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The route described assumes the difficult Class 4/5 section has a static line in place (last major obstacle in Oak Creek Canyon). The route would be considerably more difficult due to this move if this line is not there. Go into this hike knowing there's a chance of that happening - static lines are no guarantee, and also might be in poor shape and shouldn't be used.
Feb 22, 2016 — About a month before completing this hike with a couple of friends, I summited Mount Wilson via First Creek Canyon. That route was a bit less interesting, but still gorgeous. Oak Creek Canyon is stunning: a trickle of water follows you throughout most of the hike at certain times of the year, fun scrambles and rope placement make for some interesting obstacles, and the canyon's colors and lighting changes completely as the sun makes its way across the sky. Though not easy, the hike is pleasant and brings you to one of the major sandstone peaks in Red Rock Canyon. You could make the day extra fun and do the hike using both Oak Creek and First Creek canyons as a loop.
Many choose to enter Oak Creek Canyon from the northern Oak Creek Trail, which requires you drive through the entire 13-mile scenic drive. However, I recommend skipping the scenic drive and parking at the Middle Oak Creek Trailhead instead of the northern one. We followed the well-traveled trail into the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon, where we stopped seeing other hikers. From within the canyon, it's fairly obvious that you need to continue up the canyon, so getting lost likely shouldn't be an issue. When it forks for the first time keep left, but the second time keep right. The second might not be as obvious since Mount Wilson's cliffs are visible high up on the left, but taking the canyon to the left at the second fork would cliff you out. Other obstacles in the canyon include a couple of Class 3 sections that avoid waterfalls. There is one waterfall that had a rope in place on my first visit, but not on the second. This resulted in a set of Class 3 moves on the right to avoid the obstacle. The second major fall that has poorly placed cairns leading you to the right, avoiding the fall. It's a slightly precarious obstacle on the side of the canyon that eventually brings you back to the drainage above the obstacle. You have the option of staying low and pulling a somewhat exposed Class 3 move, or going higher up and route-finding to keep the route a bit easier.
Another third major obstacle that would likely require some gear, or at the very least a strong will, is found just before ascending out of Oak Creek Canyon. Luckily there was a static rope in place, making things significantly easier than climbing up around the waterfall. Not having this rope would require some Class 4/5 difficulty trying to route-find, and you might want to consider this as a day-ender if the rope isn't available. After this obstacle, we headed to the left out of Oak Creek Canyon and continued up a ridiculously beautiful amphitheater-like feature that leads up slickrock ledges to the base of a pinnacle. We passed this pinnacle on the left and continued in a small dry creekbed for a short time to its head. Mount Wilson appeared in the distance, requiring some light side-hilling and ascending to get to the peak's west ridge. Class 2 sandstone following ample cairns led to a false summit, followed by a small dip to get up to the true summit.
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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!
