Quartz Peak Trail
By Larry Wayt, Driving directions courtesy of Gene Kupka
Click on photograph to enlarge
Total hiking distance covered (accurate to within 21 feet per the GPS) 6.12 Miles
Total time on trail 4 hrs 54 minutes
Maximum elevation 4,076 feet
Starting elevation 2066 feet
Total ascent 2,536 feet
Directions--Take I-10 West , exit at Estrella Parkway (exit 126) and go South for 8.5 miles until the stop sign at Elliot Road. Turn right, go 2.7 miles. and then turn left on Rainbow Valley Road. Follow Rainbow Valley 9.5 miles then turn left on Riggs Road. Continue East on Riggs Road 4 miles to a " T" at Ballard Road. Turn right on Ballard , then immediately left onto a dirt road that parallels the wooden utility poles. Follow this unmarked road for about 4.5 miles past a cattle guard, and Rainbow Ranch, to another "T" . Here there is a stake with the word "Trail" and an arrow pointing right (South). Take that road almost 2 miles where you will see another Trail stake pointing left. Turn left and continue 2 more miles to the trailhead. Follow these directions and keep track of each mileage leg. You will think you are going the wrong way and in the middle of nowhere but they work very well. I also would not recommend making this drive in wet weather and use a high clearance vehicle.
On Friday, January 21, 2005 I and three others finally hiked the Quartz Peak hike. The hikers who made the hike were Ira, Ungar, Sheryl Campanile, Thomas Pestka and myself. Although the skies were cloudy, the temperature was quite nice. After leaving Phoenix and driving for what seemed like forever, we finally made it to the trailhead. Before starting the hike, we would be able to use the facilities provided at the trailhead. Bring your own paper though. Although there is no water, there is also a picnic table. The parking area at the trailhead is very adequate for quite a few vehicles.
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| The Trailhead | The Route to the top |
The start of the trail is very obvious and easy to get to but the peak is no where in sight. As we started up the trail at about 9:00 AM, the grade was very gentle. Not far along the trail there is a steel box with a register inside. From the look of the register, this is not a frequented trail. In fact, there was only one other vehicle in the parking area when we arrived and none when we departed. Shortly after the start you come to some of the washes that you will cross and are sandy. Other than that, the trail is very rock strewn. For the first mile and a half or so, the trail is very clear and marked by only a few cairns. Be careful of the jumping Cholla Cacti though. They are very close to the trail.
By the time you've reached about a thousand feet above the trailhead the trail becomes obscure. From that point on, you must rely upon the cairns that have been left by other hikers. For all hikers, experienced in technical hiking, or not, I would recommend a GPS. There are numerous cairns and several different trails.
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| Overview from the lower part of the trail | First Water Stop |
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| Down in the Valley | Time to Relax |
When within about a half a mile from the summit, the trail becomes much harder and you have to climb over numerous rocks. The cairns also are harder to see until the last 500 feet where previous hikers used Quartz to construct them. The last few yards to the summit, and the quartz cap are a hand over climb. When questioning if we should finish the climb, Sheryl said, "We came this far, let's finish the hike!" We all agreed. Although the views along the trail are spectacular, the view from the top is even better.
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| People Live Out There Somewhere | Cacti Everywhere |
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| More Water | A Peak, But Not The Right One |
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| Beauty All Around | First View Of The Peak |
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| Close Yet | Lunch |
The decent from the summit is even more difficult. Not only are the cairns harder to see, the trail surface being rocky is slippery. We did lose track of the cairns on two occasions and had to rely on the GPS to get back to the trail. WE arrived back at the trailhead at about 3:00 PM in the afternoon. Although we were tired, the hike was very enjoyable and I would recommend it highly. I would rate this hike as a difficult hike that should be hiked with an experienced primitive trail hiker to keep from getting lost. The hike could be considered near the level of a Mount Humphries hike, without the elevation.
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| Ira And Sheryl At The Summit | Quartz Everywhere |
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| Sheryl Descending The Trail | Back At The Trailhead |
Larry Wayt (larry@live2hike.org)