Trip report
Notes
More recently we did a loop of the Ajo Mountains, which included an approach and descent of Mount Ajo via non-standard routes. It’s a much more grueling undertaking, if you’re interested.
Oct 25, 2018 — Mount Ajo is the highest point in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and with the existence of a trail leading all the way to its summit and a paved road leading to the Bull Pasture Trailhead, it gets a fair amount more attention than most desert peaks this remote. The peak also has over 2,000 feet of prominence, so it’s got quite the sweeping summit view.
Shortly after starting from my car along the Bull Pasture Trail, I reached a junction with the Estes Canyon Trail. There is an option to include this trail to form a partial loop and add a half mile, but I decided to just stick to the Bull Pasture Trail. An initial ascent led me up to the southwest ridgeline, which the trail proceeds to trace most of the time, weaving just below a series of cliffs along the way.
I reached the end of the official portion of the NPS trail as it entered Bull Pasture, a sweeping section along the ridgeline covered in grasses with excellent views of the ridgeline leading to Mount Ajo above, but the trail continues on and I had little issue following it. Past Bull Pasture, the trail wrapped beneath more cliffs and then the trail steepened, climbing through a steep gully to reach the southern ridge.
The trail continued pleasantly to the north from here, gaining vertical more casually and skirting around various outcroppings and a sub-peak. Mount Ajo’s gorgeous western cliff face is visible for much of the time and it’s a lovely feature to have in view. A Class 2 bit leads to the summit.