Incinerator Ridge Trail #18A, AZ

I was introduced to this trail when I hiked the similarly named description to Leopold Point. A new trail from the end of the Incinerator Road to the San Pedro Vista has surfaced. According to an internet resource, #18A was built in late 2012. I suspect it may have been a social trail before that. This trail is not signed with a USFS Metal sign at the San Pedro Vista but is signed at the end of the Incinerator Road as Trail #18A, Incinerator Ridge Trail. There is an AZT signpost at the start of the trail at the north end of the San Pedro Vista.


Overall, this is a short segment with outstanding views off of either side of this generally north-south trending ridge. The trail is short, but can easily be combined with other trails to produce an out and back to a logical high point of Mount Bigelow, or loops using other trails. Views range from the Pinaleno Mountains to the Tucson Mountains, The Superstitions to the Santa Ritas, and possibly as far away as the White Mountains.

Trail #18A leaves from San Pedro Vista and climbs up switchbacks and steps along the ridgeline, around Barnum Rock, just below Leopold Point (accessed via a social trail), up over what I believe is Incinerator Peak. Then descends slightly to what appears to be the USFS designated trailhead at the end of the Incinerator Road. Here is the only spot in the forest I found a sign naming the trail. At present, the forest's website has no information on this trail.


Though this trail ends or begins at the sign, the Kellogg Mountain Trail #45 makes a logical continuation to head to Mount Bigelow. Because you are never really far from the Catalina Highway, you might hear traffic for most of the hike, especially on weekends. However, this does allow for easier starting and stopping points using other trails.

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2015-05-03 Jim_H