Towering more than 7,000 feet over the surrounding savannas and deserts, Mt. Located within the Wilderness are the headwaters of Madera Canyon, one of the most famous birdwatching areas in the Southwest. Mount Wrightson's flora includes grassy, high desert chaparral, mixed conifers with Arizona, Apache, and Chihuahua pines, Arizona madrone, aspen, oak brush, and Douglas fir and ponderosa pine near the summit. I have been on the summit several times in November, and found the top swarming with the little critters. Lots of bear scat along the trail. "An American is a man with two arms and four wheels. Views where amazing. The hike begins on Gardner Canyon Road, where the better-known Gardner Canyon Trail also begins. Mount Hopkins and Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. On an assessment respite, 5 hikers, including #2 who turned back again. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock Miller Peak to the southeast. Take plenty of water and food. Mount Wrightson Temperature Statistics . Be careful out there!! Very soft snow on the South side. See all stats but the last 2 years with a free account! We clocked it at 15 miles and surprised others havent pointed out the discrepancy. My daughter and I were glad we each had a pole as there was a lot of icy areas. Ronning said thanks to Ibuprofen he was only a bit sore and stiff the next day. Unit 34A has Sonoran desert, Arizona chaparral, desert grassland, pine forest, and several riparian corridors. Ryan Kang/AP. He had also seen a female and cub above the ridge. The best times to visit this trail are March through November. Unit 34A has Sonoran desert, Arizona chaparral, desert grassland, pine forest, and several riparian corridors. 3L water was pretty much perfect; very sunny day but tons of shade cover. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 7 h 58 min to complete. Mount Wrightson is the highest point in the Santa Rita Mountains[2] and the Tucson region, lying 40 miles (64km) southeast of the city. Beautiful trail, but a real butt-kicker. Fauna on Mount Wrightson include birds such as the scrub jay and ravens high up near the peak, Coues white-tailed deer, black bear, and (rarely) mountain lion. Make sure you wear shoes with good grip and you bring your spikes. Easy to follow steep trek but well worth it as the views are incredible on a clear day. 11/17 small amount of ice but all visible. 4 hours to the summit. Just a great hike, perfect day. on official, secure websites. Looking toward Sierrita Mine southwest of Tucson. A few of the most popular access points are located within the Madera Canyon Recreation Area, where roads and parking areas are paved. The diversity which characterizes this desert oasis extends into other, more out of the way, habitats within the Wilderness, serving as a powerful attraction to nature lovers who value wildlife watching as a vital element of their wilderness experience. There are several springs at different locations, including Bog Spring, Sprung Spring, Kent Spring, Armour Spring, Baldy Spring, McBeth Spring and Bellows Spring. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 5 h 52 min to complete. Bring cash for $8 daily fee payable at stations if you don't have a pass. Took the nature trail from there adding about 3.4 miles to the round trip . icy chunks from the trees all over up top made it hard coming down. I hiked a variation of this recording, coming up the Old Baldy trail to the summit, around and down on Super Trail. Bear Springs Trail is not to be confused with Bear Canyon Trail in nearby Sabino Canyon, nor should it be confused with the Bear Creek Trail that has been written up by Arizona Highways and is located in the Hannagan Meadow area. Hikers get to rock hop over the cascading creek about 20 times giving great views of the running stream. Wrightson, the highest peak in the Santa Ritas. Took me 4 hours to get to the summit at a leisurely pace and 2.5 hours down. on official, secure websites. You will soon enter one of the loveliest sections in the Santa Ritas near Sylvester Spring. Wrightson can be climbed any time of the year due to the great trail conditions. Great trail! It's a great way to start this 13.5 mile scenic hike. Beautiful on the saddle but clouds were coming. Lots of shade, but bring sunscreen and a hat. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Read about advertising on huntscore here. Fortunately, nothing happened (on the way up and down). Use caution. Didn't trust or footing. So beautiful! No ice, bees, or bears to worry about! The "Florida Fire" in 2005 burned a large expanse of the forest in this area, affecting much of this hike, especially the section between the Walker Basin trail and the Super Trail. Parts of the trail are icy - so bring poles and/or microspikes just in case. Be sure to make note of the extreme temperatures as these often pose the greatest risk to hunters. We rolled up to Baldy Saddle without additional sightings. Robert Ronning, another Sierra Club hiker on this trek, said he was glad to hike Bear Springs Trail and Smith was a terrific leader as the hikers took time to take photographs and enjoy the scenery. Gorgeous, no wind, and easy to follow trail. