Signal Peak Hike

I'm the Rockhopper. Today we're going to climb to a peak that's nearly 5,000 feet high called Signal Peak in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. This is some pretty stunning jagged, rugged landscape that we're going to be going up. Yeah, we're heading up into there. The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is a saguaro-studded land of jagged peaks and pinnacles. The refuge was established to help the desert bighorn sheep, the keystone species here. Since some hunting is allowed, it's not a true refuge and could be considered more of a wildlife management area. The name Kofa stems from an acronym for King of Arizona, which was a mine deep in the heart of this region. So there's Signal Peak right there. 4,877 feet in elevation. I think we're starting at a base elevation of 1,200 feet, so that'll be more than 3,500 feet vertical elevation gain. So that's where we'll be heading, up into those jagged mountains right there. I'm not sure if any of those are Signal Peak. It may be a larger one behind all of those. I wasn't even going to hike to the top, let alone film any of this. So I'm just filling in some of the bits for you, because I didn't even bring my tripod yesterday. So it stays flat for only a short while, before progressing into steeper and steeper terrain. Be advised, there is no marked trail here. It's merely a route of passage, not a right of passage. Although, I guess you could make this route of passage your right of passage, as I suspect it's going to be pretty darn steep and challenging. So our Saguaro there is pointing the way up the route. Go that-a-way, says the Saguaro. Up and up we go. I guess the question is, which of these peaks is Signal Peak? We'll find out. This is not for the meek-hearted or the wimpy. It goes pretty much at like a 25 to 35 degree angle at times, maybe even a little more, going up the goat trail here. But a lot of people have taken it. As you can see, we're gaining some good elevation and the view is getting good. Rocky and steep. I don't mind. I like the steep trails in some ways better than switchbacks because you're making serious mileage. Going right up, if you're fit, instead of those switchbacks that just drag you back and forth. We don't need no stinky switchbacks, man. You save a lot of time just going straight up. This peak is rated R. What does that mean, you might ask? It means you need to be really fit. Not suitable for young children, people who are obese or have heart conditions, those with poor navigation or wilderness skills, or those who would rather consume Twinkies, donuts, or other high-fat carbohydrates. The beautiful blue agave. Just don't fall on it. You can see how sharp those tips are. Like daggers. There's a little rockhopper right there. That lizard just chilling out, getting some sun. So we've made it to a saddle. And there are more mountains ahead. Here's the view of what was behind us. Let's peek around the corner at this side canyon here. Nice chasm. There's a little rock cairn down to the lower left. This whole area is characterized by jagged, sharp peaks. Going through a nice, cool, shady green park right here. Before heading back out into the desert. It's all desert. But I like it. Good workout. If you are not tip-tap shape, do not try climbing this peak. Go across the rock face here. Hey, look at that. There's some water down below. Let's go have a look. Nice little pool. Sweet. The bees found their little watering hole. I didn't bring any water with me at all. Because I really wasn't planning on doing this hike. When I got started, I was just going to have a look. And then, it was like I was an addict. I just had to keep following the trail. I couldn't stop. Before you knew it, I was halfway up the mountain. And I thought, well, gotta go for it now. So, you tell yourself that you're just going to go and scope out a route. And walk a quarter mile up it. And two hours or three hours later, you end up at the top of a peak. It's over 4,800 feet tall. Well, you might be an adventure addict. Especially if you take no water or food with you. And you're just raring to go. And then you hear that voice inside your head that says, Come on. You need to climb on top of me. Oh, wait a minute. We're talking about mountains here, right? And the next thing you know, you've been seduced by these peaks. Yep. Seduced by those luscious, beautiful peaks. Yeah, yeah. Stick to the mountains. We're talking about mountains here again. Uh-huh. Look at those beautiful babies. Beautiful twin peaks right there. You might think I've been in the desert a little bit too long. It's not like I can make an earthen filter here. This is solid rock. And I don't want to have an amoeba smoothie. Drinking this water. No way. Oh, yeah. Check that out. It's a ewe bighorn sheep. And her lamb. She's looking right at me. Look at that little baby. So cute. Why, don't they look stately and regal? Standing on those rocks. That mama bighorn sheep. That's what this refuge is here to protect. The desert bighorn sheep. And I feel really fortunate right now to be seeing them. There's a total of three of them right there. Yep. Three of them. How cool is that? I was told there are a total of about 900 within the refuge. Nice little cluster of cactus right there. Look at this gnarled old tree. Hard to believe, but this thing could be two, maybe three hundred years old. I'm not certain about that, but I have heard things like that about desert vegetation. Time for some rock scrambling. Rock hopping. The rocks are our trail. Elevation changes everything. It looks like we've got some scrub oak up here. You wouldn't really expect to find lichen out here, would you? But I guess there's enough shade and we're at a high enough elevation that it does grow. Nice looking prickly pear specimen up here. A certain kind of prickly pear, I'm not sure exactly which type. And let's not forget our ubiquitous friend, the creosote bush. We've got a nice little rock ramp here, so let's just run up this thing. Look at the nice teal color on this prickly pear here. And over here we have a young saguaro cactus. Look at these fuzzy little prickly cactus right here. I think they're a type of hedgehog cactus. Not certain though. This stuff right here... This is Mormon tea. And yes, you can actually make tea out of it. That's what the Mormons did. You wonder why they were so industrious? Well, they were drinking that tea and it's got ephedra in it. I've had a lot of it. And it does give you like a little boost. See the way it is? It's like little pipe stems. And the scientific name is, at least for one of the species, Ephedra nevidensis. So it's got ephedra in its name. Looks like we're getting toward the top of something here. The view is starting to look killer. Voila! Look at that Mormon tea. Growing right out of the rock. And all that colorful lichen against it. Getting close to the top now. Oh yeah. Look at that view right there. Oh yeah. You can see for miles. Look at those jagged peaks just jutting up from the earth. Like splintered bones from a broken back. And looking the opposite direction from the jagged peak view is this view. A mighty big wide open view. And look at that view on this gloriously almost windless day. So which peak is signal peak? Is it peak number one? Peak number two? Or peak number three that's behind peak number two? On peak number one we've got an ammo box hidden within the little alcove of rock there. Let's see what's in the ammo box. As you might expect we've got a little trail register. On the peak register I think it's that date. Rock to this peak. Rockhopper. At the top of the peak look at that rock there. Looks like some char-sydney. Interesting rock I found on the ground there. It's got a bit of a quartz, sparkly quartz look. And it kind of melds into some char-sydney there. Nice piece of char-sydney there. A red admiral butterfly. To the lower right on the rock is a little lizard. And there he goes. U.S. Geological Survey marker. COFA II 1949. Peak number one. Rocked it. But you know, looking at that other peak it looks just a teensy bit higher possibly. I think we need to go run up that one too. Alright, going up to peak number two. Peak number two. Rocked it. Now for our final ascent up to the top of peak number three. Peak number three. Rocked it. It only looks a couple feet maybe five or six feet shorter than signal peak. But what a view you get from it. Look at that. Spectacular. I might even say Fantastamundo. It's just an absolutely amazing day. There's only a slight breeze up here. Enjoyed climbing up Signal Peak in the COFA National Wildlife Refuge with me. You keep on subscribing and we'll keep hiking up beautiful peaks with incredible views. Until next time, this is the Rock Hopper and I'll see you again.