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Special to Copper Area News
Picacho Peak towers above I-10 about halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. The black mountain shoots up out of the flat desert earth, a steep rocky crag like a fist shaking at the heavens.
It is the most noticeable landmark for miles around in any direction. The state park is famous for its spring display of wildflowers but climbing to the top of the mountain is a very exciting adventure featuring steel cable ladders, and catwalks.
Picacho is a Spanish word which means “peak”, so the correct translation is “Peak Peak.” Picacho Peak is believed to be about 22 million years old or four times older than the Grand Canyon. Although the towering spire of rock resembles a volcano, it is actually a long ago lava flow that was eventually tilted on its side to create this steep peak. Geologists are not certain where the prehistoric volcano which regurgitated this giant mountain was located.
We park at the Sunset Vista trail head. We start hiking, meandering between volcanic boulders amidst a thick saguaro forest. The first couple miles of the trail are relatively flat as we approach closer to the steep peak. It becomes apparent that we will pay for this relatively easy stretch of hiking as we approach the base of the peak and suddenly the angle of the slope changes drastically.
Shortly after the trail becomes extremely steep we come across the first of the cable ladders. The ladder climbs the black rock maybe fifty feet, the top bending away and just out of sight. The climb is simple, grab a cable with each hand and then there are plenty of footholds on the craggy black rock. I take one careful step at a time as I slowly ascend the cliff, grabbing a cable tightly in each hand while my heart pounds wildly.
Atop the ladder we come to a trail junction, to the left is the trail we will take back down but to the right is the trail which climbs the peak. At first glance the trail disappears into the steep wilderness but there is a faint trail meandering amidst the rock and cactus. We soon come to a second set of cables, nowhere near as precarious as the first. The set of cables after that winds up a sharp turn like a craggy spiral staircase. My heart pounds wildly once again, equal parts exertion and nerves.
Every year the state park holds reenactments of the Battle of Picacho Pass, the 2nd westernmost battle of the Civil War. On April 15th, 1862 a group of Union soldiers attacked a small group of Confederate scouts at Picacho Pass in the shadow of Picacho Peak. The battle decided nothing much in a war that was being determined further east. Every March the state park hosts reenactments of the Battle of Picacho Pass as well as reenactments of other western Civil War Battles. Ironically, there are often many more eager volunteers reenacting the Battle of Picacho Pass than participated in the original skirmish. The enthusiasm and pageantry of men on horseback makes for a wonderful afternoon.
The next cable ladder leads to a narrow catwalk. Although there is another cable to hold and netting to catch us, I am becoming painfully aware just how high we are now and how really steep this mountain is. I tread the narrow boards of the catwalk very carefully.
There was a second Civil War battle fought at Picacho Peak that is not nearly as well known. John D. Walker lived among the Pima for many years and even wrote the first Pima dictionary. When the Civil War arrived he led two companies of Pima and Maricopa against their traditional enemies – the Apache. Walker led his native soldiers into battle wearing only a breech clout and war paint. His long hair was tied up in a bun. His face was painted black with ash. Walker charged into battle with a wild war whoop and an ironwood club.
Walker and his company of Pima warriors surprised a group of Apaches atop Picacho Peak and slaughtered a camp of seventy five men, women and children. Those victims who were not shot leapt from the steep precipices to escape the withering assault. Major Dorn reported in his interview with Farish for his History of Arizona written in 1918 , “Even now (approximately fifty years later) you still see on this battlefield, the skeletons of the Apaches in the crevices.”
The last of the cable ladders behind us we begin the final, relatively easy ascent to the peak. The geology at the top changes, the rocks are no longer the bubbly basalt which forms the towering spire but become a Precambrian granite, rocks torn free from deep inside the earth and carried to the surface. The view is incredible, vistas in every direction. We start to name the mountains we recognize Santa Catalina, Antelope Hill, Tabletop Mountain, Black Mesa, the Galiluros and more including Baboquivari the sacred mountain of the O’odham.
The Rooster Cogburn Ranch is nestled at the base of the peak. It is an ostrich ranch. The ostriches figure in one of my favorite Arizona legends. More than a century ago a stagecoach bandit named El Tejano was ambushed at Picaho Pass. His ghost has been seen in the region many times since they built the interstate highway. He charges down the steep slopes of Picacho Peak atop a snorting stallion. It is said that when the wind gusts atop this flat stretch of highway it is the ghost of the stagecoach bandit El Tejano, shaking coins loose from automobiles and still earn an ill-gotten living. The legend has changed in recent years. Now the ghost of El Tejano charges recklessly down the slopes of Picacho Peak riding an ostrich. Just something to think about the next time you are driving past Picacho Peak and a gust of wind shakes your car. Beware the ghost of El Tejano.
Gary Every is an award winning author who has won consecutive Arizona Newspaper Awards for best lifestyle feature for pieces “The Apache Naichee Ceremony” and “Losing Geronimo’s Language”. The best of the first decade of his newspaper columns for The Oracle newspaper were compiled by Ellie Mattausch into a book titled Shadow of the OhshaD. Mr. Every has also been a four time finalist for the Rhysling Award for years best science fiction poetry. Mr. Every is the author of ten books and his books such as Shadow of the Ohshad or the steampunk thriller The Saint and The Robot are available either through Amazon or www.garyevery.com.
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