La Paz County High Point Trip Report

Harquahala Mtn

Date: February 19, 2001
Author: Roy Schweiker

As mentioned, this road is now signed as the Harquahala Mountain Scenic Byway. I avoided the 2WD controversy by putting the Montero in 4WD at the parking area at the base, with automatic transmission and power steering getting up was a piece of cake. If you have a foreign sedan, do it a favor and get your city-slicker friend to drive you up in his SUV which has never been off pavement and he will have a blast. I met 2 vehicles but there are plenty of wide spots if you see them coming in advance. There are picnic tables along the way and on the summit if you want to camp. The BLM suggests 45 minutes to drive up but I took an hour, one guy in the register claimed 23 minutes. Several groups in the register claimed to arrive by helicopter, wonder if this is a standard tour. Ken Akerman had signed the register, and the concrete work he mentioned is now complete - it looks like an exciting chute on the days there is ice. There was a little snow and mud right at the summit.