Gila County High Point Trip Report
Myrtle Point, Promontory Butte
Date: May 25, 1992
Author: Andy Martin
Myrtle point is easy to get to, a passenger car can manage the jeep road
shown on the map. Not sure where county line is here, so it is hard to
determine actual HP.
Getting to Promontory Butte BM was tougher. Unmarked roads, forest,
and flat terrain made navigating a chore, and standing water on dirt
lanes made driving interesting. Managed to drive close to rim, and then
hiked 1/4 mile to HP. Found both witness corner (pipe in rock pile) and
BM 7914. Nice view south off rim, and some good camp spots right on the rim,
which are shared with hungry mosquitoes. Note that our attempt on these points
in April of 1992 was defeated by surprisingly large quantities of snow on the
dirt approach roads.
May 3, 1999 update:
At Myrtle Point you can drive downhill to BM 7867,
which looked new and relocated. Back uphill I built a cairn at the approximate
location of the HP. The HP area seemed to be pretty clear of trees.
The drive to it on dirt roads along the rim in our 1988 Accord took quite a while.
These roads are in pretty good shape, but have some rocky patches.
On Promontory Butte conditions were much drier than in 1992. No mud holes of bugs.
We were stopped in the car by a tree over the dirt lane, but a 4wd could have gone
right to the rim, where some impressive fireplace rings are built.
We found a cairn at the witness corner with a register. We all trooped to BM 7914,
which looked perhaps 10' (?) lower than the witness corner area when using
the sight level. There is a witness BM near BM 7914.
Back at the witness corner, the sight level seemed to show a rock about 10' east
of the cairn is highest, but it is hard to figure out where Gila County line runs.