Kitt Peak(ow) by Bicycle - Velo

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Kitt Peak(ow)

One web-site, heavy with swagger about cycling climbs, names an "Arizona Trinity" of climbs, and this one is amongst them. The other two are Mt Lemmon and Mt Graham. This one is actually the lowest of the three. and one great thing about it is its joyous dessert isolation, where I experienced a perfect single shirt decent on a very memorable November 30th.

1.START-END EAST:Three Point: jct Az86 - Az286
2.jct Az86 - Hayhook Ranch Rd
3.jct Az86 -IR39 to Pak Tak
4.route turns left onto Az386
5.visitor center, 6800ft
6.TOP, obeservatory at end of raod,6840ft

Approaches

From South. Az86 climbs ever so gently over a low shoulder of the northern end of the Baboquivare Mountains. The profile includes the eastern approach from Robles Junction. Along the way you can spot one of the observatories on this mountain, precariously perched above, and it does not look that high. Near the barely noticable highest point on Az86, Az386 turns off and heads for Kitt Peak, and now the climbing will definitely become noticeable.

Seems these Arizona dessert climbs all start the same way. A road heading straight and directly for a rocky range of mountains on an alluvial fan. The end of the fan, an initial tilt upwards in the road, and a right turn to parallel the ridge marks the start of the second stage. Here the road climbs very uniformly, soon traversing along every ravine of what will become Kitt Peak above. When coming from the east or south, the dessert definitely has a more deserted appearance here. Not a trace of a tree below, and the mountain ranges uniformly recede into mild haze, that only obscures the views when the distances become immense.

As the road works its way southwards and the view shed shifts to include the main ridge of the Baboquivari Mountains, a great block of a mountain comes into sight, that had been a landmark on practically every bike and hike during the last two weeks, the great Baboquivari Peak. With further climbing it also becomes apparent that the real estate around the peak is not limited to a single observatory, but great bunches of them. I couldn't name a single respectable US university, whose name was not represented on one of the many giant garbage-can shapes, under which these huge mirrors are hidden. Of course the The Very-Large-Baseline-Array, which boasts a sharpness of being able to read a postage stamp in New York from La is also represented. The best views are from various out-and-backs to numerous observatories. There are may signs featuring a cyclist beneath a diagonal red line on these short dead ends, but there are no barricades.

cLiCk on image , arrows , or thumbnails to advance slideshow

Dayride without two way summits and this point as highest out-and-back summit

COMPLETELY PAVED:

( < Mission Rd s(u) | Gates Pass > )

just west of jct Hayhook Ranch Rd - Az86 <> Az86 west <> Az386 south << turnaround on top of Kitt Peak <> separate out and back from Az86 to Uhs Kug << turnaround point end of pavement. Also includes various short out and backs to various observatories: 54.2miles with 4750ft of climbing in5:08hrs (garmin etrex32x r4:24.11.30)