Mount Ballard, Mule Mtns, Bisbee AZ

Distance: 3.4 miles r/t
Elevation gain: 1355'
Significance: Tallest peak in the Mule Mtns; vistas

Mount Ballard is the tallest peak in the Mule Mountains at 7370.'  I had always wanted to hike it but trail reports  for this peak are hard to find since this is not an official trail on BLM or National Forest property.  While the public is allowed to hike to the peak, the trail straddles private property along a rusty barbed-wire fence.  It's an unmarked social trail that travels straight up the mountain to the tree-covered peak.

This was officially Sweetie's first hike away from the usual Oak Estates loop.  I knew I wouldn't meet anyone else on this trail and took the chance of taking her along with Sadie and Zeke.  She did fine, although she always wanted to explore things on her own.

I started late, not getting going until after noon.  I figured a 3.4-mile hike would take me two hours, but I did not calculate the steepness of the grade and the thickness of the flora.  This hike took me almost four hours!  I was totally dumbfounded at how slow I was, and yet I never felt slow or tired.

The trail begins behind the barbed wire fence at the Obelisk on Mule Pass.  I had to go under the fence to continue on the very visible social trail.  The trail starts out in grassland along the barbed-wire fence with constant views of Mule Pass and sounds of traffic.   Juniper Flats and the radio towers are to the north. At times all I saw of the dogs were their ears. The last 700 feet are the steepest and the terrain the most loose, with thick strands of cholla and other cacti and alligator junipers in the way.   At least there is shade here, but I had to be cognizant of cholla. Views toward Sierra Vista and nearby Bisbee were spotted.

The peak is marked by an iron-wrought cross and a fire ring, with a view of Fissure peak and views south into Mexico.  Fissure Peak is close by, but to access it one must traverse a saddle on private property.  I searched for the social trail but gave up, going down as cautiously as I went up.

I want to do this hike again, but hopefully with a local hiker who knows how to get to Fissure Peak.  The peak is within grabs of Mount Ballard; what a shame to have to turn back without bagging it.  I will also make sure I start earlier in the day, so that I don't have to worry about losing daylight.  Lessons learned today.