Old Baldy Trail #372 to Wrightson Summit Photoset • SkyIslandHiker • 2017-07-25 • HikeArizona.COM

Old Baldy Trail #372 to Wrightson Summit, AZ

	2017-07-25
	7 by SkyIslandHiker

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Old Baldy Trail #372 to Wrightson Summit

Tucson, AZ

Old Baldy Trail #372 to Wrightson Summit

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Jul 25 2017
		SkyIslandHiker

Hiking	12.10 Miles	4,000 AEG

Hiking	12.10 Miles

	4,000 ft AEG

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MyRudy

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This morning I led a Meetup hike to the summit of Mt. Wrightson and had five takers. It was 65 degrees when our boots hit the ground shortly after 6am. Not much of a breeze this morning until we got to Baldy Saddle which was somewhat chilly as the sun was behind a cloud at the time.

Upon passing Bellows Spring, the spring above had a strong output and water was flowing over the trail. However, water was just dripping from the pipe into the trailside basin which was nearly full of water. Higher up above Baldy Saddle water was dripping down the rock face of the north switchbacks from Wrightson Spring, so much so that there was water running down the trail.

Upon arriving at the summit we ran into George and Anna who had just completed their 354th ascent, presumably tying them with Bob Williams for the lead :app:

There were thousands of lady bugs at the summit and they were crawling all over me as I sat on the old lookout foundation. Bugs were not an issue anywhere this morning except at the summit.

From our summit perch it was interesting to watch the clouds form and swirl around the mountain; fortunately the clouds were not the threatening type. Today was probably the best day to hike Mt. Wrightson weather-wise in weeks.

Halfway down we heard a noise that at first sounded a little bit like a chainsaw to me. It turned out to be a drone flown by a hobbyists. We stopped and chatted for a while.

At Josephine Saddle several of us switched over to the Super Trail in order to enjoy the water features along kent Creek. From midway down the lower Super Trail we took the Old Madera Mine "route" to Fern Canyon where we took the Fern Trail (another route) to the Kent Canyon Trail and on down to Kent Falls. The water in the south fork of Kent Creek was very robust, as was Kent Falls.

From Kent Falls we took the jeep road connector up to the Pipeline "route" which took us back to the Super Trail. We wrapped up our hike shortly after noon.

...just another crummy day in the Sonoran Desert!

Flora

Unidentified Mushroom or Fungi

Fauna

Ladybug beetle

Wildflowers Observation Light
The wildflower bloom usually peaks in early to mid-September.

	Bellows Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Water is just trickling from the pipe into the trailside reservoir but spring water is flowing strongly across the trail. You can easily fill a gallon per minute from a mini-waterfall in the nearby drainage.

	Sprung Spring	Dry	Dry
	Pipe dry but rain water has filled the trailside basin which will become stagnant. However water from the nearby drainage is running across the trail where one could gather some water.

	Wrightson Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Multiple threads of dripping water down the rock face along the north switchbacks between Baldy Saddle and the summit, enough to run down the trail.

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