Escudilla Mountain Hiking – Alpine, Arizona

Escudilla Mountain was called the inverted bowl by Native Americans because of its unusual shape. It is located at the eastern end of the Mogollon Rim in Arizona in the White Mountains adjacent to New Mexico. The mountain is 4 hours from Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque or Las Cruces. It is in the heart of the Apache National Forest, which is one of the largest National Forests in the country, combined with the adjacent Gila National Forest, the area in square miles is roughly the size of Yellowstone National Park.

The start of the Escudilla mountain trail is at an elevation of approximately 9,400 ‘. You can easily drive to the trailhead and start your hike from there. The trail begins winding through a huge Aspen grove for the first mile, then gradually gains elevation until it reaches a large treeless ridge that is aptly named Profanity Ridge. The next half mile is the steepest part of the trail as you slowly climb Profanity Ridge. Once at the top of the Ridge, the hiker is rewarded with exceptional views of Terry Flat, Mount Baldy, and other landmarks in the area. Then the trail begins a descent to another meadow and then goes back up the meadow. After a short three-quarter mile hike, the trail climbs steeply again for the final push from the summit to the fire watch tower on the summit at 10,877 ‘elevation. The hiker will enjoy the tremendous views to the west of the surrounding mountains and lakes.

Last Wednesday I was lucky enough to guide a good friend with his wife, son and daughter. My friends are there in their early forties and the boys are 11 and 9 respectively. They were not acclimatized to high altitude, so their wind was short, but after an hour and a half they were all able to successfully reach the top of Escudilla Mountain. We were able to complete the entire hike in 3 hours.

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