Squaw Wes Shelberg - San Diego
Squaw Tit (4330-ft), Squaw Tit (3880-ft). Squaw Tit (3939-ft), Squaw Tit (4021-ft), Squaw Tits (2478-ft), Tit (5352-ft), Two Teats (11387-ft), and Mokelumne Tetons (8440-ft location). Also, Nellies Nipple (4648-ft) and The Nipple (9342-ft).

1. Prologue. I was driven inextricably to This Project, as stagecoach horses driven relentlessly across the boundless West under the merciless incessant cracking of the whip, as a moth driven to the flame. The Project scrutinized 3,021 topographic maps and quadrangles covering parts of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah in order to locate elevations of the genre. A map list is available upon request.

2. Squaw Tit (4330-ft). Climbed 13 Oct 86. The following maps locate and name this mountain:
  1. Turret Peak Quad (AZ, 30-Min, 1933 Edition reprinted in 1947) which names Squaw Tit as such with a 4371-ft elevation.
  2. Verde Hot Springs Quad (AZ, 7.5-Min, 1967) which renames Squaw Tit as Squaw Butte, possibly to avoid confusion with Squaw Tit (4021-ft) which is a VABM nearby and also in Arizona (see Item 5 below). This Quad gives 4330-ft.
  3. US Forest Service Map, Tonto National Forest (North Half), Revised 1975, which identifies Squaw Tit as Squaw Butte.
This cone rises steeply and directly 2000-ft from the west bank of the Verde River just south of the confluence of the Verde and East Verde Rivers. The rocky suit views a large area of the Tonto National Forest including the confluence, huge river valleys/canyons, backbone ridges, bench/mesa lands, and a large section of the Mazatzal Wilderness Area to the east across the Verde River. Major lightning-thunder storms during my visit changed the Verde River from narrow green to wide brown. From the summit on the sunny climbing day immediately after the storms, the river was audible from small rapids and the snow-capped summits of the San Francisco Peaks tipped the northern horizon.

The AAA Arizona Map is unsuitable for driving directions to the parking/camping area for Squaw Tit (4330-ft). Refer to the US Forest Service Map: Proceed east from Carefree, AZ on the Cave Creek Road to the Tonto National Forest boundary where the road forks. Take the north fork (which becomes Forest Service Road 24) past Seven Springs to the road intersection at Bloody which is about 33 miles from Carefree. From Bloody, take Forest Service Road 16 which is substantial but requires 4WD due to steepness, clearance and deep mud along stretches should it rain significantly. However, detour around the ranch at Zig-Zag Spring by going past Javelina Tank (follow road signs to Verde River). At and beyond Bloody it is helpful to supplement the Forest Service Map with these quadrangles (all AZ, 7.5-Min, 1967): Bloody Basin, Tule Mesa and Verde Hot Springs. Drive Forest Service Road 16 to a location approximately 16 miles from Bloody. The exact target is Map Location 334909 on the Verde Hot Springs Quad, i.e., at the east edge of Long Mesa where there is a cattle gate (not shown on the map). For further orientation, note that just beyond Map Location 334909 the road makes a sharp hairpin bend and then a long northerly descent of the east side of Long Mesa. Park for Squaw Tit but do not drive past the cattle gate.

To climb, proceed from the cattle gate across the saddle at Map Location 336904 (Verde Hot Springs Quad), follow the rocky scruffy ridge system to the saddle joining Squaw Tit at Map Location 357921, and climb the southwest face to the summit. The wide drainage in the center of the southwest face goes right to the top. Its lower vertical cliff can be circumnavigated by keeping the cliff to your left and then crossing over its top to the center of the southwest face. The round trip is Class 2, 5.5 miles and 3000-ft elevation gain, yet it seemed strenuous because of brush and warmth. Recommend plenty of water in warm weather.
 
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