Desert Peaks

McCoy Mountain (4th Annual Mustache Mosey Day 2)

April 18th, 2015
McCoy Mountain (2,828')
[Pics] [GPS]

Yesterday's climb of Big Maria HP and the subsequent festivities had left us possibly a bit hung over and certainly low on sleep.  Still, we had a plan and another peak in our sights so with the exception of a few friends with other plans most of us saddled up and headed west along the 10.

I picked McCoy Mountain pretty much at random looking at interesting ranges in the area that I haven't been up yet.

I couldn't find any beta on routes so I picked a few likely looking routes and figured we'd play it by ear.
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    • Big Maria HP

    4th Annual Mustache Mosey - Big Maria DPS

    April 17th, 2015
    Big Maria Mountains High Point (3,381')
    [Pics] [GPS]

    The Mustache Mosey (aka The Premier Upper Lip Hair Based Desert Social Event Of The Season) has now become an annual tradition.  Two days, two peaks, one big party, and the most ridiculous fake mustaches that can be managed.

    The first took place in Death Valley climbing Manley and Needle and is still legendary for the number of popped tires.

    The second went a bit smoother and we climbed Spirit & McCullough with a huge group.

    The third year we did Vigin our near Mesquite in Nevada and attempted Bangs only to pop two tires on one of the vehicles on approach requiring a run into town before we could limp out.

     For the fourth we wanted something within a 4 or 5 hour drive that preferably wouldn't cause too much tire damage.  After much research Jack and I settled on Big Maria Mountains High Point and McCoy Mountain.  The former is a Desert Peaks Section list part of the dwindling number I haven't done yet while the second was an unknown that just looked interesting.
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    • Arizona

    El Dorado Hot Springs In Tonopah Arizona - Desert View Pool


    El Dorado Hot Springs is an extremely laid back private hot spring located a short distance outside of Phoenix.


    It a bit of a haul from Orange County but makes for a convenient stop for any trip out past Phoenix.  It's located in Tonopah AZ (not to be confused with Tonopah NV with the awesome clown motel.)

    I've been here a few times first visiting for a quick hour long soak on the way back from the New Years 2015 trip and later coming back for an overnight stay in October of 2015 right before I had knee surgery.

    I've also stayed overnight at the Sunset Pool but for my money it's hard to beat Desert View.
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    • Arizona

    Cave of The Bells: The Trip When No One Was Bitten By A Skunk

    January 2nd & 3rd, 2015
    Cave of the Bells
    [Pics] [Map]

    This was part of the annual New Years trip for 2015.  This year it was a long haul out to Tucson with the main goal of finally getting to explore Cave of the Bells after missing out the previous year.

     New Years 2015
    Jen and I had tried to do this cave before.  Back in December of 2013 Cave of the Bells was planned as our last activity of a multi-cave multi-peak extravaganza.  We jumped through all the hoops, had our permit and the gate key, and spent the night camped out front only to have a freak occurrence hit when Jeff was bitten in the face by a skunk while sleeping out on the ground.
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    • Muggins Peak

    Muggins Peak Near Yuma Arizona

    January 1st, 2015
    Muggins Peak (1,424')
    [Pics] [Map]

    This was part of the annual New Years trip for 2015. This year it was a long haul out to Tucson with the main goal of finally getting to explore Cave of the Bells after missing out the previous year.

    New Years 2015
    Muggins isn't on any list I'm aware of it just popped out to us when we were looking for something to climb in the area.  The DPS peak Little Picacho is in this area and I've always liked the rock.

    Muggins, in addition to just looking cool, promised some 3rd class rock and wasn't incredibly long which was a plus since we'd be driving to Tucson (-ish) afterwards.
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