This report is a
composite of two trips which we made to this remote and fascinating desert in
SW Arizona along the Mexican border. The Cabeza Pneta National Wildlife Refuge
is a 860,000 acre reserve which extends westward from the Organ Pipe Cactus
N.M. and is surrounded to the N and W by the Barry Goldwater Air Force
Range(formerly Luke AFB). Although the airspace is used periodically for
training maneuvers and you may find some military relics on the ground, you can
normally expect a pleasant and safe wilderness experience. The Reserve was
established to protect the rare Sonoran Pronghorn Antelope and also serves to
protect a major portion of El Camino del Diablo, the primitive route by which
many early settlers attempted to cross an inhospitable desert, often with
disastrous results. An article in the Desert Sage of March 1990 by
Ron Jones first piqued our interest. We found an excellent reference in John
Annenno's book Adventuring in Arizona (Sierra Club Books); it not only
has a complete account of the history of the Camino and a mileage log but a
handy list of high points of all 193 mountain ranges in Arizona (several are in
or adjacent to the range). Arizona Highways (Feb. 1993) also has a fine
article on El Camino. For general planning you should get the 1:250,000 scale
Ajo and El Centro topos which show the route and are quite helpful in this fiat
terrain. You'll also need the 7 1/2 mm. topos of the peaks you'll be visiting;
the book by Annenno is helpful. For our first visit we met in Ajo on
Thanksgiving day; our group of six included Rheta Schoeneman, Vit Martynowicz,
Shelley Rogers and Tom Pileggi. After gassing up our 4WD's (essential!) and
ensuring that we had plenty of water, we headed west to Bates Well in Organ
Pipe where the route officially begins. We had previously written the Refuge
office at 1611 N. Second Ave., Ajo, AZ. 85321 tel:(602) 387-6483 as permission
is needed for entrance. We specified the dates and vehicle descriptions and
they sent us a "hold harmless" agreement which all of us had signed. We
returned this and received a placard for each vehicle dash. We found out later
that our presence had also been reported to the Border Patrol. The Camino is
a pleasant and easy to follow primitive road with only a few bad spots such as
sandy washes or the extension of the Pinacate Lava flow. Adjoining routes are
marked as "Management Roads" and are closed to motor vehicles although open to
other modes of travel. We reached one landmark, Papago Well, which had a small
windmill and water. We pushed on to the only other water source in miles, Tule
Well, where we encountered a few other people (with horses), tables, a shower
(!), a small building in good repair and a monument on a nearby hill. This well
is a landmark and |
centrally located
to explore the Refuge. Continuing west, we made a cursory attempt on Cabeza
Pneta Peak, changed our minds, and drove W through the Lechuguilla Desert which
had only one difficult spot in a wash. As we approached the Tinajas Altas Mtns.
we crossed the Refuge boundary and worked our way S along the base of the
mountains where we selected one of the very scenic camping spots (where 4WD
road almost touches the mtns.; see adjacent map). This was our home for two
nights and features fine Sonoran scenery, including cactus. This was our
starting point to climb Tinajas Altas Peak during both visits. The route is
steep and rugged although short. Our itinerary next took us N to the Tanks
(shown on the topo) where we saw the water cachement which was lifesaving to
the early pioneers, also a large number of Indian morteros at the base of the
cliffs. Most of the group opted to cross Tinajas Altas Pass (an easy drive) and
then head north on a poorly defined route through the Air Force Range. There
were few terrain features and, after several hours of devious wandering, we
finally reached the freeway E of Yuma. For our second trip in '93 our group
consisted of Richard, Shelley, Gail as well as Ken Olson and Tom Moumblow. We
decided not to make the complete E to W El Camino driving traverse, rather to
drive a portion of the route from W to E and do more hiking. We had the
necessary permits, water, radios, gas, more maps and even rain gear (yes, we
got rained on!). We entered the Air Force Range at exit 30 at Wellton and drove
S and to the E of Sheep Mtn. in the Gila Range which we may climb later.
Heading south on a good dirt road we past an El Camino sign and approached the
Tinajas Altas Range and our old campsite which is a fairly short 4WD detour
from the main route and in a niche at the base of the mountains. Gail took an
easy hike to the border and located one of the boundary markers while the
others climbed Tinajas Altas (again) and replaced the glass jar with a new
register can. That evening we had a pleasant visit with a patrolling Border
Patrol Ranger. Next day we headed E on El Camino and parked near BM 1212
about 6 miles W of Tule Well which is a good starting point to climb Cabeza
Pneta Peak. The peak is prominent and we noted landmarks to ensure our return.
The hike took about 5 hours roundtrip and affords a fine view. Like Tinajas
Altas, it's climbed infrequently. We replaced the register jar. We continued E
to Tule Well, then exited from El Camino and headed N on a well-defined road
which has only one really bad spot near Christmas Pass. Going N we parked at a
management road sign which read "Heart Tank". We had a clear view of the Sierra
Pinta Range to the SE, some 7 miles distant. After some discussion we headed
out on the almost flat |