Arizona Summits: Mt. Wrightson (9,456′)

Desert Solitaire. From the summit of Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

Just south of Tucson, this peak sweeps dramatically up from the desert plain to a pyramid point and just begs the adventurous to ascend to its celestial throne.  The views are spectacular in all directions, including south, deep into Mexico, and north, toward the lurking haze of the Phoenix and Tucson megablobs.

Madera Canyon, the starting point, is an oasis of coolness and shade in the midst of a harsh-yet-lush, high desert, ecosystem. It is also a popular destination for folks with funny shorts, pouchy vests, binoculars, and Audubon guides.

The hike itself, in some ways, simulates what you might do climbing a Colorado 14er–the trip is almost 11 miles round trip and you go up and down 4,000 vertical feet of unrelenting relief. The big difference, of course, is altitude. You typically start a 14er hike at or even well above the final summit elevation of Mt. Wrightson (9,456′).

The ascent went quickly. The Moon illuminated the wide trail enough so that my headlamp was used only to read the trail intersection signs. By 5:05 a.m., more than two hours before sunrise, I was at Baldy Saddle, less than a mile from the summit. I played around with the Moon, the wind, the burned out snags, and my camera, then slowly sauntered up the last switchbacks, trying to time arrival at the top with the best pre-sunrise light.

Alone on the mountain with my thoughts, surrounded by the spectacularly filtered light of the coming dawn, the craggy buttresses of ancient and mysterious volcanic origin, and a sky filled with an ever-changing dervish-dance of clouds, I was in my own personal heaven.

Just wish I had brought gloves to ward off the December chill.

Here are a few selected images of what you might see if you were to hoist your fanny perpendicular at a ridiculously early hour and hump your way up the Old Baldy Trail, dodging moon shadows along the way that always seem to simulate bear silhouettes…

Commuter traffic can be seen on the interstate as the first light of dawn seeps into the morning-blue clouds above Tucson:

Tucson Lights, #2. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

A clean, pure, desert panorama:

Mt. Wrightson Vista, #5. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

Harvard University’s Whipple Observatory is actually on a peak called Mt. Hopkins, across a huge gap, to the south of Mt. Wrightson:

The Observatory. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

A pair of images looking into the rising sun where the light is very different–it is changing rapidly from the blue of first light to the bright shadows and colors of the new day:

Desert Sunrise, #1. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

Desert Shadows, #2. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

Looking across at another chapter of personal memories written on the rocky inclines of a sacred mountain of the Tohono O’odham:

Baboquivari Peak at First Light, #2. From Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

High above the desert floor, one last stand of Ponderosa Pine hang on, surrounded by the rages of forest fires, and high winds:

Desert Shadows, #2. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014

We photographers, looking for good light, will almost always be alone. After sunrise, we will finally see humans coming up the trail as we go down. For sunset, we will be on our way up as the rest are heading home for dinner:

Down the Summit Switchbacks. Mt. Wrightson, Arizona, 2014