Apache County High Point Trip Report
Date: June 18, 2000
Author: Ken Akerman
I began my ascent at the West Baldy Trailhead, which begins near the point where the Sheep Crossing
Campground used to be. This campground is shown on the Orno Peak quadrangle (1978 edition) but
apparently no longer exists. Winn Campground is now the closest developed campground to the Baldy
Peak trail heads.
I hiked all the way to the summit of Baldy Peak, including both the longer contour on the northern part of
the ridge (elevation exceeding 11,400 feet) and the benchmark noted as Baldy Peak, elevation 11,403 feet.
Part of this ridge lies within the boundaries of Fort Apache Indian Reservation. I saw a sign marking the
boundary of the Reservation, explaining that the peak is sacred to the Apaches and that all plants, trees,
rocks and sites are protected by both Tribal and Federal law, but nothing on the sign stated that access to
the summit of the peak is prohibited by hikers. There was no one else on the summit at the time that I
was there. I helped improve the conditions on the 11,403 foot summit by removing some trash (i.e.
beverage containers, candy wrappers, shards of glass, and orange peels).
The weather was somewhat unsettled early in the day (some rain, sleet, and thunder), but was fine when I
was on the summit ridge around noon. The round-trip ascent took about eight hours.