Mount Wrightson ( O'odham: Ce:wi Duag) is a peak in the Santa Rita Mountains within the Coronado National Forest, in southern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. It was named for William Wrightson, a miner and entrepreneur in the region killed by

Apaches The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

in the 1865 Battle of Fort Buchanan.

Geography

Mount Wrightson is the highest point in the Santa Rita Mountains and the Tucson region, lying southeast of the city. Its distinctive pyramid-shaped profile is visible from much of southeastern Arizona and adjoining areas in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Flora

Mount Wrightson's flora includes grassy, high desert

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

, mixed conifers with Arizona, Apache, and Chihuahua pines, Arizona madrone,

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

, oak brush, and Douglas fir and ponderosa pine near the summit.

Fauna

Fauna on Mount Wrightson include birds such as the Mexican jay, elegant trogon, and ravens high up near the peak, Coues white-tailed deer, black bear, and (rarely)

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

Hiking

The shortest route is the Old Baldy Trail, a steady climb of over over to the exposed summit. The Super Trail, also from the Madera Canyon trailhead, is not as steep but is far longer at . These two trails intersect at Josephine Saddle () halfway to the peak, so hikers can choose one route for the lower path and one route for the upper. There are several springs at different locations, including Bog Spring, Sprung Spring, Kent Spring, Armour Spring, Baldy Spring, McBeth Spring and Bellows Spring. Nonetheless, bring plenty of water as there are signs warning that the water is not potable due to giardia parasites. One should also be mindful of wildlife. It is a prime birding area and black bears are common. Two miles into the hike is a saddle which offers an easy day hike with dramatic views of this peak. It features a Boy Scout Memorial dedicated and maintained for three scouts who died in a storm on Mount Wrightson November 15, 1958. According to the sign, the plaque was erected by Boy Scout Troop 249 in remembrance of David Greenberg (age 12), Mike Early (age 16), and Michael J. Lanoue (age 13). The final approach to the summit is north facing and may be impassable without special equipment during the winter due to ice. The "Florida Fire" in 2005 burned a large expanse of the forest in this area, affecting much of this hike, especially the section between the Walker Basin trail and the Super Trail.

References

External links

* * {{Mountains of Arizona Wrightson Wrightson Landforms of Santa Cruz County, Arizona Coronado National Forest Two-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Santa Cruz County, Arizona