Written: October 20, 2021

Trip report, Mt. Wrightson from Gardner Canyon, October 19-20, 2021

View looking southeast
Mid October brings the Tucson area some fabulous weather. We had nice temperatures, some breezes, and clear skies with views to long distances.

We made this an overnight trip, driving in in the morning, hiking until sunset, then camping at the trailhead and driving home the next morning. As much as anything our decision to camp was motivated by a desire to spend a night out in wonderful weather.

Getting to the trailhead

Before the trip we looked at maps, read various online resources, and were unable to make head nor tail out of how to get to the trailhead. Hence this somewhat long section which is intended to make the world a better place by clarifying these things.

The usually excellent "Green Trails" map is completely in error regarding this area, and the information on the USGS topo, while accurate, does not reflect "recent" road closures. I put the word "recent" in quotes because the closures have been in place for some time, but my experiences and memories date from before them.

You have your choice of two trailheads, as will be described in detail below. I drove my 4x4 Toyota Tacoma to both. One definitely requires either 4x4, a high clearance vehicle and some skill, or a car you just could care less about. The other can probably be reached by any vehicle, but one stream crossing may stop some vehicles or drivers.

From Tucson, head east on I-10 to Highway 83. Exit and drive south.

The Gardner Canyon road (FS 92) is clearly marked by a big green highway department sign, but it is somewhat hidden by bushes on the right until the last minute. From here the road is dirt and passable by virtually any car for the first 5 miles. The following gives mileages on Forest Service 92 (FS 92) from Highway 83. The above takes you to the trailhead you can (probably, maybe) drive to with a passenger car. Don't curse me if you cannot or if you rip the bottom off your car at the crossing at 5.8. If and when you get to the trailhead, you will need to hike 0.7 miles on the "link trail" to get to the other trailhead. More on the hiking below.

If you want to drive to the other trailhead, the road is rough, but certainly no problem with a 4x4. Intelligent drivers with a high clearance vehicle should not have any problems either. Driving there will save you 0.7 miles of hiking and a bit of energy. I'm not sure if it will save you time given the slow driving on a bad road.

Here is a revised version of the above, again starting at Highway 83, but making a different turn at 6.3 miles in order to end up at trailhead B.

Here are coordinates (taken by my Garmin 66i) for the three trailheads: 

-110:47.9661 31:42.6057 Gardner trailhead A
-110:48.3016 31:42.3820 Gardner trailhead B
-110:48.9986 31:42.0983 old Gardner trailhead

The Hike

View south from 7600 feet
I'll start this at "trailhead A", since it will pass the other trailhead along the way. You have driven to the end of FS 92 and probably never shifted into 4x4. At the time of our visit, Cave Creek was happily running close by. Hike the trail just a short distance (~0.2 miles) to a junction. The right turn is marked "Cave Creek trail" and is not what you want unless you intend to hike to Florida saddle. So continue with the left option (essentially straight ahead) on the "link trail". This will follow the canyon a short ways, then make a few switchbacks up and left and at 0.67 miles you will find yourself at "trailhead B". Here there is a big metal gate with a horseshoe for a latch.

Back when I was younger, this gate was not here and I happily drove the road 0.98 miles (i.e. 1 mile) further to what I now call the "old trailhead". This is a nice spot right on Gardner Creek and these days you can enjoy it as a rest spot or admire it as you hike through. Who knows why the Forest Service saw fit to close this road. The wilderness boundary is about 0.5 miles past the "old trailhead".

Here is a mileage log from "trailhead A" --

Once you get to the "6880" saddle at 2.91 miles there are fantastic views to the east and south, not to mention up towards Mt. Wrightson. Here you will also note a trail to Walker Basin (and a big steel sign). The Walker Basin trail contours south and down, and is something for another day. It is up the ridge from here. Speaking of Mt. Wrightson, that's right, we did not go all the way to the top of Wrightson! With all the trailhead confusion, along with taking abundant notes for your benefit, we did not get started hiking until 11 AM. We gave ourselves 4 hours to hike, then turned around at 3 PM, and got back to our vehicle just after sunset (6:30 PM). We then drove to a nice camp along FS 785 with a view east of the lights of Sierra Vista along with other territory. We spent a nice night.

Green Trails map errata

This map is clearly based on old information combined with a robust imagination augmented by a lack of ground checking. Here are some things to know:

A bug

We ran into this critter on our hike down. I am busy learning some biology and it is clear to me this is not an insect. It has too many legs, so it falls into some other group. An arthropod, no doubt, and from what I am learning, a Myriapoda within the arthropod phylum. Insects are arthropods too, as are spiders, but each falls into its own subdivision. I am reading that not all centipedes have eyes, and I certainly don't see any on this fellow.

I am almost certain this is Scolopendra heros, the "giant desert centipede".

Scolopendra heros
Another more clinical photo will be found below that gives an idea of the size of this creature. Laying a pen down next to him took several attempts because he would get upset and irate and ready for battle when we first tried it.

A book

During the hike I remembered an old guidebook I hadn't seen in many years and actually had success finding it when I got home. It is "Hiking Guide to the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona" by Bob and Dotty Martin, 126 pages, published in 1986. ISBN 0-87108-723-5. I haven't seen it for sale in a long time and it is almost certainly out of print, but used copies may well be available. It lists 52 hikes (one for each week of the year?) and gives lots of ideas for more obscure hikes in seldom visited parts of the range.

There is also a newer guide (1999) by Betty Leavengood that I have never laid eyes on. I fixed that. I found a used copy online for a good price and ordered it. It is a nice guidebook, written with a pleasant style. It contains a fantastic amount of interesting historical information. Worth having. It tallies 37 hikes.

Perfectly pocket sized!
Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org