Hike North Star Peak Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, AZ

Jan 30, 2022 — North Star Peak is a minor summit with some excellent scrambling deep in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. It's a short and sweet outing. We named it North Star Peak based on its proximity to the North Star Mine. Drive along King Road and head north here (33.17939, -114.02172). The road is almost all excellent graded dirt. Turn right here (33.28254, -113.975) and legally pass through an active mine on a short bit of private property. Veer left here (33.27097, -113.9552) and take this less good road up Yaqui Wash, where high clearance is necessary, but not 4WD.

From our parking spot, we headed northwest through a small valley/wash system and continued up a side-drainage to the northern side of North Star Peak. We did some recon on the northwest side up a series of chasms that led to a sheer cliff, not viable options that I excluded from my route map. The high point seemed to be guarded by chasms or cliffs on all sides except for the east face. So, we ascended on Class 2 beneath the eastern cliffs. If you ascend to a fairly large arch, you've gone slightly too far. A short switchback leads up to a Class 4 chimney from just below the arch. The climbing up this chimney is easy and feels safe due to the relatively solid rock (compared to the rest of the Kofa stuff we'd experienced on this trip), as long as stemming is a skill in your repertoire. Once above this chimney, the route continues to a small notch with a Class 3 move. From here Class 2 slabs continue to a final Class 2+ obstacle on the narrow summit ridge. Great views of Kofa Butte and Polaris Mountain.