Arizona Hiking Trails

Hiking trails re-open after Arizona's Wallow Fire

Although mop-up of the 538,049-acre Wallow Fire continues in Arizona, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests announced that the popular Mt. Baldy trails -- including West Baldy, East Baldy and Baldy Crossover -- have reopened for hiker use. As with all wilderness trails, no mountain bikes or motorized vehicles are allowed. However, trail users should be aware that downed trees across the trail at multiple locations may present difficulties for hikers as well as horses.

Mt. Baldy is the second highest peak in Arizona at 11,420 ft (3481 m.) The trails meander through dense forest with large, old ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir and spruce. Hikers beware: the Forest Service has postponed planned trail maintenance, first due to the Wallow Fire, and now due to monsoon season. Since it’s not safe for a trail crew to work in such a remote wilderness location during lightning season, trail maintenance is planned to begin in September.

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Hiking equipment - San Gabriel Wilderness – Hiking Trails in the ...

Hiking trails in the Designated Wilderness are built and maintained utilizing hand tools and materials which are strictly limited in terms of environmental impact. The use of chainsaws to remove trees that are down across trails is prohibited, requiring the use of crosscut saws, block-and-tackle chains and ropes to pull trees off of trails, griphoists, and other mechanical tools which do not produce noise or petroleum-based pollutants. In addition, wheeled tools and equipment are not permitted to be used in the Designated Wilderness, neither for trail maintenance nor for recreation, causing the wilderness to be classified for pedestrian and equestrian use only with mountain biking prohibited. Blasting to remove rock outcrops is prohibited, as is the use of fire-fighting tools like tractors, foscheck air drops, Tovex Firebreak II explosives, and chainsaws to cut fire lines. Everything must be done by hand, even when fighting fires within the Designated Wilderness. The people who maintain hiking trails within the San Gabriel Designated Wilderness attempt to achieve a passable hiking experience within the wilderness that does not appear to be too greatly unnatural. To achieve such an effect, tree limbs and branches that must be cut back are finished with an effort to appear natural, bucked tree trunks that are removed from the trail are relocated so that they appear at a distance and do not look to have been cut by people, and even sawdust from crosscut saws will be collected and buried off of the trail.

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