Aubineau and Rees Peak

Aubineau Peak 11,838′ and Rees Peak 11,474′

Arizona Alpine 

Total Time: 6:20

Roundtrip Distance: 9.0

Elevation Gain: 4460′

Crux: Class 2

Trailhead: Bearjaw Loop TH, no services

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Note: This hike enters the closure area for Senecio Franciscanus, which I did not realize at the time of the hike (see comments below).

At 11,838′, Aubineau Peak is the fourth highest peak in Arizona. With only ~220′ of prominence, it is often overlooked as a distinct summit in it’s own right, overshadowed by Humphreys Peak towering nearly 1,000′ above. It, along with nearby Rees Peak, were a pair of summits on the north side of the Humphreys massif I had yet to climb, and would be the perfect outing for a July Arizona day. There are a number of possible routes to the top of Aubineau, all of which involve at least some cross country travel. The most straight forward route would be to climb Humphreys and simply drop off the summit down the ridgeline to Aubineau. However, that would add considerable elevation gain, not to mention cross country travel was illegal above 12,000′ in the San Francisco Peaks. Another route was a cross country ascent out of Lockett Meadow. While this had the beauty of the inner basin and its’ Aspen groves, the slopes south of Aubineau were steep and loose with plenty of deadfall from avalanches. Thus, I decided to climb Aubineau and Rees from the north via a cross country route from the Bearjaw- Aubineau Loop Trail. I slept off FR 418 just before the trailhead with the main bulk of Coconino National Forest reopened from fire closures following some early monsoons. There was one car at the trailhead when I arrived, and I started up the trail through an open pine forest and grassy slopes. I quickly reached the junction for the Bearjaw and Aubineau Trails and headed right, planning to tag Aubineau first in case afternoon thunderstorms rolled in early.

The trail headed up the wide drainage off the saddle between Humphreys and Aubineau, and I quickly left the thin pine forest for alpine meadows and slopes. Where the trail began to cut back east to form the loop, I headed cross country, continuing up the grassy slopes in the valley.

The grass and shrubs were wet from rain the day before, but there was quite a bit of exposed rock to hop on to avoid the worst patches. Several hundred feet below the high ridgeline, the gully narrowed and I passed several man made retention walls in the drainage. An exposed rusty pipe now ran down the gully, taking water from an unexpected and pleasant alpine stream all the way down to Flagstaff.

The stream dove underground at treeline beneath some talus, and it was quick rock hopping up the surprisingly solid talus to the ridgeline above. I was fairly shocked when I reached the ridgeline, finding the summits on the south side of the Humphreys massif, Doyle, Fremont and Agassiz, cloaked in white. The monsoon the day before had dumped significant hail on the southern summits, with ice down below 10,000′. It was a beautiful and unexpected sight, and made the ridgeline traverse up to Aubineau all the more enjoyable.

The ridgeline was fairly open with only a few scraggly pines and rock piles to avoid. I went up and over an intermediate summit before dropping to a shallow saddle. From there, a bit more easy scrambling quickly brought me to the highpoint of the day, arriving at about 10 AM. I took a short break and enjoyed the views across the basin to the other high summits around Humphreys.

The clouds were already beginning to build in my short time along the exposed ridgeline, and I was happy to be back among the trees as I dropped towards Rees Peak. The descent from Aubineau to Rees Peak was probably the steepest terrain of the day, with loose volcanic rock and pine needles making for a sloppy descent. From the saddle between the two summits, it was a quick 200′ up to the broad treed summit, arriving at 11 AM. I had a difficult time locating the actual highest point, and found a cairn near one of the spots with a better view and had one last look at the high peaks before my descent to the north.

In the short hour between the summits, the clouds grew considerably, and it was only a matter of time before the skies open up on me. The Bearjaw Trail was directly downslope to the north, and I headed down an initially grassy slope into the steep pine forest. I tried not to cheat too far east out of fear of missing the nearby junction, and wound up in the gully between Rees and Aubineau several hundred feet before hitting the trail. The trail was in sight when I heard the first rumble of thunder in the distance, relatively safe among the tall pines and patches of Aspen. Despite the lightning nearby, this section of the trail was too enjoyable to rush with impressive stands of Aspen for much of the descent.

I finally picked up the pace a bit closer to the trailhead where the trail entered small but open grassy sections. I reached my car about 6 hours from starting out, and headed towards Flagstaff for lunch. On the drive out, I slowly drove through a section of torrential rain and hail on the plateau between Kendrick Peak and Mount Humphreys, but made it safely into Flagstaff for a burger at Lumberyard before heading back to Phoenix.