Fire Mt, AZ (near Colorado River

Fire Mt, AZ (near Colorado River)

Harlan W S
November 25, 2019

This is certainly not my hardest peak lately, but I am including it simply because I would like to ease the travel for other folks.

The common road route is via the Powerline Rd west from rte 93. The route I took in, via White Rock Road, was much easier as of 11-25-2019 (Thanks Tracy F for the suggestion). And with careful selection, you can drive farther W to start the hike, than in the common directionsby Branch Whitney. Up near the Gold Bug Mine, the road is getting rough, and down closer to the lake, one must REALLY pay attention to pick the "correct" parts of the braided wash, else one might hit a big washout or venture into one of the narrow, almost impossible-to-reverse side branches. I had a Jeep Cherokee trailhawk with tougher-than-standard tires, but I never bottomed out or put the vehicle in 4low.

Overview map. At the very start of the dirt road, there is confusing navigation around private homes.	The hike	The is a free geologic map online (NBMG map 106 by Faulds). The pinks are the Davis Mountain volcanics, and the blues are the Fire Mt volcanics (Miocence)
As one turns N up the main wash, the S peak of Fire Mt. is visible; this is NOT the summit.	To E of Fire is a little peak with just 160' prominence to the E sadle.	View WNW. One walks up the basaltic boulders (actually andesitic) to the left end of the plateau; the talus to left is very slippery.
From the N end of S Fire Mt, drop left of the bouldery dark ridge and side-hill on the L (W) side		View back to Spirit Mt (L) and Copper Peak (R), across Colorado R.
		Don't be fooled into climbing the crumbling whitish aretes; there is always a class 2 path.
Summit to N	The register had no lid; new register needed with pencils.
	We must go back to S Fire at L middle	Spirit Mt and Colorado R