The road provides quick, albeit rough in some sections, access to the 3,500-foot peak. The eastern peak is a near-vertical crag that would be hazardous for human climbing, and impossible for dog climbing. The five miles between Coffee Pot and the Batamote Mountains to the south leave a tremendous view of open, empty desert. Large boulders cover the steep slope of the peak and saguaros and ironwood trees fill the space in between. Down in the plain the vegetation is thinner, and a slight haze separates us from the Batamotes, giving the impression of being part of a much larger landscape.
Humans here are like wayward travelers, making brief ventures from their artificial ecosystems.
We scramble up to the relatively flat peak and look off into the foothills of the Sauceda Mountains. The hard, red tuff and ash rocks have resisted weathering, creating a maze of low-lying peaks and crags separated by the green bands of the washes. Reading the trail register we note no one has signed it in two years. The last guy here witnessed a huge cloud of smoke and dust rise from the nearby bombing range, like some sort of man-made thunderhead. We break out Ami's Thermos and enjoy a hot cup of joe.