Hike Cane Benchmark via Candy Wash Black Mountains BLM, AZ

Jan 27, 2023 — Cane Benchmark can be viewed when driving down toward the Colorado River into Laughlin, noticeable only as a large black mesa on the horizon. It's not far from the exceptional Sugarloaf Peak and is located within the ever-impressive Black Mountains, so that criteria alone convinced me to check it out. It also helps that Cane Benchmark is a pretty significant peak as far as prominence goes. It seems many approach from the east via some set of dirt roads and then ascend from the eastern slope to gain the summit. While this would have been a much more efficient use of time, I couldn't ignore the wild topography and colorful hues on the southwest side of Cane Benchmark, and I wanted desperately to approach via the major canyon draining from the summit and hopefully manage a route to the summit from there. Ultimately I was very happy with this choice, and I can't imagine this drainage gets visitors often, if ever, so there was an element of remoteness and exploration that got me psyched. I took the liberty to name this drainage Candy Wash because I couldn't find a name for it on any map. It's very colorful at points, but also this name was a fun combination with Cane Benchmark even though I don't personally care for those minty festive treats. So up Candy Wash to Cane Benchmark I'd go!

After taking Old Kingman Highway here (35.19610, -114.43334), I took a left here (35.19923, -114.43014) onto a decent dirt road, though there are various options that all lead to the same north-trending road to reach the trailhead. The center of the doubletrack is high enough that you'll want some clearance, though the road is just a bit sandy and not difficult. I parked where I did because I wanted to get a closer peek at Peak 3711, but you may want to drive a little farther and just ascend via the main drainage from its mouth rather than use my ascent route, but I was happy with my choice and it was a bit more direct.

I started hiking up a wide wash toward the foothills, passed through the remains of an old fence, and then left the wash to ascend a steep slope in order to head over to Candy Wash. Here I was able to get a glimpse of Peak 3711 which would certainly not be a feasible peak for me today. It was quite the monolith. I dropped north into Candy Wash on a Class 2 burro trail, losing about 200 vertical feet that I'd have to re-ascend on my way back. Candy Wash started off without much fanfare, a standard desert wash until a major junction at around 3100'. I kept to the right here and entered a narrower portion of the wash where there was some lightly flowing water and then I entered a little grotto of sorts, narrow enough to be really cool. At its head was a chockstone obstacle I avoided using a quick Class 3 move to its right. The canyon continued to be colorful and interesting past here, a winding slot of white "S"s formed by water erosion, totally unexpected beauty.

Candy Wash opened up for a time before narrowing into a very narrow, short chasm with flowing water and more gorgeous slot features. At the top of this extended section it's safe to say that the majority of the goodies were over, but I still had quite a bit of ascending to do in order to reach Cane Benchmark. I stuck to the watercourse for the most part, able to avoid mostly all the brush within, but when I noted a burro trail on the left at around 3400' I took the opportunity to leave the now much more brushy drainage and ascend to its left. The burro trail clearly was used regularly by animals, and I was able to follow it like I would a human trail. I was glad I left the drainage since it seemed to narrow into a pretty tricky portion with a big enough drop that I wouldn't have had to continue anyway. Farther up I dropped back into Candy Wash and ascended to nearly its head, Cane Benchmark's black, crumbly, vertical form looming above. I'll also note that to the east I could see some sort of building/home on the rim, and I'm pretty sure part of this upper route may have passed through their property, but the building was so far away I can't imagine it was a problem.

As I neared the head of Candy Wash, I took a left up a side-gully and followed it until it became too steep, then ascended on volcanic talus and otherwise loose, steep Class 2 stuff up Cane Benchmark's southeast slope. I think this was the most reasonable way up since the surrounding slopes had cliffs and awful-looking terrain. I was able to keep the ascent Class 2/2+, but some may argue it's Class 3 due to the rockfall hazards. I also noted the more standard eastern approach, drab-looking for sure. A final small cliff band to gain the summit can be avoided by wrapping to the right until it peters out. I took in the views from the summit, noting the remote Lost Cabin Peak to the northwest and the massive granitic hunk of Spirit Mountain across the Colorado River.