Sears Kay Ruins and Road to Kentuck Mountain

UPDATE - we may hike Sears Kay Ruins (as shown in the photo) and then continue down the road to the east towards Kentuck Mountain instead of Bronco Trailhead.

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This hike is rated Moderately Difficult. Not for beginners, since we go at a good pace, and this is not a well-traveled trail. Modified from originally proposed hike due to access issues (see comment and notes below).

This is an exploration of two areas and three summits. It involves a warm up hike, and then driving further down to the Bronco Trailhead for the main hike.

We will start by hiking 350’ in less than a mile up to Pt. 3583 at the top of the Sears Kay Ruins. After that, we will drive an additional 5 miles up the road to the Bronco Trailhead. This is on a mix of paved road and good dirt road.

We will take the Bronco Creek Trail up towards Peak 4460 – which I refer to as Bronco Creek Peak, given it is a prominent point along the Bronco Peak Trail. The trail gets within 200’ of the prominent summit. Once back on the trail, we will continue west and explore a little bit to get acquainted with the area.

On the return, for those who want to join, I plan to make an off-shoot to Peak 4344, which has a prominence of 324’. It’s about a third of a mile off the trail.

The total distance for this second hike will be about 6 miles, gaining 1,200’ or so.

Hopefully, as we spend time in this area, it will reveal other mountains to hike on future excursions.

The photo is a Google Earth™ image of the parking area for Sears Kay Ruins we will use.

READ THE FOLLOWING: The Organizer of this trip is a VOLUNTEER, not a "leader". The organizer IS NOT trained in first aid and is not a bonded expert mountain guides. You will need to bring your own experience and judgment. If you want to enjoy the benefits of traveling in a group, then we suggest that you stay with the group on the trip.

Assess the route and conditions as if you were going to do this trip solo

About your organizer: My name is Dan. I am relatively new to the Phoenix area (came here early 2017). I have organized over 85 hikes for Meet Up – mostly in the Sierra Nevada region and in Northern Nevada. I tend to choose mountain summits I have never done before. I do as much preparation and mapping as I can to make sure we take the correct trails. However, when hiking a new mountain, there are always surprises and unknowns.

I originally planned Butte Peak and Bronco Butte, but those are local trails and groups are considered unwelcome. I checked out the area on January 21st and hiked both summits. I confirmed with a local that a No Trespassing Sign along the trail is intended to keep out groups. That is why I was able to do the hike. However, the replacement hike is still enjoyable, with three summits, in the same general area.