Elephant Head

In November 2020, we did a day hike to the top of Elephant Head (about 5,600 feet), an unusual rock feature in the Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona. This is an easy hike in terms of mileage (7.7 miles) and elevation gain (2,245 feet), but it has some rough trail sections and some fun parts near the top. John was 67 and I was 66.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any good photos of Elephant Head from the north (where one can see how it got its name) as in the morning we are in a hurry to get to the trailhead to hike to the summit of Mount Wrightson, the highest peak in the Santa Ritas. In the evening after our hike, we are usually too tired or it is too dark. Nor do we have a panorama showing its relationship to the other peaks in the Santa Rita Mountains, so I borrowed two photos. Elephant Head is toward the right.

Some people have trouble seeing the elephant in this rock feature. Imagine the highest point as the dome of the head, with the trunk descending to the left. It is as if an elephant is standing on its hind legs. I can even imagine I see a small ear and an eye. Some mornings the light is such that I see a foreleg.

We approached from the south, and the elephant was not obvious.

We missed the turnoff for Elephant Head so inadvertently visited the Quantrell Mine.

There is a significant drainage between where we were and where we wanted to get to. Elephant Head is to the right.

The trail down the drainage was not bad in places.

But it was steep and loose most of the way down.

We finally made it all the way down and back up the drainage and over the bumps between the saddle and Elephant Head.

Then we got to the fun parts.

I left my pack and my poles behind for the last bit.

I appreciated being able to approach the summit in a more dignified posture.

On the top and not too much past our turnaround time.

Had I known there was an elephant shrine on top, I might have considered bringing something to contribute, such as a Horton the Elephant figurine. My maiden name is Horton and Horton the Elephant books were childhood favorites. However, such paraphernalia can be classified as trash left behind by hikers, and it has been removed. I don’t know if the cycle continues.

John doing a bit of a down climb.

Once I retrieved my pack and my poles, I continued heading down.

Our hope at this point was to get down and back up the drainage and to the main trail (red arrow) before dark.

We made it back to the main trail with daylight to spare. The hike out was fast on the better trail, and there was a full moon, so we only needed headlamps for the last half mile.