I planned this as through hike. There are two routes to Wilson Mt. I parked my truck at the TH for the North Wilson Mt. Trail and road my bike to the south trail with parking at Midgley Bridge. This trail is called the Wilson Mt. Peak Trail. The southern route has a lot of exposure, so this time of year it’s best to start early. The North Wilson Mt. Trail has more shaded area, especially at the lower levels when you’re in a small canyon with many trees. This, and a few other factors,  led to my decision to hike south to north. There were some monsoon storms the night prior, so the air temperature was cool early in the morning, the humidity was quite high. Overall, the trail is well travelled,  well maintained and easy to follow. Down low, the trail was surprisingly dry, however after about 1.5 miles and almost 600 feet of elevation gain, mud became a sporadic problem. The mud here is silt from red sandstone. It is extremely sticky, adhering to the soles of your shoes and is very slippery as well. Fortunately, there are plenty of rocks along the way where you can scrape the mud off. After about the 3 mile mark, the terrain changed somewhat, being more rocky and the soil having a different consistency. Upon reaching a point near the top of the climb, there is a sign noting that the Sedona Overlook is to the left, and the Canyon Overlook to the right (north). I went south and was rewarded with majestic views of Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek, and the Verde Valley. The breeze was fairly strong, the air was drier and cooler, so it was a very nice break from the warm, humid ascent. From the Overlook, I bushwacked my may to both of the Wilson Mt. summits depicted on the map. Satisfying myself that I had reached the actual highest elevation of Wilson Mountain, I retraced my steps down to the trail junction with the North Wilson Mt. Trail and descended to the Encinoso Picnic Area where I had parked. This trail is also in good condition, and is easy to follow. I was expecting it to be more muddy and slippery, but the footing was quite stable.

In summary, I found this to be a moderately challenging trail with significant elevation gain, of about 2500 feet. The views at the top are phenomenal, even with cloud cover and some haze in the air.