Hike Bobbin Peak to Needles Eye (Trigo Mountains Traverse) Trigo Mountains Wilderness Area BLM, AZ

The Trigo Mountains are a rarely-visited, gorgeous desert range just east of the Colorado River. They're located within the US Army's Yuma Proving Grounds, so you'll need a hunting permit for specific dates, since recreational access is not permitted without a hunting liscense specifically. Our group planned to hike Bobbin Peak and Needles Eye, the two ends of the main range ridgeline, but the wildly dumb idea to attempt a traverse between the two peaks insidiously creeped into the itinerary. We went into the day with only a vague idea of where obstacles would present themselves, hints of escape routes in case things became too spicy, and a visceral and unwavering excitement. I think secretly we all had low expectations that the traverse would actually work out, but pack mentality is a dangerous thing. We were ultimately incredibly surprised we managed a Class 3/4 route, albeit a laborious undertaking and just barely nontechnical.

Any vehicle with some clearance can make it to the trailhead. Leave Cibola Lake Road here (33.31332, -114.66234) and head east. Although we could have set up a shuttle and parked a second car much farther south, we parked where we did because it allowed us to set the realistic expectation that we might have to bail early and return to the starting point, which would have rendered the shuttle useless. If the traverse did end up working out, adding a extra few miles of walking back through the desert didn't seem like too much additional work. Of course at the time we didn't know we'd be doing said walk in the rain.

The first peak of the day was Bobbin Peak, the high point of the Trigo Mountains. From the cars we headed east through a wash, leaving it in order to head toward a wide drainage on the northwestern side of Bobbin Peak. We started up this rocky drainage, which began to steepen significantly. Maybe it would have continued to the ridgeline above, but the terrain looked quite steep higher up, so at around 1300' we opted to instead leave the drainage and ascend along the ridge to its right. This was a bit of a clunky and spontaneous change in plans, but the route continued as Class 2. Along this ridge we encountered some Class 2+ terrain, but nothing exposed or particularly notable, just loose. The navigating here was crypic at times, large outcroppings obscuring the most clear route up, but somehow this ridge/slope managed to lead us to the north ridge of Bobbin Peak without being too punishing.

The scramble that ensued along the crest to Bobbin Peak was surprisingly fun, solid Class 3. Any time we reached a headwall, there was a workaround somewhere. Our party was delighted. Bobbin Peak offered a heart-dissolving view of the traverse ahead to Needles Eye, very far away and separated by a series of severe cliffs and likely route-ending pinnacles. Optimistically, we continued on. The descent from Bobbin Peak's south ridge was a lot less fun than the ascent was, but still had some cute scrambling sections. Keeping too far left (east) results in cliffs, so I recommend keeping farther to the right where a weakness in the slope has created a Class 2/3 straightforward slope.

Once down from Bobbin Peak and at the saddle, we all agreed we were happy to continue to the next peak, Peak 2296. If we needed to bail, we could backtrack to the ugly-looking gully that dropped from here. This ended up not being the case, the ridgeline leading to Peak 2296 introducing a plethora of fun. It starts off at Class 2/2+, but soon we reached a rock outcropping along the crest. Wrapping to the left of this obstacle seemed to end in cliffs, so we poked around and found a Class 3/3+ series of moves using a low-angle crack on solid rock. Above this section the ridgeline continued Class 2/3 and either side seemed to drop away forever. Fortunately this crack was there, since I'm not sure anything else would have permitted us to make more progress. Somehow the crest continued on solid Class 3 terrain, and we reached a false summit. Just ahead, the true summit seemed daunting, but was only Class 3.

I was feeling we were nearing the end of our luck, since at this point there were cliffs on either side of us. From the summit, Tyler decided to press on along the ridge. I dubiously followed everyone along the unlikely route choice. Normally, my default is to backtrack to locate an easier way when the route gets spicy, but in this case a backtrack also seemed unlikely to bring success. Somehow the ridge descended as steep, loose Class 2/3 along the south side of Peak 2296. Just before the base, a Class 3+ move on a narrow clump of rock with extreme exposure had me hesitate. My companions seemed not to mind it, but after making them wait for more than a few minutes I opted to just use a face to the move's left. It's more difficult, but not exposed. This may have been the most technically difficult part of the traverse, and is one of the few Class 3/4 pieces of the day.

On we went from the base of Peak 2296, Peak 2368 (our third peak of the day) quite a distance away. We weren't able to stay on the crest for long though, since we landed at the base of an impossible fin. The group blindy started up and aborted shortly after, but I looked down to the right and noticed a steep, loose Class 2 slope. This wrapped around the ridge crest cliffs' base and back to the crest. It was at this point in the day that Chris dubbed me his "Class 2 Truffle Pig". It might have been a cheeky insult, but I took it as a beaming compliment.

Looking back, Peak 2296 was an impressive pinnacle that looked impossible from this angle. From here the crest was straightforward for a while until we neared the base of a massive lump with serious-looking cliffs surrounding it. We offhandedly noted that the slope to the west was low-angle enough that it could possibly be our final chance to bail if we needed to, but we didn't. Looking up at the massive lump in our way, we begrudingly started to sidehill. Normally we all prefer to go up and over obstacles if we can manage it, but sidehilling seemed prudent in this situation. Initially wrapping on the right side at roughly the 1800' contour, our bypass then curved south and ascended more steeply back to the ridgeline. We managed to keep this bypass Class 2. "Class 2 Truffle Pig strikes again!" Chris exclaimed.

