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| Hiking | 3.50 Miles |
900 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.50 Miles | 2 Hrs | | 1.75 mph |
| 900 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | First time in the Pinalenos, and it hit the spot! Anxious to escape Tucson's oppressive heat, I drove up on the 4th and had to drive through a giant dust storm on the way. The dust storm paid off later, however, and I was treated to a blood-red sunset over the Gailuros. There are lots of free, undeveloped campgrounds on the mountain and I camped at Snow Flat at about 8700ft. Early the next morning I drove up to the Columbine Corral and took the Ash Creek Trail to the Webb Peak Trail. Sometime I will need to come back and hike Ash Creek all the way to the bottom. Not today, I am looking to do short hikes between the monsoon rains this trip. The part of the Ash Creek trail that I was on was mostly wide old roadbed and there were lots of flowers and fungi, some I had never seen before. The trail was along the creekbed and it was pleasant to hear the sound of rushing water. The Webb Peak trail took off to the left, and it too was an old roadbed. This area was burned by the Nuttall Fire and so there are a number of blowdowns, but nothing too complicated. There was a lot of bright yellow Arizona Sneezeweed carpeting areas of the trail, which were photogenic in themselves, but then I came to an area that had black-and-white moths feeding on them. I started taking pictures, and then I saw one flower had a mating pair on it- what a shot! The trail contoured around for a little bit and then it was time for the short climb to Webb Peak. I took the climb slowly, because of the high elevation. As I got closer to the top, there was a lot of exposed rock and moss-covered boulders, very aesthetically pleasing. I saw two turkeys close to the top of the peak, but they ran off before I could get their portrait. When I reached the Webb Peak Lookout at 10,029 feet, I dreaded the climb up and down, but knew the views from the top would pay off. I have always had a problem with precipitous ladders, there is something about them that makes me so uncomfortable, especially when descending. However, my love for an expansive view always overrides the discomfort I feel, so I had to go. I tried to go into the room at the top through the hatch, but had to take my backpack off in order to fit. As I had expected, the views were phenomenal. 360 degrees of beautiful Southern Arizona views from up top. To the west, I loved being able to see the Rincons, Catalinas and the Gailuros from a different perspective. To the northwest was an enticing view of the rocky Santa Teresa Wilderness, somewhere that is definitely on my to-do list. I spent a while enjoying the view, and then very carefully climbed the ladders down. I took the Webb Peak trail one very pleasant mile back to the corral. Just after I left the peak, I saw a big group of turkeys making a ruckus! There was a lot of downed trees in piles along the trail, which was sometimes marked by the old-style blaze cuts on the trees. Not only was this trail fantastic, I don't think it ever got above 75 degrees, I had the trail to myself (on a Wednesday), and I was out in the middle of the day! I was able to complete this hike and get my next campsite at the Clark Peak Corral(also free) set up before it started to rain. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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