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| Hiking | 12.50 Miles |
7,050 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.50 Miles | | | |
| 7,050 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | After postponing this one a couple of times, Jim, Brian, and I had a weekend that lined up. Jim and I carpooled to the trailhead at Catalina State Park and started up Romero Canyon Trail amongst the crowds. It was already hot, but I had thankfully packed my hat full of ice, which looked like I was sweating profusely as it melted. Once we reached Romero Pools, we took a break and I had a short swim to cool off. I discovered the filter cartridge for my water filter was barely dripping, not a good sign considering that we were counting on it for a refill.
We continued up Romero Canyon, soon leaving the crowds behind, noting the healthy flow of the creek, the leafed-out trees, and patches of colorful Parry’s penstemon. The waterfall in the upper canyon offered a great lunch spot, and I sat on my water filter bag, eventually forcing out an extra quart of clean water.
Climbing up to Romero Pass and the big granite slabs at hill 7535’ was a butt kicker, but the views were great. What I would call the hard part was now over, and we met Brian, who had driven to the top of Mount Lemmon and had hiked down to meet us at one of the slab overlooks. Brian had brought us Gatorade, and we took a nice long break, looking down onto Catalina State Park and the huge climb that we had already completed.
Our trio continued on, passing Wilderness of Rocks and gradually ascending Mount Lemmon’s southwest ridge. Granite knobs, pine forest, and much cooler temps were very welcome. Snow drifts and a sinking sun greeted us as we passed the turn off for Meadow Trail.
After a stop to refill our water supplies at Quartzite Spring’s firehose-like flow, we made the final push to the summit parking lot in the chilly evening air. We walked up to the Steward Observatory gate to officially reach the summit of Lemmon, and then we walked back down among the deep snow drifts to Brian’s van to begin the drive back to Tucson. We were all pretty spent, and Burger King never tasted so good.
Nice to have finally done this big hike. This is now the most AEG I have done in one day, just slightly edging out Mount Whitney. A tough one, but a great hike. Thanks guys! |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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| "…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan |
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