Hutch Mesa 5,740’ and Hutch Mesa South 5,743’ – Difficult – 4WD Road

Keeping with my tradition for doing more obscure mountains, I want to try Hutch Mesa and Hutch Mesa South off of the Bloody Basin Road. It is about 53 ½ miles drive from the McDonalds off of Carefree Highway, with 17 miles of that on Bloody Basin Road. About an 80-90 minute drive.

The trailhead is here: 34.21216, -111.8991

Much of the road is well graded dirt. Some is 4WD: https://www.surgent.net/highpoints/az/hikes/bloodybasin.html

Once reaching the trailhead at about 4,730’, a trail takes us for 3 miles and about 1,000’ to the Narrows Tank. At this point, the top of the Hutch Mesa is just ¼ mile off the trail gaining about 40’.

We will go back on the trail and continue south towards Picnic Tank for over a mile, passing below Hutch Mesa South. Then, we can take a direct line back north for about 0.4 miles to the summit of Hutch Mesa South.

The hike is about 11 miles, gaining a little over 2,000’. Only 1.3 miles is off-trail, and should be fairly easy to navigate.

The pace of the group is usually pretty quick, so this hike is for people with good fitness.

4WD drivers are preferred. I will expand the waitlist as we have available drivers.

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 guide. 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.

The waitlist is created to give preference to hikers who have demonstrated the ability for tougher hikes and consistency of showing up when they RSVP. Those who have RSVPed multiple times and have always cancelled or been a no-show will be kept on the waitlist until others who are more likely to come are given an opportunity to RSVP. The waitlist also ensures we do not overwhelm parking, as this area doesn’t have infinite parking. Those with vehicles to drive us are given preference.

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

About your organizer: My name is Dan. I moved to the Phoenix area in early 2017. I have organized over 200 hikes for various groups – including in Arizona, the Sierras, and Northern Nevada. I tend to choose mountain summits I have never done before. I do as much preparation and mapping as I can to ensure we take the correct trails. However, when driving to and hiking in a new area, there are always surprises and unknowns.

This hike is subject to cancellation or rescheduling due to fires or inclement weather.