Signal Peak, Castle Dome Peak

26-Jan-58

By: Bob Bear

From Trudie Hunt comes a report on the Kofa Peak trip on January 26th. She writes: "Undaunted by prophecy of general rains and the long drive to Arizona, 31 Sierra Club'bers led by Peter Hunt were hiking at dawn to climb Kofa Mountain. Kofa, by the way, stands for King of Arizona, an apt name for this very spectacular reddish mountain, whose sheer western face would never lead you to think a second-class route could be found.

"A group of four, including Fred Jensen, Bill Sanders, John Robinson, and Andy Smatko, who had also climbed Castle Dome the preceding day, took the route across the face of the mountain, which is reached by going up Palm Canyon. This route is described and pictured in the February 1942 Desert Magazine in an article by the Mendenhalls. The rest used the standard route, starting north for about 140 minutes and then entering the first broad easterly canyon. One only who had gone back for his binoculars missed the correct turn and ended up on the wrong peak across a valley from the true summit. .

"Twenty-five Sierra Clubbers enjoyed a cool lunch hour on this most spectacular of desert peaks, surrounded by unusual chalcedony, looking down the sheer red cliffs in hope of viewing the rock climbers, and watching the storm approaching from the east which gave promise of a real desert downpour. .

"Before we had descended the steep canyon we were all soaked to the skin, but the sun which emerged after half an hour and the swift motion soon dried us out before we reached our campsite."