| |
| Signal Mountain Wilderness wander, AZ | |
|
| | Signal Mountain Wilderness wander, AZ | | | |
|
|
Signal Mountain Wilderness wander, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 6.39 Miles |
1,460 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.39 Miles | 4 Hrs 35 Mns | | 1.39 mph |
| 1,460 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This was my first hike into the Signal Mountain Wilderness area. There are two main driving routes that approach the area from the northeast. Both start from Agua Caliente Rd, which is nicely graded. When leaving Agua Caliente Rd, each route wraps around Webb Mountain, one around the north side and the other to the south. I drove the south route to reach my planned 'trailhead' and then took the north route after finishing my hike. I would definitely recommend high clearance for both routes. I found that the north route was much, much smoother. The south route is very rocky in places, is more overgrown with AZ-pin-striping vegetation, and I used 4WD in two sketchy spots. The north route had one 4WD spot - a steep uphill coming out of a narrow wash.
There are no official trails in this designated wilderness, but there are many nicely defined game trails. I found myself using those quite a bit, along with a main wash that was wide with minimal vegetation and very few boulders. Overall the area was open and easy off-trail exploration.
The main wash I followed led to Signal Mountain. I went up to a notch in the ridge just east of the summit, which ended up being my turn-around point. On the way back I hiked up to a rocky peak that had a small hidden natural arch and a shallow cave with an opening in the back wall. It's always nice to find these kinds of unexpected surprises. I also went up a hill covered in black volcanic boulders. This seemed a good place to find some petroglyphs, but disappointingly I saw none.
Horses apparently roam around here, but none were visible. I spotted a few lizards, heard some birds, and saw a small horn on the ground from a young bighorn sheep. And (as expected) not a single human or vehicle was seen for the entire day.
The views from Signal Mountain are spectacular with all the rocky peaks surrounding the area and Woolsey Peak looming in the distance. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
