Maricopa County High Point Trip Report
Browns Peak
Date: March/April 1992
Author: Andy Martin
Drove car (barely) to parking lot at trailhead at south end of Pigeon Springs road.
Only two cars in the lot, and 10 trucks. This is not a good road for passenger cars,
but manageable by a "dirt road demon". Trail goes right up ridge to saddle 1/4 mile
NW of peak. We took a beeline up ridge, dropped to the right through a slot,
and went up a rocky gully to the summit. One easy 8' pitch in gully required hands.
We came down the brushy gully almost due north of the peak, which gets more traffic
and is safer. On the road back to Phoenix we were able to drive west on a fairly
good road not shown on the topo, but on the Forest Service map.
May 1, 1999 update:
We drove up from Tucson through Globe, which is faster than
coming up through Apache Junction. The day was windy, cool, and overcast.
In fact, the top was in clouds when we started up, though they lifted enough for
us to have a sunny summit. There is now a register at the top. We went up the
big couloir NW of the top, and came down the brushy route NE of the top.
When we first dropped into the couloir it was frigid, with blasting wind and
ice on the trees. Lots of loose rock in this gully, be careful not to dislodge any,
and watch out for rockfall from above.