Keystone Peak

Distance: 9.14 miles

Elevation gain : 1643' 

Significance: vistas, old mining community. Tallest peak at 6170' in the Sierritas 

Route is on private property, but hikers are allowed to walk the road.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8732266274

I felt a thousand times better today. After a late wakeup, I took Fritz and Sahne and drove to the trailhead west of Sahuarita. Weather was ideal: upper 60s with a cool breeze and partly cloudy. I typed in "Keystone Peak" into my google maps and it took me via the shortest route taking SR90 to SR82, SR83 to Sahuarita Road.  I crossed I-19 and Sahuarita Road becomes Helmet Peak Road.  Turn south on Mission road (which is also the auto route for the Juan Bautista de Anza trail), then east on McGee Ranch Road.  Google did not realize that the road is gated and had the distance to the peak and not the trailhead.  A large ivory water tower is next to the gate.  There is room for two cars.

The trailhead is the gate at the end of McGee Ranch Road, a freshly graded wide dirt road. It didn't look like much, but I didn't start until 1: 30 as others were coming down and finishing.  A group had just done a lower-elevation loop away from the peak. Locals who work for the mining company have keys to the gate.  All others must park here and walk in.

The first two miles were mundane, with the only good thing being the vistas: Mount Wrightson to the east and kit peak to my west. The higher I got, the prettier the views.  There was some water in the drainage next to the road.

 

I passed a old miners cabin with a skeleton display up front at the two mile mark.. A small pond came in at a good time for the dogs and both jumped into the water.

I got to the peak in 1:34 hours. I didn't stay long as there wasn't much to do with radio towers around me. I gave the dogs their snacks and looped back down via a single track trail

This half mile trail got me back on the road I had walked up. I wanted to explore more of the lesser used trails and detoured to another peak before looping back down.

It was now past 4pm. I had Two good hours of daylight left, but twice the dogs made me wait on them when they chased after something.  I saw several trails I could have taken and made a big loop around the area, but that meant walking and not waiting on dogs 

There are several trails up in these hills but I didn't have time today to explore them. The main road to the peak was the fast route up, but the lesser used trails were more scenic.

I took a third trail off the main road near the end, a trail that parallel the main road through grasses and a Ridgeline meandering back down to the main wash. I even stopped briefly at the community cemetery. 

Although other websites about Keystone Peak mentioned this was open range and to watch out for cows, we didn't see any until we got back to the town. We saw plenty of cow paddies along the road, so I know the cows wander up the road.

I stopped in Rancho Sahuarita for a quick Indian meal of chicken curry but then drove straight home. It's a pretty drive, from the low valley of Santa Cruz and its many large strip mines, to the foothills of the Santa Ritas.