Hike Ajo Mountains Loop Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ

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Donned with tiny gas station souvenir Arizona hats and only a vague idea of our route, our group set out for an adventurous little loop in the Ajo Mountains. Mount Ajo, the high point, is normally reached via the Bull Pasture Trail. But since I’d already done that hike, and my friends know my neurotic brain requires constant newness, they offered to use the trail as our descent route instead.

In the end, we didn’t even take the trail, which I mention only because you might wonder why we started our hike at the Bull Pasture Trailhead. The plan was to return that way. But the personalities in our silly group, defined clearly by a mix of ADHD-fueled spontaneity and go-with-the-flow vibes, meant that someone would suggest a plan, everyone would agree, then someone else would suggest something different, and off we’d go in a new direction. This dynamic led to everything from deciding to attend a Shrek rave to attempting an improbable descent through the cliffs of the Ajo range. Fortunately, the result of all this chaos was a lovely time together and a surprisingly satisfying loop in this remote corner near the Mexican border.

The drive in was paved most of the time and suitable for all vehicles. We left our vehicles at the Bull Pasture Trailhead and walked along the road to the Arch Canyon Trailhead, where we followed the trail for a short time. Across the wash, we noted a wide gully that we chose to take as our ascent route to Peak 4158. Some rough brush was a nice early indication that we’d be experiencing a lot of thorny Arizona foliage today.

Every few hundred feet once we were off-trail, we saw discarded black gallon water jugs or decaying clothing, clear signs of border migrants. Once at the base of the wide gully, we even located what was likely a regularly used travel route, a fortunate discovery because this meant following a social trail for most of the ascent. Some Class 2/2+ scrambling higher up avoided brush and brought us to the ridgeline, and then a weakness led through the small cliff band surrounding Peak 4158.

The ridgeline traverse from here was very pretty but initially had no obstacles worth mentioning. We even found a solid animal trail that wove around various outcroppings. Farther along the crest, we made some odd route choices, occasionally side-hilling when a more direct route would’ve been simpler, but eventually we reached the Class 2 push to Mount Ajo – North Peak. We could see Double Arch across the canyon, and it somehow managed to stay visible for most of the day, its constant presence making us feel like we weren’t covering a lot of ground.

After reaching the summit, we eyed our next objective: Mount Ajo itself, separated by a jagged ridge that looked both beautiful and horrifying. I’m not sure how easy it would be to bypass the whole thing by dropping down to the west, since there are definitely little cliffs all around the western slope, but there’s likely an easier way than what we did (though probably less fun). We initially stayed high to work through the crest, wrapping around spires, using a crawl space, scrambling on plenty of Class 3, and even pulling a Class 4 lip move. My friends kept going at a point where I decided I wasn’t interested in their level of sketch, leaving me to find my own route down. After backtracking a bit, I poked around and pretty quickly found an unlikely ledge system, escaping the pinnacles via a Class 3 chute and continuing below the ridge. I met back up with them after their bail point farther along the ridge, and we continued together below a massive arch.

The push to Mount Ajo then changed substantially, shifting from tedious rocky cliff bands to a steep slope. Originally, we intended to grab Peak 4720 first and then continue to Mount Ajo, where we’d follow the Bull Pasture Trail down to the cars. But in our group’s classic style, we changed our minds and headed straight for Ajo’s summit instead, deciding to leave Peak 4720 for last. We could see a bunch of cars at the trailhead far below, but no other hikers were up here.

Peak 4720 is an impressive-looking minor peak just off the main ridge crest from Mount Ajo. I took a photo of its colorful and sheer face when I hiked Mount Ajo years ago, but at the time, reaching its summit had never crossed my mind. It would end up being the coolest peak of the day.

After backtracking toward Peak 4720, we then found intricate Class 3 scrambling along its east ridge, winding through and around chasms, hidden ledges, and a small labyrinth of rock features. Past the initial route-finding, an animal trail wrapped around a middle section of rock chaos. Nothing exceeded Class 3/4 unless you wanted it to, though below the summit we did ascend a Class 4 headwall to avoid horrible brush. We wrapped nearly completely around to Peak 4720’s south side before reaching the summit. Mount Ajo’s west face was stunning from here.

We didn’t have much information about getting down from Peak 4720, but Shawn claimed he saw a map from somewhere online who dropped to the southeast. I couldn’t find such a map later to credit the person properly, so who knows if he made that up. Entries in the summit register told of previous successes coming up through Boulder Canyon, but we opted for Shawn’s southwest option in order to reach our cars more quickly. I was left feeling quite curious about the route coming up from Boulder Canyon. Our descent involved dropping down multiple colorful cliff layers (easy Class 2 for the yellow band, trickier Class 3/4 scrambling down the more significant red band).

We then approached a curved drainage that formed a toe at the southern end of Peak 4720. It looked like it would end with a sheer drop. After a few failed attempts to locate a safe route down, we started getting concerned we wouldn’t be able to and that we’d have to return the way we came and route-find in the dark. However, a moment of sheer geological luck brought us safely down through a scooped-out break in a cliff.

As the sun set, we bushwhacked through a somewhat brutal section of prickly terrain covering often loose rocks within the drainage and eventually picked up the Estes Canyon Trail. The cholla here were taller than us. We made our way back to the Bull Pasture Trailhead just as darkness fully set in. Looking back up toward Peak 4720 from the trailhead, it seemed pretty amazing there was somehow a route down.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)

Peaks on hike

Elevation

Prominence

Peak 4158

4158 ft

438 rise

Mount Ajo - North Peak

4520 ft

360 rise

Mount Ajo

4808 ft

2698 rise

Peak 4720

4720 ft

320 rise

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We started from the Estes Canyon/Bull Pasture Trailhead, but took the road to reach the Arch Canyon Trailhead.

