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| Hiking | 12.62 Miles |
3,932 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.62 Miles | 7 Hrs 13 Mns | | 1.88 mph |
| 3,932 ft AEG | 31 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I noticed Mt. Wrightson on our recent AZT trips this last winter. I hiked it 15 years ago and have nice memories of it. Getting on the kick for more AEG hikes, I decided to try this one again from the east side, including trails I hadn't done before. Gardner Canyon is right next to the AZT so that was an interesting new approach to the peak.
Wally was in right away, he's like Mikey from the Life cereal commercials. Brian was in when I described the hike to him. I made a point of doing that as we approached the Apache Springs TH for AZT4 as Wrightson loomed above. the timing of me saying "I want to go hike up THERE" as we turned the corner and saw the peak had him hooked. he was in. 
Brian drove himself to the Apache Springs TH and from there I drove him and Wally to the Cave Canyon TH at the end of Gardner Canyon Road. I hadn't been to the end of that road before so none of were sure what to expect. Turns out there are 2 stream crossings and a few bumpy sections but nothing real bad. Getting to the TH was pretty easy.
The trail starts out with gradual grades with a few level spots and then gets gradually steeper. After the recent hikes up Hieroglyphic Canyon and Picketpost, this was a piece of cake. The higher we got the trail got steeper here and there, but not too bad. A few level spots gave some breathing breaks.
at the junction of the Super Trail and the old Baldy Trail, the trail got very steep and the elevation at 8500'+ made breathing a chore. the key to hiking this last part to the peak is to not look up. The closer you get, the farther away it seems like you are to getting there. This section of trail was also the busiest. We had several people on their way down or we were getting passed by other hikers. At least I was.
At the peak Brian and Wally were off to the side having lunch and talking. I sat on the wall at the peak and started my lunch, soon to be joined by the throng of the lunch rush right behind us. We soon started to make our way back down.
Once we were off the Old Baldy Trail, there was only one other hiker on the Super Trail just below the junction (the Super Trail circles the peak about 1K' below). After that, we saw a dad with his 2 kids near the Link Trail. Wally said he saw some horse riders at the lower section hours before Brian and I got there.
The views at the top were phenomenal, glad I did this one again and glad I took a different route. Hiking above 9K' is like being in another dimension once you're past 50, but in a cool way. The hike back down was obviously much easier, but at the end the wear and tear on the legs started to seep in a bit. |
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Route Editor
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