Hike McDowell Peak, Thompson Peak, Doubletop Mountain Loop McDowell Mountain Preserve, AZ

Jan 20, 2023 — I really wanted to explore the majority of the McDowell Mountains in a day, so I wrapped up hiking East End quickly and drove out to this much larger planned excursion. The loop I'd proposed to myself would reach McDowell Peak, Thompson Peak, and a couple of smaller bumps farther south along the ridgeline, Doubletop Peak and Peak 3804. Online research led me to believe this particular traverse hasn't been documented before, though many hikers reach the two taller summits. Thompson Peak was clearly the most popular summit for my intended loop and it seemed to be reached via a steep radio tower access road, but I had no interest in hiking a road with such a nice trail system scattered around the base of the McDowell Mountains. It seems McDowell Peak is more often approached from the west, but that would mean accessing the other peaks would be pretty difficult to achieve, though it's certainly the quickest way to that summit. I looked at maps in an attempt to contrive a loop and found a series of trails that would allow me an easy ascent to and descent from the ridgeline, leaving only a few miles along the ridgeline for route-finding and bushwhacking. This also left me the option to bail by using the standard road route from Thompson Peak about halfway along the traverse if the brush was too gnarly for my taste.

Access to the trail system within the McDowell Mountain Preserve requires a $2 entrance fee, payable at the Golden Eagle Trailhead. However, this trailhead is situated within an overly-wealthy gated community complete with a security guard. Of course you can legally reach the trailhead on foot via a half mile sidewalk, but a small parking lot is located just before reaching the gate and is where hikers are asked to leave vehicles. There was no signage about the fee here, so you can imagine my bafflement when I arrived at the trailhead after hiking through the development and was asked to drop money into a collection box and would need to return to my car to retrieve the pittance.

I started along the Dixie Mine Trail, a pleasant singletrack that seems relatively popular for hikers and mountain bikers. It meanders and undulates within the foothills for a while before reaching a junction with the Sonoran Trail. This would be my descent trail for the hike back later. I continued on the Dixie Mine Trail for a few miles until it reached Thompson Peak Road. This is the road folks use to access Thompson Peak, and I could see it winding up toward the summit. I hiked this road for a short time before a trail sign marked my turn-off for the Prospector Trail. I totally spaced and forgot to take a short detour to check out the Dixie Mine, but I don't think I missed out on too much.

The Prospector Trail gained some elevation as it worked its way up a slope and reached a junction with the Bell Pass Trail, which I took up to Bell Pass. I  could see McDowell Peak ahead to the north, a steep-looking jaunt that started off with a hint of a social trail, but this faded within a quarter mile. There was an obvious slope/ridge that would take me up, but it was hard to tell how rough the brush would be from below. I felt comfortable doing this hike on a cold mid-January day, but another more time of year would mean potentially scary snake encounters because of the many rocky sections and grassy tufts. I had this same thought for pretty much the entire ridgeline traverse, which only became more brushy as the day carried on. Anyway, the Class 2 ascent to McDowell Peak was straightforward enough, though the terrain was loose enough to call Class 2. There were even a couple of short Class 2+ moves along the slope/ridge spine that added some fun, though these can be avoided.

I dropped back to Bell Pass and started up toward Thompson Peak, separated by inconveniently situated Peak 3515, a small hump just shy of being a ranked summit. A nice social trail led me much of the way up the first few hundred feet, but it was lost to rocky terrain and brush. I reached Peak 3515. The traverse over this hump required ample Class 2 and a brushy and loose descent. It wasn't too bad, but certainly not as enjoyable as the much more pleasant hike up McDowell Peak. Eventually I found myself at the northern base of Thompson Peak, a steep and incredibly brushy-looking ascent, though fortunately the brush is easy to avoid and wasn't prickly. I did have to contend with some more Class 2 on the steep slope, though the last couple hundred feet was made easier by an ancient and eroded road that leads to the summit.

I continued southeast along the Thompson Peak access road. Although the majority of this road is graded dirt, the switchbacks are paved higher up here since the grade would be too steep for a service vehicle to drive on. I only followed the road for a short time until reaching the saddle of Thompson Peak and my next objective, Doubletop Peak. A social trail left the road and was easy to follow until the ascent grew steeper. I made an ascending traverse beneath some cliffs on steep dirt and was able to keep the route Class 2 to gain the summit.

Peak 3804 became visible ahead, and though it wasn't all that far the drop from Doubletop Peak was more tedious than anticipated. I found myself sticking to the crest when I could, but dropping left or right on loose terrain to avoid rock outcroppings. This portion of the hike also introduced some long-awaited cacti. I headed up to the pretty boring Peak 3804, though it had a mellow slope relative to the rest of the peaks on this hike. All the brush on this peak is easily avoidable and doesn't hurt to touch it. The views from Peak 3804 were bland, mostly just out toward the ever-growing suburban sprawl.

Now I had to get back to the trail system below, specifically the Sonoran Trail. I prepared myself for the steep and brushy descent off the north slope of Peak 3804 until I saw a cairn. And then, to my complete disbelief, a social trail! I gleefully started down, enjoying the now-trivial descent. I have no idea how/why this social trail exists, nor who is hiking up to this bump of a summit, but thank you to whoever created it. The social trail became a bit less clear as the slope angle grew mellow and eventually I pretty much lost it. I didn't mind too much at this point because I was only a few hundred feet from the trail. I followed the Sonoran Trail back to the Dixie Mine Trail. Overall this was a nice traverse of suburban peaks that don't often get climbed, and I was happy to link them up in one swoop.