North Star Peak in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, AZ

Hike North Star Peak Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, AZ

Class 4 1.4 miles 700 gain <1 hr Out + Back Jan 30, 2022
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

North Star Peak GPX Track

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North Star Peak is a minor summit with some excellent scrambling deep in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. It's a short and sweet outing. We named it North Star Peak based on its proximity to the North Star Mine. Drive along King Road and head north here (33.17939, -114.02172). The road is almost all excellent graded dirt. Turn right here (33.28254, -113.975) and legally pass through an active mine on a short bit of private property. Veer left here (33.27097, -113.9552) and take this less good road up Yaqui Wash, where high clearance is necessary, but not 4WD.

From our parking spot, we headed northwest through a small valley/wash system and continued up a side-drainage to the northern side of North Star Peak. We did some recon on the northwest side up a series of chasms that led to a sheer cliff, not viable options that I excluded from my route map. The high point seemed to be guarded by chasms or cliffs on all sides except for the east face. So, we ascended on Class 2 beneath the eastern cliffs. If you ascend to a fairly large arch, you've gone slightly too far. A short switchback leads up to a Class 4 chimney from just below the arch. The climbing up this chimney is easy and feels safe due to the relatively solid rock (compared to the rest of the Kofa stuff we'd experienced on this trip), as long as stemming is a skill in your repertoire. Once above this chimney, the route continues to a small notch with a Class 3 move. From here Class 2 slabs continue to a final Class 2+ obstacle on the narrow summit ridge. Great views of Kofa Butte and Polaris Mountain.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
North Star Peak
2340 ft
320 rise

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Starting up the small valley/wash. North Star Peak visible top left.
Starting up the small valley/wash. North Star Peak visible top left.
Ascending to the northern side of North Star Peak (just right of center in this photo). From there, we headed to the left in this photo along the base of the cliffs.
Ascending to the northern side of North Star Peak (just right of center in this photo). From there, we headed to the left in this photo along the base of the cliffs.
View back, Kofa Butte in the distance. From here we headed to the right in this photo.
View back, Kofa Butte in the distance. From here we headed to the right in this photo.
Ascending along the base of the cliffs.
Ascending along the base of the cliffs.
If you reach this arch, you've ascended too high and missed the Class 4 chimney.
If you reach this arch, you've ascended too high and missed the Class 4 chimney.
We ascended from the left in this photo. The arch is above Matt and out of frame on the right.
We ascended from the left in this photo. The arch is above Matt and out of frame on the right.
The Class 4 chimney.
The Class 4 chimney.
View down the chimney.
View down the chimney.
The chimney is visible left of center. Matt is situated in the notch, and I'm above the short Class 3 move.
The chimney is visible left of center. Matt is situated in the notch, and I'm above the short Class 3 move.
Class 2 to the summit ridge.
Class 2 to the summit ridge.
Class 2 slabs on interesting rock.
Class 2 slabs on interesting rock.
View back toward the notch.
View back toward the notch.
Class 2+ summit ridge move.
Class 2+ summit ridge move.
View back along the short summit ridge. We ascended from the right in this photo.
View back along the short summit ridge. We ascended from the right in this photo.
North Star Peak summit, view north toward Polaris Mountain.
North Star Peak summit, view north toward Polaris Mountain.
An impressive chasm on the west side of the peak. Our earlier ramblings brought us to the lower summit you see on the top in this photo because we didn't know where the summit was. We were a little dismayed when we reached that spot and had to backtrack.
An impressive chasm on the west side of the peak. Our earlier ramblings brought us to the lower summit you see on the top in this photo because we didn't know where the summit was. We were a little dismayed when we reached that spot and had to backtrack.

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!