Santa Ritas - Mt Wrightson Figure 8

March 22, 2022 hike: Mt Wrightson figure 8 loop. Old Baldy trail to the Mt Wrightson peak, then the Mt Wrightson Supertrail to Agua Caliente trail and back to the starting point on Mine Vault trail.

I decided to head south to the highest peak in the Tucson region, Mt Wrightson. My theory was that hiking from 5,400 feet to over 9,400 feet was a good idea on a day that was supposed to be around 90 degrees in Tucson. The theory worked as I hiked in 65-75 degree temps all day, making it a very comfortable and enjoyable hike. There was also very little wind, which is very helpful, as hiker comments suggest that it can be very windy and cold at the top of Mt Wrightson. The only negative was the high haze that we seem to get when temperatures get high in Tucson. The haze takes some of the pop out of my photos.

The trail is a good workout, particularly on the way up. Old Baldy trail ascends with few breaks and it can be very steep with many switchbacks. It is definitely a great cardio exercise for almost 6 miles. The views in the lower sections are limited as they are heavily forested with oaks and pines - beautiful, but the vistas are limited. The views from the top are spectacular.

The Supertrail goes around the backside (south side) of Mt Wrightson and provides great views of the high Patagonian plain, the wild mountains to the south and the immense forest running up the south valley of the mountain.

Agua Caliente trail provides nice views of the Mt Wrightson ridge to the east, the forested north valley of the mountain and in the north distance, Tucson and the Catalina mountains. Mine Vault trail is an extremely steep trail back to the trailhead (I wouldn't recommend trying to climb this - it was hard enough going down!).

Photo 1 shows the morning view of the north valley nearing the top of the first climb of Old Baldy trail to Josephine Saddle. You can see the Catalina mountains in the background. Josephine Saddle is more than 1,500 feet up from the trailhead and over 7,000 feet high.

Photo 2 is a video from the top of Mt Wrightson, starting looking southeast, panning over the wild country and ranges to the south, then showing the heavily forested south and west flanks of Mt Wrightson (Josephine Canyon), then continuing along the ridge line and peak of Mt Hopkins to the west and finishing looking north down the forested north valley (Madera Canyon) of Mt Wrightson. You can see two observatories on Mt Hopkins.

Photo 3 looks at the two observatories on Mt Hopkins. They make up the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO) system, along with another observatory out of the picture at the bottom. The smaller observatory at the middle left of the picture has a variety of telescopes up to 60 inches that look at the solar system, galaxy and extragalactic objects and exo-planets. The larger observatory at the summit of Mt Hopkins has a 256 inch telescope for similar missions. A quick literature search indicated that there was no road up the mountain, prior to the development of the observatories. The road looks like an engineering marvel in its own right.

Photo 4 looks down the heavily forested south valley (Josephine Canyon) of the peak. There was a large fire in this region in 2005. The greenery is obviously back, but I noticed areas where there were few of the very tall pines that are prevalent in the Mt Wrightson region. I suspect the fire is the reason. The smaller ranges to the south of Mt Wrightson are also quite dramatic - often quite steep and jagged as shown in this picture.

Photo 5 looks up at Mt Wrightson from Josephine Saddle. The tree line peters out around 8,500-8,700 feet, revealing the majestic rock peak of the highest mountain in the Tucson region, Mt Wrightson.

Photo 6 looks at the Mt Wrightson ridge from the Agua Caliente trail to the west of Mt Wrightson. Agua Caliente follows the contours of Mt Hopkins and it is heavily forested, although there are numerous good viewing points. Potential hikers should note that there are a number of rock fields along the trail, which require some dexterity to pass over.

Photo 7 looks north from the Agua Caliente trail across the lower north valley of Mt Wrightson and the large desert plain that is mostly empty in the south and contains Tucson in the north. The mountain range in the background is the Catalina mountain range, bordering the north side of Tucson.

Photo 8 looks southeast from near the intersection of the Agua Caliente and Mine Vault trails. Mt Wrightson is on the left and Josephine peak on the right. This picture shows the magnificent pine and oak forests in the region.

Photo 9 is another of my artistic attempts, showing essentially the same view as Photo 7. I believe I moved the camera slightly while taking the picture, resulting in a abstract painting effect.

Photo 10 shows an interesting lizard with green tones. It is a Yarrow's Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii), native to the Sky Islands of southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico and the northwestern mountainous region of Mexico.

Photo 11 might show the world's highest dandelion. The photo was taken a around 8,600-8,700 feet up. Photo 12 shows another wildflower. There were few wildflowers in this area.

All-in-all, this was a great hike, especially for a very hot day in Tucson. There are a lot more trails in the region, so I'm sure I'll return. The only downside, is it is an hour drive from the northern part of Tucson.

Hike stats: about 13.5 miles with 4,000 vertical feet to a 9,456 foot peak in 6 hrs 43 minutes. This can probably be done in much less time, as I took 202 photos and videos, which consumed considerable time.