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| Hiking | 12.33 Miles |
4,528 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.33 Miles | 6 Hrs 49 Mns | | 1.96 mph |
| 4,528 ft AEG | 32 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I'd originally planned on hiking Rattlesnake Peak on the first day of the trip, but after getting stitches two days prior, I switched it to the last day to give myself a little more healing time. Still, setting out this morning I had serious doubts about Rattlesnake--six miles of bushwhacking through thick brush sounded like a great way to tear the stitches out no matter how carefully I bandaged...and despite recent recommendations [ photo ] , I wasn't carrying any WOUND CLOT  . So I was leaning toward staying on Esperero most of the day and doing a short off-trail spur to Mt. Miguel, but I wanted to at least take a look at the Rattlesnake route.
The Sabino Canyon lot was slowly filling up when I started out ~6:45AM...looked like a lot of retirees out for morning walks. I passed a few deer on Esperero on the way to the exit point for Rattlesnake. I decided to at least give the beginning of the off-trail part a shot and try to get up on the ridge so I could get a better look at the route. The brush got thick quickly--lots of cacti, palo verde, and tangled branches, and I was careful to minimize contact with my bandaged shin. The first three-tenths to half mile after leaving the trail were rough, and I considered giving up on Rattlesnake and heading back to the trail multiple times as I scrambled up through the brush, thinking this was probably a stupid idea, but I really wanted to at least get up on the first ridge.
Once I was there, the brush opened up a little, the route flattened out some, and I had a better view of what was ahead...and it didn't look too bad, so I went a little farther. That trend continued for a while: "This isn't so bad...I'll keep going." At some point, I was far enough in and could see enough of the route that I decided to just go for the peak. The approach was straightforward, following the ridgeline that divides Bird Canyon on the west and Rattlesnake Canyon on the east. My biggest concern going in was brush, and though there was plenty of it, it was mostly shorter grasses after that initial climb through the cacti, so I wasn't constantly guarding my shin from branches.
Parts of the ridgeline were downright pleasant, with a relatively gentle incline through the thick grass. Interspersed among those easier stretches were detours side-hilling around rock outcroppings that slowed things down. I stayed on the west side of each one along the ridge, including hill/knob 5085. As I closed within a mile of the peak, I could tell from the distance and elevation remaining that the true peak must still be out of view, and that proved to be true.
The route became much steeper over the last half mile, and the final three-tenths felt very long. I stayed on the east side of the final ridge approaching the peak, it was steep, brushy side-hilling and very slow, but I got up in a little over three hours, and the summit made it worthwhile. I didn't take any significant breaks on the way up and was drenched in sweat long before I reached the peak--the bill of my hat was dripping, my shirt didn't have a dry spot, and the top third of my shorts were soaked. It felt great to finally ditch the pack, eat something, and dry off a little.
[ youtube video ]
Great views from the summit of the other Catalina peaks and the deep canyons down below, and cool to look down the ridgeline I'd come up...from a distance, it always looks so simple. I didn't find a register on top, only two ancient-looking plastic bottles buried under rocks that that still had water inside.
I eventually packed up and started the steep descent, following the ridgeline back the same way through the grass and obstacles. Back on Esperero, I considered going up to Mt. Miguel but decided to save that for another day because I needed to be back in Phoenix at a decent time, but I did take a quick detour on Rattlesnake Trail. Not much to see there, but I refilled my water at the tram stop and then hiked back to Esperero and was back at the trailhead ~1:30PM. Another warm day, ~90° when I finished.
Fun way to end the brief Tour de Tucson, and a very different hike from the previous days'--shorter but much bushwhackier. Overall, I ended up with fewer scratches than I expected...the first and last third of a mile on the off-trail portion were the toughest, but following the ridgeline was less brushy than I'd expected, and I never took the gloves or clippers out. Best of all, the stitches remained intact . |
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Trickle of water downstream from the spring
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