Graham County Highpoint Trip Report
Mount Graham (10,720 ft)
Date: July 2, 2006
Author: Scott Peavy
About a half mile after passing the turnoff for the Shannon Campground on
Highway 366, I came to the intersection of the old Mount Graham Road (FR507).
I turned right onto the unmarked road and made it only about 700 feet before
coming to a locked gate. I then backed down to the main road, parked, and began
my hike. Elevation at the gate was 9197 feet. On a tree adjacent to the gate
was a map explaining the "closed" refugium zone.
The entire hike headed north along the old forest road. I could see no recent
evidence of vehicle traffic. After nearly two miles, I came to an old sign on
the side of the road at about 9770 feet. Even though it was virtually
impossible to make out, I concluded that I had reached the refugium boundary.
The road continues to gradually climb and it passes several open meadows where I
saw numerous deer. About midway on the hike, the affects of the 2004 Nuttall
Complex fire can be seen. It is evident that they used FR507 as the fire break.
Most of the area to the east of the road was burned, while the west side
remained mostly untouched. I eventually came to a fork where staying to the
right leads to Mt. Graham. This road had a lot of earth moved to prevent
"traffic" from heading up the road. The road was choppy for the rest of the way
and there is an abundance of young blue spruce trees growing in it. I continued
up the road which made a loop to the summit. I found the cairn against a tree
and signed the register. The summit provides no views and was mostly spared
from the fire.
On my return, I visited the summits of Hawk Peak and Plain View Peak, both of
which are burned to a crisp. From Hawk Peak, one can look over at the massive
telescope building 2000 feet away on peak 10471. I reached my truck as black
clouds were building and the thunder was getting real loud.
Statistics: The hike from the gate to the summit was 4.8 miles with 1,523 feet
elevation gain. Total round trip mileage was around 11 miles which includes the
two side trips. Total hiking time was 3 hours, 38 minutes. July 4th weekend
and I saw no one else during the hike.