Arch Canyon Trailhead. Double Arch seen above.

Along the Arch Canyon Trail. We left the trail and headed into the wide gully seen center.

View back down toward the Arch Canyon Trail after picking up a migrant/smuggler trail.

Ascending to the ridgeline above.

Nearing the top of the gully, some Class 2/2+ to avoid brush.

Along the ridgeline to Peak 4158.

Weakness in the top cliff band, Class 2+.

Summit of Peak 4158.

Close-up north toward the even more obscure peaks within the Ajo Mountains.

On our way along the ridge to Mount Ajo - North Peak, seen top right. It was a nice ridge walk for the first half without many obstacles, and even included a social trail some of the time.

Gorgeous ocotillo garden.

View back at some cool outcroppings along the ridge crest.

We made some weird choices along the way, sometimes side-hilling when we could have just gone up and over on the crest. Seen center is Mount Ajo, and we finally got a good glimpse of the rocky-looking crest leading to it that we'd have to navigate later.

There are definitely many ways to traverse from Peak 4158 to Mount Ajo - North Peak, some more brushy than others.

Some Class 2/3 along the way as we near Mount Ajo - North Peak.

View back along the crest toward Peak 4158 (top center). You can see Double Arch on the far left.

Mount Ajo - North Peak just ahead, Class 2.

Final bit to the summit of Mount Ajo - North Peak.

View north from Mount Ajo - North Peak.

Our next peak, Mount Ajo, seen left, with a gorgeous, horrifying ridge separating us from it. Our fourth and final summit, Peak 4720 right of center.

Approaching the base of the jagged ridge.

View back toward Mount Ajo - North Peak. We chose to stay high in an attempt to work through the jagged ridge.

The route somehow continued around the western base of the ridgeline. This crawl space wrapped us around a spire as a very unique route feature.

Just before getting deeper into the ridge crest traverse, we possibly could have dropped down to the west here and made our way toward Mount Ajo along the base of the crest. However, there are a ton of little cliffs down there too and who knows if a route would have worked out. I imagine there are options a few hundred feet down?

Instead, we took this Class 3 chute.

And were spit out on a nice bench higher up, where we continued navigating just below the pinnacles.

A Class 4 pull move over a lip to overcome this neat feature.

(This photo not part of the route) Past the Class 4 move, we navigated ledges and ended up in this ridiculous spot. My friends were having fun, and wanted to continue trying to navigate this crest, but ultimately backed off shortly after anyway. From where where I took this photo, I decided I wasn't interested and found my way back to just past that Class 4 lip and dropped down an unlikely ledge system.

Navigating a Class 2+ ledge system.

Somehow, I managed to find a little Class 3 chute to escape the pinnacles. Now I was just below the crest and could continue more safely. There were still plenty of little minor cliff bands to navigate.

A huge, gorgeous arch along the crest.

View back as we continue past the crest and up toward Mount Ajo. You can see the complex terrain we just navigated above.

Ascending toward Mount Ajo, Mount Ajo -North Peak seen far right.

Originally we intended to snag Peak 4720 and then continue to Mount Ajo and take the trail back. But instead, we changed plans and decided to head up to Mount Ajo first, seen ahead.

Mount Ajo summit, view south.

Mount Ajo summit, view north.

Peak 4720 seen from Mount Ajo.

We backtracked toward Peak 4720. We dropped down on the right, near where Shawn is standing.

Class 3 descent to the saddle.

Some really cool and intricate route-finding on the east ridge of Peak 4720. Nothing exceeded Class 3. The first major obstacles was a large chasm to wrap around, followed by a few notches to scramble through. Here's looking back at one of them.

A hidden ledge to overcome a small cliff band.

A fun labyrinth-like section through cool rock formations.

And then we found an animal trail that wrapped us below the middle section of difficult-looking blobs of rock.

View back toward Mount Ajo (top right).

A difficult move that I'm confident is avoidable.

Peak 4720 seen ahead.

A Class 4 headwall, all solid holds. Likely avoidable on the left via brushy Class 2.

Final push to the summit of Peak 4720.

Peak 4720, view north. You can see our traverse from earlier.

Mount Ajo's impressive west face. Based on entries in the summit register of Peak 4720, other parties seemed to reach the summit from the northwest via a minor drainage called Boulder Canyon. We decided to attempt a route southwest instead, mostly since that's where our cars were parked. This required navigating through the major cliff bands surrounding the peak.

Escaping the first (upper) yellow layer was a trivial Class 2 walk. After a bit of traversing along a bench below the yellow layer, here you can see Chris at the top of our descent of the substantial red layer.

Descending the red layer.

Class 3/4 stemming for a short time.

View back up at the two layers we'd gotten past, yellow and red.

We continued into a not-very-promising-looking drainage.

Some annoying little cliff bands at the head of the drainage.

We had a few mishaps in route-finding, but I only included what worked out in my attached map/track. Here you can see a fortuitous weakness. If it didn't exist we would have had to turn back because there were otherwise sheer cliffs everywhere.

View at the lucky break in the cliff.

Class 2 descent from here on very prickly and brushy terrain.

View back - our route came from the center of this photo. We had planned to maybe descend from the saddle separating Mount Ajo from Peak 4720 (seen right of center), but it had looked too brushy, which is why we chose the descent route we did. Ultimately we were happy wit hour choice, but it was irresponsible since it had already been getting dark.

We picked up the Estes Canyon Trail and took it back to the trailhead.

Bull Pasture/Estes Canyon Trailhead. Peak 4720 seen left of center with its impressive cliff bands we descended, and Mount Ajo seen center.

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