Temporal Gulch - AZT #4, AZ

Passage 4 begins with a long ascent into the Santa Rita Mountains, a rugged sky island range with steep slopes and granite peaks. This section features incredible biodiversity and is home to rare birds and some plants that occur nowhere else outside of Mexico. Mount Wrightson, the high point of the Santa Rita Mountains, rises to an elevation of 9,453 feet and has a distinctive pyramid peak that can be seen throughout much of this section. Trail users may follow connector trails on the Coronado National Forest to reach this iconic summit.


Starting from the Casa Blanca Canyon Trailhead, this section begins in a grassland ecosystem and climbs through oak savannah to reach the sweet-smelling oak-pine forest on the edge of the Mount Wrightson Wilderness. Early in spring, it is not uncommon for snow to remain on the higher peaks and hillsides of this wilderness.This passage features some of the most recently built miles of the AZT. After decades of sharing alignment with dirt roads north of the town of Patagonia, the Temporal Gulch Reroute Project improves safety for trail users and provides a National Scenic Trail experience through the construction of 32 miles of trail. Construction began in the Spring of 2020 and is anticipated to be finished by the Summer of 2023. Consult information at trailheads and along the trail to follow the most scenic route, as new segments are opened as soon as they are finished.

2018-07-14 HAZ_Hikebot