Distance: 6.2 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 3788'
Prominence: 2088'
Elevation Gain: 2068'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.6
Round trip time: 5 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on McPhearson Pass Road
Difficulty: Moderate
Fresh off the triumph of reaching Signal Peak just weeks before, my next challenge loomed: Castle Dome (DPS #88), another Sierra Club Desert Peak nestled within the rugged Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. I considered doing an overnight, but decided to gut out the drive both ways as a day hike. I left at 2:30 AM cruising east on I-8. This was my first time driving through Yuma, near the Army Proving Ground. I took Highway 95 north from Yuma, then followed a Military Police pickup onto Castle Dome Mine Road. Based on previous reports of issues with the proprietor of the Castle Dome Museum, I followed Mirian Khamis' track onto McPhearson Pass Road. McPhearson required high clearance and I bottomed out once crossing a stream. Seven more miles of dirt road delivered me to the trailhead. Much of the hike was up a gravely wash. A conspicuous arrow of stones marked the spot to leave the wash for a use trail. The trail headed directly at the vertical north buttress of Castle Dome. I relished the saguaro cacti and green feel of the Kofa refuge as the trail curved east around the base.
I walked past a split in the rock where the scramble started, reversing course when I realized I had gone too far. I made a second mistake hiking to the notch below a giant pillar. The continuation there was at least class 4. I back tracked and spotted the class 3 chute main route. The rock was volcanic and solid with many holds. Navigation was reasonable with the help of well constructed cairns marking key turns. I passed a wind cave, then traversed further east to reach easier stair step scrambling. Most of this section was class 2 with a short class 3 finish. Staggering views were waiting on top. The summit very long but not very wide. I found one reference mark, but no benchmark. An ammo box with a broken lid held several active registers. Many recent entries testified to the popularity of Castle Dome, though I had it to myself that day. High wind gusts blasted the summit unpredictably, followed by unnatural calm. It added to the mystery of the place. I lingered longer than usual on the summit and flew the drone, attracting curious birds. The drone crash landed during a random gust, but seems to be OK. The descent was uneventful. The noon sun warmed the world by the time I got back to the truck. Adrenaline lasted half the drive home. The rest of drive was powered by red bull and diet coke. Door to door was 16 hours.
