Part 9A - Mt Wrightson Wilderness Area

Part 9A: Mount Wrightson Wilderness Area.

Old Baldy Trail to Wrightson Peak. 

Forest Service Website: Mt Wrightson Wilderness Area

Sign marking the peak on Mt Wrightson.

This place literally has something for everyone.  Hiking, Spelunking, Off-Road Vehicle Trails, Picnic Areas, Bird Watching, Historic and Active Mining Sites, as well as Bed and Breakfast locations all can be found inside the boundaries of this 25,260 acre wilderness area. 

Mt Wrightson, also known as Old Baldy, is the highest peak in the Tucson area. We could see it very clearly from Cactus Country RV Park and we were determined to make it to the top of the 9,456 foot peak before our time in Tucson came to an end. So, on an early Spring morning, we drove up Madera Canyon and parked at the bottom of the Old Baldy Trail to begin our hike. We had gotten a later start than we wanted to and were pretty sure we didn't have time to get back to the vehicle before dark.  From the parking area, 6.6 miles of trail climbs 3,986 feet to the summit of Mount Wrightson. The entire trip took us around 7-8 hours at a leisurely hike that included a lunch-break.

The best thing about the Old Baldy Trail is that it is tolerable, even during the hot Summer months, thanks to the shade trees that cover most of the lower elevations. Here is a view of the peak from a vantage point, shortly after starting our ascent from the parking lot.

Old Baldy, so called due to the peaks location above the treeline. 

The trail begins to climb right away and does not really level off until reaching Josephine Saddle about 2.2 miles up the hike. There was a freak snowstorm that blew in here and took the lives of several young Boy Scouts, so even this far South, the mountains demand that you prepare for any kind of weather. Here is a great story about the incident, with a recent update, that makes the ending a little happier:  Tucson.com Josephine Saddle Article

We did not take any pictures of the memorial crosses at the saddle, and continued on up to where the Super Trail intersects with the Old Baldy Trail. Taking this route kept us on the West side of the peak, saved us a few miles, and kept us away from the fire ravaged area on the East side.

The hike up from the Super Trail split is very scenic, but the tree cover starts to thin out here, especially near some exposed areas where the trail skirts a cliff edge.  We found a good view of the peak near one of these cliff edges and sat down for a packed lunch.

Getting closer. View from our lunch spot below the peak. 

There are seasonal springs below Old Baldy Saddle and this part of the trail requires a little bit of boulder hopping. Just above this area, the trail begins a brutal series of switchbacks (around 30), before reaching a very windy Baldy Saddle.

A view to the East from Baldy Saddle. 

Fire damage on the Eastern slopes of the Santa Ritas.

There are no words that can describe the feeling of pushing yourself to do a hike like this, and this was by far the toughest one of our lives. After leaving Baldy Saddle, the trail climbs almost one mile up to Old Baldy Peak. However, it was scrambles over rock face, some exposed edges on the trail, and switchbacks where you could see the stacked stone for the next switchback as you climbed up.

Sketchy trail with a very exposed edge near the Old Baldy summit.

Jenny on the crest trail about halfway to the peak.

Facing South on the last switchback before the peak. 

As you can see from those pictures, the views near the top were amazing, and it was worth every struggling step to get there.  At the top, was a marker designating the peak as part of the Coronado National Forest and showing pictures of the old fire lookout that used to call the peak home.

Looking West from the peak. Upper Left: The road to the Mt Hopkins Observatory can be seen. 

Looking SW from the peak. Road to Mt Hopkins on the right. 

We did it!

Jen standing on whats left of the base of the old fire tower. 

Me trying to stay warm and not get blown off the mountain.

We took a very short video from the peak. It begins facing East and then pans South where you can see into Mexico. 

In total, we probably spent about 5 to 10 minutes at the summit. The wind was icy and piercing, so we just took a few pictures/video, admired the view, and started down. The exposed areas on the crest trail were a little more intimidating on the descent, but the 30 some switchbacks below Baldy Saddle were much easier. It got dark on us just before we reached Josephine Saddle and we had to use our headlamps for the rest of the trek out. I think the whole trip took us about 10 hours in total and we were a little sore the next day, but ready for the next adventure. 

Here is a link to our last article about moving to the SE side of town.

Part 8 - Cactus Country

Here is a link to the follow-up article.

Part 9B - Mt Wrightson Wilderness Area