Now back on the ridge crest about halfway between Peak 2296 and Peak 2368, loose terrain took us to some fun Class 3 that brought us higher and up to a view of the next peak. It seemed doable from here, but only because there were very few visible dips in the ridgeline, though there seemed to be plenty of pinnacles and dangerous-looking rock ribs. Maybe we were just becoming complacent since the route just consistently kept working out? We stumbled on an animal trail that led up a convenient ramp, along the tame ridge, and around a series of outcroppings. Somehow this section of the traverse was effortless enough that we were able to have separate conversations and enjoy the maze pre-solved by ingenious sheep. Generally the trail kept to the right of the ridgeline, taking slight dips in and out of gullies and around ledges.

Of course, the animal trail ended at the base of Peak 2368. This unassuming peak would end up being my favorite of the day. We managed to all ascend the initial face using slightly different lines, all fun and generally solid Class 3, but we were all funneled to the ridgeline higher up. Naturally, the more risk-inclined of the group just pulled an exposed Class 3/4 move, but I was able to find a less exposed Class 3 option. Peak 2368's summit was just ahead, a glorious foreground for Needles Eye in the distance. Separating us from the summit was a pretty exposed Class 2 wannabe-knife-edge with an unexposed Class 3 move to overcome a small notch. Fun Class 3 continued to the summit from here.

Needles Eye seemed a pretty onerous feat when viewed from Peak 2368, maybe not so much the ascent to the peak as much as just getting down from Peak 2368. We sort of initially thought there wouldn't be a way to do so, but after lots of pointing and map studying, we decided our best chance of success was to drop to the east side of Peak 2368 and hope we could find a weakness in the significant cliff on Peak 2368's south side. Rather than backtrack off the peak, Tyler managed to locate a steep Class 2/3 ramp with some exposure that switchbacked below the east side of the summit cliff. With a short spurt of Class 3 we were back down to safety and now descending south on loose Class 2, plenty of cholla barbs to go around. After a few hundred feet, we decided it was best to leave this gully since it would ultimately lead in the wrong direction and instead hop over a minor saddle in order to attempt a gully that descended west. Fortunately, it managed to go at max Class 3 all the way down. The formidable Needles Eye filled our view, and from here is where we were able to trace a potentially viable route to gain the summit.

Now at the base of our final peak for the day, we split up into two groups. I left both options on my attached map, myself and Petey taking the low road (east) and the others going west. The high road started out fine, but as soon as I watched my friends pull a Class 3/4 move over a loose notch, I opted to bail and find another way. Later they informed me that was the only rough spot, and the remainder of their upper traverse was pretty uneventful. Meanwhile, Petey and I descended a couple hundred vertical feet and decided to start the ascent using a drainage leading west. We could see our friends above and just decided to head right to them, Class 2/3. In hindsight I'd say you should use the upper route, but both were fine options.

Back as a group, we sidehilled on loose terrain at the base of the impossible east face of Needles Eye, wrapping all the way to a prominent, brushy gully on its southeast side. It was here the rain started. Fortunately, we'd done the majority of our serious scrambling and route-finding for the day, since wet rock would have probably rendered our route absurdly dangerous. I don't think any of us were upset though, since the traverse ended up being a fantastic desert route and no rain could dampen our moods. Just our entire bodies.

The brushy gully went at Class 2, but it was steep and loose and not particularly pleasant. It only lasted a couple hundred feet, where it then dumped us in a notch on the direct south ridge of Needles Eye. The gorgeous arch for which the mountain was named became visible just north of the summit, though the summit itself was temporarily obscured by a wet, Class 3 scramble. Despite this objective danger we headed up just in time to catch an absolutely outstanding rainbow framing the summit. Matt and I almost fell off the mountain from delight, squealing as we snapped photos. The Needles Eye summit pitch was an excellent stretch of Class 3, a severe drop on the right that doesn't actually feel too scary since all the holds are solid, but the left side is much more forgiving.

After taking in the summit views all the way back to Bobbin Peak, we backtracked to the notch and started the descent from Needles Eye heading south. Adam Walker shared his route to Needles Eye, so we were confident we wouldn't stumble onto any impassable cliffs. This was a good thing at this point, since I think all of our brains were pretty fried from micro-route-finding and tedious scrambling from hours along the traverse. The descent led south along a slope, passed over a small ridge, then descended southwest through more open terrain. We reached the top of a steep Class 2 gully draining west. Within this gully were a couple of short Class 2/3 obstacles, and a final dryfall that we needed to avoid on its left.

Now out of the final descent gully, all that was left was to return to the cars, located many miles to the north. Tyler had done his homework and managed to find a well-carved burro trail on satellite mode. We spent a good 10 minutes wandering north through the foothills until locating this burro trail, but once we found it the route-finding for the day was basically over. With a couple of small exceptions where the trail drops into washes, we managed to stay on it until reaching an ATV road and ultimately back to our cars.