Four Peaks Motherload

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Four Peaks Motherlode

An Big Day in Central Arizona
April 27, 2023
Browns Peak (7,657') - Brother Peak (7,642') - Sister Peak (7,572') - Amethyst Peak (7,524')

Related Links:

STAV IS LOST Trip Report
Outdoors SW Trip Report
Hike Arizona Log
Trailhead Location
My GPS Tracks
Browns Peak: SP, PB, LOJ, Map
Brother Peak: PB, LOJ, Map
Sister Peak: PB, LOJ, Map
Amethyst Peak: PB, LOJ, Map

The Four Peaks are located in central Arizona, at the southern end of the Mazatzal Mountains. The rugged peaks are visible to the northeast from Phoenix, and are one of the most recognizable landmarks in the area. The highest of the four is Browns Peak, which is the northernmost summit. Browns is a fairly popular climb, but it is also possible to string all Four Peaks together in one challenging traverse. This endeavor is affectionately called “The Motherlode”. This route is not for the faint of heart, and includes a lot of sustained and steep scrambling, with careful route finding needed to stay on course.

After making the long drive from Boise the prior day, Sean and I met at the El Oso & A-Cross Road Junction at 8:30am, and made the 11 mile drive to the Lone Pine Trailhead. The drive from the east side wasn’t bad, and we were soon hiking up the trail.

We gained about 1200’ feet in two miles of trail hiking before Browns Peak came into view, and we headed up toward the distinctive scree gully on the northwest side of the peak. The gully was fun, with a few class 3 scramble moves along the way before we crested the ridge and made our way up to the summit.

After some deliberations, we chose a gully to descent southward from Browns. After a bit of scrambling and squeezing between manzanita brush, we got down to the saddle to the south. From here, the route up Brother Peak wasn’t obvious, but after some exploring, we were able to make our way up the ridge, including some steep scrambling along the way.

Descending from Brother Peak was the most tedious part of the day. After heading briefly south along the ridge, the terrain pushed us eastward. Along the way down, we navigated cliff bands, rock slabs, thick manzanita, and even a swarm of bees. Once down to around 7000’, we began side hilling around to the next saddle.

By the time we made it to the saddle north of Sister Peak, the physical and mental fatigue were setting in so it was time for PB&J to rejuvenate. Studying the terrain ahead of us, the route up Sister Peak wasn’t at all obvious. We decided on a direct route up the ridge to a gully, then up and over a false summit. The route finding continued after that, but was actually pretty enjoyable thanks to stable rock. But the scrambling was plenty steep, with some tricky class 4 sections along the way.

Once on the summit of Sister Peak, we had completed the three hardest peaks. But there was still some steep down climbing needed to reach the next saddle. After some looking around, we found a steep way down on the east side of the peak. The terrain was challenging, but I think we were getting used to it by now.

The final climb up Amethyst Peak wasn’t as difficult, but still taxing due to some bushwhacking, and just fatigue in general. Reaching the fourth summit felt like a good accomplishment after all the work leading up to it. We enjoyed the views and a snack before heading back down. After dropping back to the saddle, we made what felt like a long descent down the gully to the west, before a long trail hike back to the car.

Round trip was only 9 miles and 3800’ of elevation gain, in 10.5 hours. But with the challenging terrain, it definitely seemed longer than that. Knocking off the Four Peak Motherlode was a beast of a day, on rugged terrain, and an accomplishment to be proud of. Good times, and good memories with my good friend Sean.