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| Hiking | 9.20 Miles |
2,750 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.20 Miles | 6 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.42 mph |
| 2,750 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | 9 of us did this route on Tuesday Jun 5, 2018. It was over 100 in Tucson but got up to "only" around 80 on the trail. But, at 9,000' up the sun beats down even more than in Tucson, so be prepared! The other initial note is that I clocked just over 9 miles on my GPS, with about 2750 AEG, this is more than the description says. That said, this is a beautiful, not much used, loop from the very top of Mt Lemmon. We took the following route, from the Picnic area at the top end of Ski Run Rd:
- Lemmon Trail, with a small side strip to the lookout cabin (which was closed as this is fire season)
- Sutherland Trail
- Samaniego Ridge trail
- Canada del Oro trail
- CDO shortcut trail (cuts over to Samaniego Ridge trail)
- Samaniego Ridge trail
- Sutherland, Lemmon trails
- Meadow trail
All trails but CDO Shortcut are well maintained and easy to follow. CDO shortcut looked little used but wasn't overgrown and fairly easy to follow as long as you're paying attention! All of the trail junctions are signposted, so it's hard to take a wrong turn. However, the sign at the junction of CDO and CDO Shortcut has been defaced. The title is fine ("CDO Shortcut Tr. #4A") is fine, but the top line, directing you to turn left for Samaniego Ridge trail, has been completely scratched out. Given the unused looking state of the trail, at first I thought this was intentional and that the FS had discontinued that trail - not realising what it was. If you continue on, the CDO trail heads down hill and was obviously not what we wanted. You need to take a left at the defaced sign and follow the faint trail for about 0.3 miles over to Samaniego Ridge trail. The sign at that end is fine. Turn left again (uphill) and follow the trail back to the CDO junction. This section of the trail is also not well maintained, so pay attention not to get sucked off onto an animal track.
The other signpost that's a bit confusing is the junction of Sutherland and Samaniego Ridge trails. The Sutherland trail here looks unused and faint. The sign, which is a few feet on from the junction, is titled "Samaniego Ridge Tr. #7", and the only indication for the Sutherland trail is a line saying "Catalina State Park Bndry. 7.3".
To quote the Grand Canyon warnings, "Down is optional, Up is mandatory" - this loop drops about 2000' from its high point at the parking area (just over 9100') to a low point of about 7180' near Shovel Spring, which is near the junction of CDO and CDO Shortcut trails). There are a couple of up-and-down sections, so the AEG is greater. There are a few steep, rocky sections with no shade, overall this is a pretty tough hike, deceptively so as it starts out downhill.
There are a couple of stands of New Mexico Locust trees on the route, in flower for us - as the book says, the showiest flowers on the mountain! I also found a Yellow Salsify gone to seed - a puffball like a giant dandelion, very cool.
On the way back we took Meadow Trail, which I think is much nicer than Lemmon trail, winding through a nice stand of pines. The well known huge one fell over a few years back, and the trail now switchbacks around the fallen trunk.
Overall this is a lovely 9 mile double loop, with a good cardio workout getting back - I can't believe I waited five years to do it for the second time! We started hiking around 7:30am and finished about 1:45, and even though the temperature wasn't that high, it felt really warm on the exposed sections - bring more water than you think you need! Shade and a cool breeze really helps, but at that elevation the sun beats down ferociously. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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Route Editor
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They followed me back up to the top. The route was decently clear to follow with only a couple of spots on the CDO that are truly overgrown. Lindy and I made quick work of the hike, enjoying the fall color along the way.
The campsite below the spring looks like a nice overnight spot, too, with places for tents and hammocks.
