"11.8.25~Mt Wilson AZ w/Jimmy. His 1st, my 4th. 9.6 miles, 3,800’ gain in 5:25hrs. Up 5 miles to the summit in 3:02hrs, :28 min lunch break, down in 1:55hrs. Redemption hike for me since a year ago I stupidly and stubbornly did this with an acute ankle/Achilles injury and every second of the 7:30hrs that day was painfully miserable, with a depressing finish in the dark. Warm day but tolerable with some breeze. " — paula.raimondi • Nov 8, 2025

"Over 21 years since I had been here. Snow on the upper part made it more interesting, in a slippery sort of way. When I came here with Nick, Danny, and Patti last, we took a different route down because Nick couldn't stomach taking the ridge both ways." — hwstock • Feb 10, 2024

"My brother and I parked on Black Joe Mine Rd., just. little ways before the sign and the start of the rougher section. We started around 7:10am and still needed the headlamp for a little bit. It was about 2.4 miles of road walking, and 2.2 miles of ridge. There is actually a pretty well-defined use trail for most of the hike. We got off it occasionally, but for the most part you can find it pretty easily. The whole area is beautiful, and dealing with vegetation was not a factor, other than to be careful of the barrel cacti and yuccas if you have to walk close to them. It was nice to walk a ridge pretty much the whole way up, and the scenery and views at the summit were awesome. We did 9.25 miles with 3900 ft. of elevation gain, and it took about 6.5 hours. If you have 4WD and high clearance, you can make it to the end of the road and have only about a 4.8 mile hike. " — ZachTeich • Dec 12, 2023

"10.24.2021~Mt. Wilson AZ, 6.2 miles, 3,000’ gain in 4:46hrs round trip. I showed my Friend Ed my fav route up to this classic AZ Peak that can be seen from as far away as Summerlin in Las Vegas, NV. Ed recently ran his 80th Marathon to celebrate his 70th birthday, and charged up this Mtn like a 30 year old! What’s your excuse?! …The Fall weather was delightful even tho we were tossed about in 30ish MPH chilly gusts. The views were beyond spectacular. The Ridge up is a rugged roller coaster ride full of fun “Jean-Claude”~gendarmes to navigate around or scramble over. We took an alternative wash on the way down to check it out. It was pretty good but skirting around at the bottom was bothersome. Great morning workout!" — paula.raimondi • Oct 24, 2021

"Had my eye on this one ever since I hiked Fortification Hill, finally did it! I arrived just before dawn and there were many cars camped along the road by the parking lot. Being my first time on Horse Thief Canyon Rd I didn't try to drive it so as not to disturb the campers or get stuck in a spot that I couldn't turn around. I opted to hike from the parking lot making it a 14 mile trip. (GPS logged 16 but I never trust those things). I hiked the 4 miles to the NPS campground at the end of the road. A 25-30ft. dry cascade blocks your path, definitely climbable without aid but I found a route around it over the ridge to the north. On the other side I rejoined the wash and soon found myself staring at the giant cottonwood trees of Horse Thief Spring. Continuing on the wash it splits after the spring, one route continuing east and the other coming from the south. Looking at a topo map the south split seemed to be a more direct & gradual route to the ridges & summit but the brush gets thicker and the wash eventually turns back east and ends at another dry cascade. This one is also climbable but I again diverted to the north, and eventually joined a ridge between the two ..." — DudeAlmighty • Jan 6, 2021

"11.17.18...Mt. Wilson (AZ) w/Kasie. 10.5 miles, 3,500’ gain in 6:15hr. Up and Over. Up the West side/down the East side. “Go big or go home!”...I’ve wanted this beauty for a long time. It’s so prominent in our local horizon. Kasie had done it before so I asked her to take me. We decided we wanted a unique tour so we staged a veh the day prior and set off at the crack of dawn. This route is so rugged and beautiful, it took my breath away! The 360 views were like none I’ve ever experienced in our area." — paula.raimondi • Nov 17, 2018

"Surprised at how rough Black Joe Mine Rd. was. Made it with a Forester but definitely needed the AWD. Started up the W Ridge at 6 AM and summited at about 8. Amazing views of Lake Meade and Vegas. Complete TR: https://themtsarecalling.com/wilson/" — Christopher • May 12, 2018

"Stopped scrambling for a little while and am currently getting myself antiquated with it. I did good with the scrambling on this hike. I still have other areas to improve on but I'm aware of those areas and am willing to push to get better. It was a chilly but nice day. Love the people I went with. Glad to bag another LVMC 50." — MelsTravels • Dec 27, 2014

"Great Afternoon Hike to this Peak, although a bit windy and Route finding is not always easy, not a clear marked path, follow the wash as much as you can till reaching the Ridge line, A few cairns will show up on the upper path. " — Nuernberger • Mar 26, 2014