Hike Little Picacho Benchmark Chocolate Mountains BLM, CA

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Jan 22, 2020 — Little Picacho Benchmark is a nice peak geographically close to Picacho Peak, but requires a bit of extra driving to reach. Note that this is not the Little Picacho Peak farther east, nor the popular Picacho Peak in Arizona. The naming is a bit confusing out here because many people also call the massive Picacho Peak "Little Picacho" to differentiate it from Picacho del Diablo in Mexico. This route is for Little Picacho Benchmark, a smaller desert tower just to the north of Picacho Peak.

The drive out was a little rough and we were happy to have brought Matt's Jeep. I'm not sure mid-clearance could have made it. We started in a wash on the north side of Little Picacho Benchmark, where the ridge seemed to be the most reasonable, since the peak was well-guarded on all other sides by sheer cliffs. A short jaunt through the desert led to the north ridge, where we avoided a north-to-south running fin by keeping to its east slopes. We saw a Class 2 gully ahead that took us most of the vertical gain up to Little Picacho Benchmark. Once at the head of this gully, we were confronted with another sheer cliff. We made a hairpin right and followed the base of the cliff face by heading around on a ledge for 50 feet or so. We were dumped out onto a short slope leading to the base of our scramble options. A lot looked viable from the start, but after inspecting a few options, we settled on a route that used incredibly solid black rock with gorgeously large holds. A bit hard to describe, it works around ledges and includes a single committing Class 4 move that includes a high foot and a hand-shaped jug to pull a lip. From the rim, we set a cairn to mark the way we came up before finishing the last hundred feet or so of Class 2 scrambling to the summit. The views south to Picacho Peak were gorgeous and haunting. These towers out here are pretty overwhelmingly cool. On the way back down we were thankful we left a cairn because we got a little turned around and would have attempted to descend in a precarious place.

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

Peaks on hike

Elevation

Prominence

Little Picacho Benchmark

1538 ft

558 rise

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Heading south from the dirt road toward the base of Little Picacho Benchmark.

Avoiding a big rock fin by keeping to the east (left) side.

The slope led to this Class 2 gully.

Toward the top of the Class 2 gully, view back the way we came. You can see the rock fun we avoided just left of center in this photo.

Top of the Class 2 gully where we made a hairpin turn at the base of the cliffs on the right.

Wrapping around the cliff base.

Short slope leading to the crux headwall.

Matt at a Class 3+ crux move to get into a small overhang cave feature. Just above Matt is the final Class 4 move. The holds were amazing, but the exposure severe.

Scary moves on the cliff face. You can sort of see the Class 3+ move on the left. This shot is from just before the Class 4 crux move, Matt is hanging out in the small overhang cave feature.

Matt navigating the Class 3/4 terrain, shot taken from within the overhang cave feature.

A shot of the Class 4 move past the cave feature. The shot is awful because I was terrified and hardly thinking about taking a photo, oops.

Matt pulling the Class 4 crux.

Above the crux, Class 2 to the summit of Little Picacho Benchmark.

Little Picacho Benchmark, view toward Picacho Peak.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!