Introduction
The United States Congress designated the Escudilla Wilderness (
map) in 1984 and it now has a total of
5,200 acres.
All of this wilderness is located in
Arizona and is managed by the Forest Service.
Description
***Notice** - Most of the Escudilla Wilderness was severely affected by the Wallow Fire of June 2011. Standing burned, dead trees are prevalent along most of the trails and across the landscape. The lookout tower was also damaged, and is currently closed to access for safety concerns. Before visiting the area, please contact the Alpine Ranger District for current conditions. Please keep in mind that any area affected by the wildfire can be prone to hazards such as falling trees, flooding and burned out stump holes. The environment you are entering is highly susceptible to rainstorms and wind events. Any time you enter the wilderness, you should be aware of your environment and changing weather conditions. You are responsible for your own safety! Always look up, look down, and look all around. You can see towering Escudilla Mountain from just about anywhere in eastern Arizona, even as far away as Petrified Forest National Park. The Escudilla Wilderness encompasses the upper reaches of the mountain, which at 10,912 feet is the third highest in the state. Escudilla was the mountain that Aldo Leopold referred to in his Sand County Almanac essay "Thinking Like a Mountain", where he arrived at the side of a wolf he had shot "in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes," an experience that would haunt him for the rest of his life, and deeply affected the development of his later views on wilderness preservation and wildlife management. In another Sand County Almanac essay, aptly titled "Escudilla," Leopold wrote of the killing of the last known grizzly bear in Arizona on the mountain. "Somehow it seems that the spirit of the bear is still there, ¿ he wrote, ¿prowling the huge meadows, lurking in the thick stands of aspen and spruce, wandering the steep slopes that looking down from is like looking out of the window of an airplane." The Escudilla Wilderness recently experienced a drastic change in natural conditions - the Wallow Fire of June 2011 severely burned over much of the wilderness. However, the wilderness is already renewing itself, with thickets of aspen already regenerating among the burned trunks of the mixed conifers consumed in the fire. The food provided by this new aspen growth is a boon to wildlife, particularly the large herds of elk living on the mountain. Over time, this cycle of the forest will repeat itself once again, with the mature aspen eventually giving way to encroachment by the conifer species. Two trails give access to Escudilla Wilderness. The three-mile, maintained Escudilla National Recreation Trail #308 approaches the summit from the Terry Flat Loop Road and leads to a fire lookout tower, currently closed to the public due to safety concerns following the Wallow Fire. The Government Trail #119 starts at the base of the mountain and also climbs to the summit as it ascends Profanity Ridge. You will find little water along these trails, but views that may reach 100 miles away.
