Walker Basin #136

This is a little-used trail that offers access to the more remote southeastern slopes and foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains. It climbs out of cool, green Walker Basin to a junction with the Gardner Trail #143 about a quarter of the distance between that trail’s inception and its intersection with the Super Trail #134 high on the slopes of Mt. Wrightson. Along the way, the Walker Basin Trail offers views off to the east down Big Casa Blanca Canyon and west to the summits of Mt. Josephine and Mt. Wrightson. Part of the trail in this area follows an old ditch, so the path is about as level as you will find. Hikers and horsebackers use the Walker Basin Trail to provide alternate access into Gardner Canyon. It is also used as part of a couple of long and interesting trail loops. One of those loops starts out on the Walker Basin Trail, then follows portions of the Gardner Trail #143 and the Super Trail #134 to get to Josephine Saddle. It then follows the Temporal Gulch Trail #595 and the road between the Temporal Gulch and Walker Basin trailheads back to the starting point. For an extremely long day, or even a two or three day trip, you might consider a route up and out of Madera Canyon via Old Baldy #372 or Super Trail #134 and the loop described above. Another interesting loop that tours several old water developments used when this area was heavily mined incorporates the Walker Basin Trail, FR 785, the Ditch Mountain Trail #137 and part of Big Casa Blanca Canyon.

Map

At a Glance