History of the Four Peaks Wilderness
Photo Credit: Cameron Davis
This Wilderness was established in 1984, and contains approximately 60,740 acres with a major mountain rising up in its center from the desert foothills. The Four Peaks themselves are visible for many miles, and are one of the most widely recognized landmarks in central Arizona. The rapid change in elevation produces interesting and unique plant and animal communities. Elevations range from 1,900 feet near Apache Lake to 7,600 feet on Brown's Peak.
The highlands are covered with Ponderosa pines and some Douglas firs. There's even a few aspen on the north side of Brown's Peak. Below that you'll find dense thickets of pinon, manzanita and Gambel oak. Below that the grasslandsblend into the ocotillo, cholla, saguaro and paloverde growth of typical Sonoran Desert countryside. Canyons that hold water flows often are shaded with sycamores and cottonwoods.
The bulk rock of the uplands in Four Peaks Wilderness is made up of Precambrian granite and schists, although the sheer rock faces of the peaks themselves are a cap of Precambrian quartzite and shale. This rock is all clearly exposed in Cottonwood and Boulder Canyons and along Buckhorn Ridge. South of the main peaks themselves (and rising above Apache Reservoir) you'll find the Painted Cliffs: a zone of layered ash flows and volcanic tuffs deposited during the Cenozoic age. That makes the time difference between deposition of the volcanic materials and the solidifying of the underlying igneous/metamorphic rock between 2 and 3 billion years...
As hard as it is to get around in this broken and incised countryside, back in the mining days there were several roads cut into these mountains. Some of them are still in use as hiking trails. A large fire in 1996 burned off a large portion of this property and formerly treed areas still haven't recovered. This area is pretty dense with the black bears but you'll also find skunks, ring-tailed cats, deer, javelinas, mountain lions and coyotes. You'll also want to look out for centipedes, millipedes, black widow spiders, scorpions and rattlesnakes.
Visits to some parts of this wilderness can be made throughout the year, using a rather extensive trail system. A Recreation Opportunity Guide (20 pages) is available which gives directions to trailheads and describes each trail. Copies are available from the Mesa Ranger Station.
Legend has it that Jacob Waltz (Arizona's famous "Lost Dutchman") traveled through the Four Peaks Wilderness area to shake off any would-be followers who might be seeking his legendary gold mine in the Superstition Mountains.
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