Huachuca Mtns - Crest Trail to Miller Peak

April 15, 2022 hike: Huachucas - Crest Trail to Miller Peak.

So I took a long trip to within a mile and a half of the border to hike the tallest mountain in the Huachucas, Miller Peak. This is a roughly 2.5 hr drive south from Tucson (including 14 miles or 1/2 hour on a very rough dirt/rock road). The city of Sierra Vista is on the other (east) side of the Huachucas (I hiked up the west side).

Miller Peak is roughly the same height as Mt Wrightson, the tallest mountain near Tucson. Both are a bit under 9,500 feet. Both were somewhat similar, with pines and Arizona oaks, but the Huachucas feel more arid and sparse.

The Crest trail follows the high ridge line through the Huachucas. It gives great views, but it was very windy. Also, the trail is very high, starting at around 6,500 feet, so wind and cooler temperatures were what I expected. That was OK on April 15, 2022, as the temps were near 90 degrees in Tucson. It was pleasant in the Huachucas. Unfortunately, some high cloud marred my photographing.

Photo 1 shows, Montezuma Pass, near the starting point of the Crest trail. This is a spectacular drive and viewing area, but use a off-road vehicle! 14 miles of rough road was tough in a car - I spent most of the next morning washing my car as it was very dusty!

Photo 2 looks south down Montezuma Pass from low on the trail. You can see the sparser vegetation of the area (compared to the Catalinas or Santa Ritas). Also the picture shows how the mountains poke out of the very high plateau, which is about a mile high.

Photo 3 looks southeast from about a third of the way up. The ridge of mountains on the right side of the photo is the same ridge as the ridge on the left side of photo 2. You can also see one of the canyons on the east side of the range on the extreme left of the picture.

Photo 4 looks northwest from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up. The mainly pine forests cover the canyons on the west side of the mountains. The terrain on the west side is very steep with dramatic views.

Photo 5 is a bit further up and still looks northwest. The range in the distance is the Santa Ritas, with the highest peak being Mt Wrightson. The Santa Ritas mark the northwest boundary of the high Patagonian plateau and Huachucas mark the southeast boundary. You can see a smaller but still dramatic range in between.

Photo 6 is a video taken at the top of Miller Peak, looking west through north and then northeast. You can see the Patagonian plateau to the west, the Santa Ritas to the northwest and the city of Sierra Vista to the northeast.

Photo 7 is another video taken at the top of Miller Peak, looking east through south.

Photo 8 was taken on my descent, looking down one of the western canyons at the beautiful pines.

Photo 9 looks north from the backside (east side) of the range toward Miller Peak (the highest peak).

Photos 10 and 11 show that this is copper country (I think). I believe the greenish and blueish colors are indications of copper content in the rocks.

Photo 12 shows one of the two abandoned mines I passed.

Photos 13-15 show some flora including a flowering pine, a beautiful small yellow flower that was endemic to the area and a red-flowering cactus (hedgehog I think). There were not a lot of flowers in the area unfortunately.

All-in-all, a very good hike, although I think I prefer the Catalinas and Santa Ritas due to their greater lushness.

Hike stats: about 10 miles and 3,000 vertical feet to 9,465 feet in 4 hours. It was a very fast hike, as the trail is quite smooth and I did a fair bit of trail running.