Trip report
Red tape
I was contacted by the landowner directly who has now placed "No Trespassing" signs. This hike is on private land and the owner is concerned about litigous hikers. Do not enter!
Oct 12, 2021 — Fissure Peak is the high point of the Mule Mountains just outsid e of Bisbee, Arizona. The hike starts from above the AZ-80 tunnel at Mule Pass at a pull-off and the trailhead is easily accessed via North Divide Road, just off the highway. A social trail leads all the way to Mount Ballard, a contender for the high point status. This sub-peak is located just southeast of Fissure Peak and this route to Fissure Peak requires going up and over Ballard and then reascending Ballard on the way back.
Finding the social trail from the trailhead took me a few minutes. From the trailhead, rather than ascending the slope directly (tempting because there seem to be social trails leading this way), head to the right on a gravel road for 50 feet or so to the base of a tree, where the trail starts up and is quite clear. It continues to be easy to follow almost to the summit of Mount Ballard. Along the way the views toward Bisbee and the surrounding hills is quite nice. Overall the grade of the trail was pretty steep, though not scrambly. A few hundred feet from Mount Ballard the trail becomes a little harder to follow as it heads through some tall grasses, and then it pretty much disappears, becoming just a sliver as it wraps around the north side of Mount Ballard. I accessed Mount Ballard via short and easy bushwhack from the north side, where I could see Fissure Peak ahead.
I backtracked from Mount Ballard to the almost nonexistent social trail and followed the ridge crest from Mount Ballard over to Fissure Peak. The route from here is basically without a trail, but the bushwhacking is minimal. Mount Ballard's north ridge requires a single Class 2 move down a minor rock outcrop, and the ascent to Fissure Peak has some slightly burlier bushes and rocky terrain to contend with.