald's in Quartzsite to take advantage of a free sundae coupon before embarking on the final 220 miles home.

DSCN4053.JPG

Castle Dome Peak from my camping area.

DSCN4073.JPG

Helpful cairn showing where to leave the wash and start climbing. I'm guessing this gets wiped out regularly but the little piece of rebar stays in place. All I had in the guide was a gps coordinate.

DSCN4080.JPG

Morning sun just creeping out - that little spire is where the hard part is located.

DSCN4095.JPG

I started up this notch but couldn't find a route, despite the guide saying good hand and footholds existed. Looking down from the top showed some large bushes to navigate around too.

DSCN4096.jpg

I took this one, which was also marked with a couple of cairns. Interesting coming down...

DSCN4101.JPG

Seat fit for a king near the summit. From here it was a very easy two minutes of rock hopping.

DSCN4107.JPG

There were two markers, each pointing to actual high point which contained a register. No visitors there since October 15.

DSCN4109.JPG

Looking north from the summit.

DSCN4111.JPG

View south from the summit.

Screen Shot 2017-11-13 at 9.30.29 AM.png

AllTrails track of the route, missed a couple areas near the top.

Post by **dima** » Tue Nov 14, 2017 11:37 pm

Thanks for the report! It looks like a neat area. The upper part of the peak looks fairly steep, but there's an easy route around?

Post by **JeffH** » Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:01 am

The summit is reached by going around the east/south side of the peak. It was a nice rock hop up to that - picture below is a false summit before the real one but the rocks were similar. A bit of exposure but not very much, in fact the west side of the summit had some wind breaks created.

DSCN4105.JPG

Post by **Sean** » Fri Nov 17, 2017 12:24 pm

Yeah, this has been on my list for awhile, but I don't make the drive to Phoenix much anymore. So it's good to see your pics. Sorry to hear about your hand.

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 11:53 pm

Great Report! Love the pics!

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 11:56 pm

553_21ac8033b36f1cfc38e49be901adeea4.jpg

I definitely want to climb this
My favorite picture.

Post by **JeffH** » Sun Nov 19, 2017 4:19 pm

Sean wrote:Yeah, this has been on my list for awhile, but I don't make the drive to Phoenix much anymore. So it's good to see your pics. Sorry to hear about your hand.

It's so out-of-the-way that it becomes a trip just to visit this peak.

And the finger surgery was done by me on the trail, I had to slice above where the cactus sticker was embedded so I could pull it out. Couldn't push it through because it was headed under my fingernail. A couple of band-aids later I was fixed up enough to hold trekking poles.

Post by **Sean** » Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:56 pm

JeffH wrote:And the finger surgery was done by me on the trail, I had to slice above where the cactus sticker was embedded so I could pull it out. Couldn't push it through because it was headed under my fingernail.

omg-eww.jpg

Post by **tekewin** » Tue Dec 05, 2017 6:17 am

Nice report. Haven't heard of this peak before. Need to go look it up. Looks really fun.

Post by **tekewin** » Thu Apr 10, 2025 6:17 am

Last Friday, I did Castle Dome (DPS #88) as a long day hike (due to the drive). Your report matches my experience. I also started up that class 4 chute with the chockstone which is at the top of the saddle between the big rock pillar. Then, I realized it was not the main route, which was 100' below. Big cairns marked the route at important turns. It was as fun as it looked (9/10). The crux for me was the drive home. Adrenaline lasted half way. The rest of drive was powered by red bull and diet coke. Hike was 5 hours. Door to door was 16 hours.

Post by **Uncle Rico** » Sun Apr 13, 2025 7:59 am

16 for 5.

Damn teke, that's commitment.

Post by **tekewin** » Sun Apr 13, 2025 8:19 am

I'm dumb that way.

Nate U · Post by **Nate U** » Sun Apr 13, 2025 5:14 pm

tekewin wrote: Sun Apr 13, 2025 8:19 am I'm dumb that way.

I admire it... but I could never do it. This is why I started the radius project. I've done 417 hikes within 12 miles of where I live without ever doing the same one twice! Maybe I'm dumb THAT way

Post by **tekewin** » Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:41 pm

Nate U wrote: Sun Apr 13, 2025 5:14 pm
tekewin wrote: Sun Apr 13, 2025 8:19 am I'm dumb that way.
I admire it... but I could never do it. This is why I started the radius project. I've done 417 hikes within 12 miles of where I live without ever doing the same one twice! Maybe I'm dumb THAT way

There's no wrong way to enjoy the mountains. That is a wild number of hikes to squeeze in 452.389 square miles (assuming 12 miles is the radius).

So, 1.08 hikes per square mile! Hat tip for such an effective use of open space.

Nate U · Post by **Nate U** » Mon Apr 14, 2025 4:37 pm

tekewin wrote: Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:41 pm So, 1.08 hikes per square mile! Hat tip for such an effective use of open space.

Well, its a combination of sort of 3 different radiuses from 3 different locations that I've lived