Hike Eastern Mount Nutt Wilderness Peaklets Mount Nutt Wilderness BLM, AZ

Nov 27, 2022 — I thought there might not be a whole lot of cool stuff remaining after lots of explorations in the Mount Nutt Wilderness in western Arizona, and we weren't expecting too much from this hike, but this ended up being an excellent loop that visits some fun summits. The five peaklets we managed to climb are located on the eastern slope of the Black Mountains at the base of Mount Nutt. None of them are named and most had no recorded ascents we could find, plus a few of the bumps look like they might not even be climbable without technical gear. The only one we decided to not even attempt is an unlikely summit labeled Peak 3700 just north of our loop. Still, 5 out of 6 was a pretty good outcome, considering our initial expectations!

We tried to reach the official Mount Nutt Wilderness Twin Springs Trailhead, but the road was washed out so we parked a bit under a half mile before reaching it and walked. To get to where we parked, head south on Kaibab Road here (35.15627, -114.29867). The area is an odd grid of residences, but the roads are surprisingly a little rough at times. We saw sedans in the area, so maybe there's a better road option amongst the grid maze? Regardless, head west here (35.12145, -114.29850), though low clearance will not be able to cross Secret Pass Wash, which is found just before this turn-off. As an alternative to our trailhead you could park at the end of Chemehuevi Road here (35.12721, -114.31401), but it's right by some residences and leaving our cars there felt like trespassing even if we weren't. I marked this alternative on my attached map.

Apparently there is an old trail leading west from this trailhead to a little dripping waterfall, but we had other objectives for the day. Our first peak was Peak 3731, not an insignificant amount of work to reach, though without enough prominence to be considered a real peak. We figured it was a nice warm-up and would give some nice views to the area and peaks to come. Like always, the views en route were far better than a map or preplanning could have predicted. We headed up the peak's southeastern slope and reached the south ridge after some light Class 2. The views toward Mount Nutt were really nice, this perspective giving us an overlook toward its interesting eroded cliffs. The summit is reached with some light Class 2, really just desert talus/scree. We headed over toward Peak 3680 next door using a burro trail that wraps around the slope connecting the two peaks. This was a slightly more interesting peak, some true Class 2 scrambling leading the last bit to the summit.

We dropped off Peak 3680 the same way we came up since its northern face is a sheer cliff and used a burro trail to wrap around the west side of the peak and down into a wash below. Maps mark this wash as a road, but it's not. We're very much in designated wilderness, and despite being relatively close to the residential area we started from, it feels like a more remote area. Peak 3732 was next, best approached from the west since the surrounding walls were quite steep and unlikely. A significant slope led to just below 3600', where there's a cliff. Keeping left leads to a notch and is the more tempting option, but to the right heads into a slabby gully with excellent-quality rock. From below it seems very steep and potentially scary, but the angle is low enough that I felt secure the whole time, especially due to the solid black volcanic rock. Class 3 brought us up this very fun scramble, which trends to the right away from the center of the gully. Anything harder than Class 3 means you should look for another option. Once above this section, the route continues toward the summit using a short Class 3 chute/chimney and then some pleasant Class 2.

After backtracking from Peak 3732 we continued north toward Peak 3833, the tallest of our peaks for the day. The scenery as we headed through the desert here was really nice, plenty of gorgeous rock formations and other desert joys. It was here we determined we wouldn't even attempt Peak 3700, really just a volcanic tower. We determined the easiest way up to Peak 3732 would be to firs reach the saddle on its south side. We headed up a Class 2 slope with a Class 3 move to avoid significant brush. Here we could see the summit ahead, which looked far more dangerous from here than it did from below. We continued north, traversing the Class 2 slope below the cliffy ridge crest, and reached the southern base of the summit block. Matt and Petey decided to scramble up a scary Class 4 direct route, but I instead dropped to the left and hugged the cliff's base in search of a more friendly option, losing about a hundred feet of vertical as I went. I managed to wrap all the way to the north side of the peak where I found a Class 2+ rock rib that allowed me to reach the ridge crest, followed by ample Class 2/3 fun along the ridge leading to the summit. The top the peak introduced what could almost be called a knife-edge, adding some light spice to the summit, though ultimately not exceeding Class 3.

We backtracked to the saddle and continued south using the path of least resistance in order to reach the deser floor below. Fortunately, a burro trail made parts of this otherwise loose stroll a bit easier. Ahead we could see Peak 3393, which appeared to be a dubious obstacle to say the least. We reached the end of Gato Road, where we noted a residence nearby and a No Trespassing sign. Hugging the fenceline marking public land, we reached the western base of Peak 3393. I should say that after further research (including calling a real estate agent), this peak is definitely on private property. I don't recommend trespassing even though this is an excellent peak, honestly among our desert favorites. I provided a rough blue line on my attached map that shows how you can complete the loop without trespassing by skipping this lovely peak. I don't think any of us would have been able to survive skipping this peak, though we put in the prerequisite act of looking at each other and considering not trespassing even as we were ducking under the fence. We quietly traversed along the base of the peak's southern cliffs where we soon located a significant Class 2 slope leading north, gaining lots of vertical. At the top of this slope was a small ramp leading to an incredible natural arch. We enjoyed this spectacle for a short time before considering the task still at hand. After passing through the arch we continued along a wide ledge, pulled a Class 3 move, and were confronted with what appeared to be a dead-end, a significant drop in the wide ledge with some exposure on the left. A couple of horizontal cracks allowed for hand and foot holds as we crossed over this gap, Class 3+. The moves aren't hard, but it's a little unnerving. Past this step-across move, a unique chute of solid, textured slickrock seemed to extend vertically for a hundred feet or so, but there were ample ledges along the way that allowed plenty of rest spots before each subsequent set of moves. None of these moves exceeded Class 3/3+, but did have us stemming, scrambling, and giggling with glee. At the top of this extended chute, the route continued as Class 2/3 as it wrapped to the left around more small cliffs and ultimately to the summit. The view west into the Mount Nutt Wilderness were excellent, and we pretended there wasn't a sprawl of dispersed houses just to the east.

The rest of the hike led us down to Vivian Road, which we followed back into the wilderness boundary and back to our cars.