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash. Cactus Forest Trail & Mica View Trail Loop 24. . There are obvious signs for Madera Canyon along the way.Once on White Horse Canyon Road, you'll drive 11 miles straight into the Madera Canyon Recreation Area, enjoying a view of Wrightson along the way. Graham to the east, and the high peaks of the Huachucas to the southeast combine with sweeping views of the Santa Cruz and San Pedro valleys to form a 360 panorama. BADASS ( Beautiful Athletic Determined Able Strong Smart ) AZ Hikers. My partner was wet, but happy. According to the sign, the plaque was erected by Boy Scout Troop 249 in remembrance of David Greenberg (age 12), Mike Early (age 16), and Michael J. Lanoue (age 13). Mt. We should all be so lucky. Large swings indicate a good layering system should be used. FIND YOUR WAY OUTSIDE is a trademark of AllTrails, LLC. Experience this 13.1-mile loop trail near Green Valley, Arizona. The weather was wonderful, views in every direction. SC Sabino Canyon Road 22. Mount Wrightson Wilderness Photos (550) Directions Print/PDF map Length 8.1 miElevation gain 3,356 ftRoute type Out & back Check out this 8.1-mile out-and-back trail near Green Valley, Arizona. Towering more than 7,000 feet over the surrounding savannas and deserts, Mt. Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. Ian. We started at 8:30 and made it to Baldys Saddle at 1:45. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. At 9:51 AM, 4.57 miles and 8750 ft elevation, I reached a saddle where view to the east appeared. Use temperature ranges to plan and prepare for your hunt. You start by heading upthen go up some moreand unlike other hills with false peaks and look outsyou bypass all that and just keep ploddingup. When I was at Wrightson I saw two bears, black bears I believe. I passed them but as I stopped to take picture often, they kept catching up with me. As people have mentioned, spikes or YakTrax really help w/ this one currently. Looking back toward the saddle and Mt. We enjoyed the wrap around gorgeous views. Explore this 21.1-km loop trail near Green Valley, Arizona. Hiked up Old Baldy came back on the Super Trail. Lost a micro-spike in between the saddle and the summit. Located just north of the ski resort, this park was created in 1895 and is one of the oldest Quebec provincial parks. Closed the door of the car when the heavens opened up. ", Routes Mt. The Pipeline/Kent Spring intersection is a good area to spot and/or hear the Elegant Trogon, best between April and June (although we heard one in the distance today). Heard a bear sighting from a half dozen different people but only saw scat. At about 8k elevation snow/ice became tough and Crampons were a necessity. ALLTRAILS and the AllTrails Mountain Design are registered trademarks of AllTrails, LLC in the United States as well as certain other jurisdictions. At over 9,400 feet, climbing Mt. Tucson, AZ 85701 Advertise on HuntScore and reach hunters interested in this hunting unit! This is a very popular area for hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. Views from the top are incredible. The last mile to the summit of Mt. Along the way, you'll go through scrub oak and ponderosa pine forests, being shaded most of the way until the last half mile. Never steep. Expect severe fire damage visible on the east side of the mountain. Some areas did get cool enough for gloves tho. It was such a beautiful day with reasonable temp and winds. Love coming down super trail at least to Josephine saddle. The Super trail as it raps around the south side of the summit is a little over grown right now, so bring pants. Made good time down, started raining as I made the turn to the last 300 meters to the lot. Went up and back from TH to Josephine Saddle on the Supertrail which is a great trail. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 7 h 11 min to complete. You'll know you're on the pipeline trail because there is 2" galvanized pipe on the side of the trail. Just do it! I hiked Old Baldy up and Super trail back and recommend that. Beautiful views. Im not that breed and consider myself in shape. If you plan on hunting in higher elevation, as a rule of thumb, expect the tempture to decrease roughly 5 for every 1000' in elevation gain. Ian etc. Great hike, even in the rain. Lemmon, Mica Mountain, Rincon Peak, Mt. Enjoyed most of the trail all to myself only passing by a few other groups on the way up or down. The two guys and ladies came too after a few minutes. The first time we summited McCleary Peak which involved bushwacking through prickly undergrowth, but I got cut up and it wasn't worth it since the views from Shovel Saddle are just as good. These are two totally different hikes and should be under separate titles. 3.7 along Super Trail to Josephine saddle; very manageable incline throughout However, the trail is so well constructed it doesn't beat you up. 2006-2021 SummitPost.org. Official websites use .gov A .gov Tough. Due to high elevation, most of the path goes through a forest far above the Sonoran Desert flora that covers much of the lower elevations in this part of Arizona. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports. On we continued. At that point, I was 2 miles from trailhead and 45 miles from Tucson. Total distance, around 8 miles. Weather can vary by elevation. You'd be a fool not to bring spikes and poles! 89) to AZ Hwy 82; northeast on AZ Hwy 82 to AZ Hwy 83; northerly on AZ Hwy 83 to the Sahuarita road; west along the Sahuarita road alignment to I-19 Exit 75; south on I-19 to Grand Avenue (U.S. Hwy 89). Located within the Wilderness are the headwaters of Madera Canyon, one of the most famous birdwatching areas in the Southwest. Want to report conditions for this trail? From what I've expereinced, the most common seems to be in June, right after the snows begin to melt, but I've seen them at other times of year as well. A long day, but a gentle trail. Pretty scary, if you are scared of bears I wouldnt do this hike. Share sensitive information only Its distinctive pyramid-shaped profile is visible from much of southeastern Arizona and adjoining areas in Sonora, Mexico.[5]. The Super Trail, also from the Madera Canyon trailhead, is not as steep but is far longer at 8.1 miles (13.0km). 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