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| Wrightson Wilderness Loop, AZ | |
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| | Wrightson Wilderness Loop, AZ | | | |
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Wrightson Wilderness Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 13.00 Miles |
3,605 AEG |
| | Hiking | 13.00 Miles | 7 Hrs 12 Mns | | 1.95 mph |
| 3,605 ft AEG | 31 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | I parked in the topmost parking lot in Madera Canyon and set out up the Vault Mine trail towards the Agua Caliente Saddle trail. The hike is steep but the views are spectacular. I seldom see more than one or two people on this trail due to some signage at the bottom warning hikers about the steep grades… which to me aren’t bad at all.
Once I reached the Agua Caliente saddle trail I turned toward Josephine Saddle. The 2.2- ish mile trail is mostly flat and then begins to descend as it nears Josephine Saddle. If you’re eyes are sharp you’ll see a connector trail (unmarked) that will take you up to the hairpin road to the top of Mt Hopkins. It was pretty windy and cold so I didn’t summit any of the peaks this trip.
When I got to Josephine Saddle I took the Old Baldy trail to Baldy Saddle. Once at the Saddle I took the Super Trail back to the Josephine Saddle. On the south side of Mt Wrightson it got very cold and the wind was fierce so I dug out my puffy coat. The coat was just what I needed and I quickly warmed back up. It started to feel like snow though so I got a weather report on my inreach. Not surprisingly it showed snow flurries in the overnight forecast.
The Super Trail is all down hill and super cruisey from the direction I took and very soon I was back at Josephine Saddle. I stuck to the Super Trail because it is a almost two miles longer than the Old Baldy trail from Josephine Saddle to the parking lot. The trip down was gorgeous and sheltered from most of the wind. When I hit about 6,000 feet it was warm enough to take my puffy off.
I didn’t see any critters on this trip but with the cold windy conditions I wasn’t all that surprised. I love the Wrightson wilderness for days when I want a short day hike (less than 20) but still want a lot of elevation gain and a tough workout. It is a smaller Sky Island area but there are miles and miles of well established trails. Some are marked on maps and others there’s no record of, but they’re there and frequently used. The total distance for this trip was 13 miles. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Most of the deciduous trees had already lost their leaves. Some sycamores, low in the canyon were still turning colors though |
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