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Jan 24, 2016 — First Creek Canyon is a great introduction to the bigger canyons of Red Rock. It's the least technical and most traveled, but still has lots of wonderful features. The route described/pictured below is the approach to Mount Wilson via First Creek Canyon. This hike has become a bit more popular within the last few years, resulting in lots of cairns and a social trail to aid in gaining the summit. For a slightly more intense day to get to Mount Wilson, you can hike via Oak Creek Canyon (the canyon just north), or make the day extra fun and do the hike using both Oak Creek and First Creek canyons as a loop.
From the First Creek Trailhead, I followed the popular First Creek Trail to the mouth of the canyon. I dropped to the right into the drainage and continued on Class 2/3 boulder-hopping and scrambling as I made my way up the canyon. There are some tougher moves to deal with on the many rock obstacles. It might be tempting to take one of the many social trails that lead away from the drainage, but most of these are either climber trails leading to a technical route or just end in a bushwack. The drainage is definitely bouldery, but I find every time that I do this route that it's the best option. There's even one section where a trail leaves the drainage on awful terrain and avoids a very fun rabbit hole squeeze. So stick to the drainage, it's an adult playground!
I kept right at a major fork about halfway up First Creek Canyon. Otherwise it's hard to get too lost because there's pretty much only one way to go, up-canyon. There are plenty more obstacles, and then some slabby slickrock sections start popping in. Eventually I made it to the head of First Creek Canyon where it became slightly more brushy, but a social trail led through any unpleasantness. The social trail continued up the sandstone and/or dirt slope as the landscape transitioned from sandstone to limestone, the Keystone Thrust. I found myself along the west ridge of Mount Wilson, which I followed east on Class 2 sandstone to a false summit of the peak before reaching the true summit and its amazing views.
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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!
