2018 Tuscon Mt Lemon and Saguaro Nation Park East

Monday, March 26, 2018

For our last full day in Tucson, we drove up Mt. Lemon and toured the Saguaro National Park, East.  After doing the Apache Pass and South Mountain Park in Phoenix (narrow, not necessarily paved, no shoulders and steep drop offs) Leonard wasn't sure he wanted to tackle another 25 miles one way.  No worries. It was a well paved, with wide shoulders, view turnoffs, passing pull outs, and some fantastic views.  Well worth the trip!

 Thimble Peak Vista on the way up Mt Lemon -  Thimble Peak at the top left (High Resolution Photo)

Balanced rocks by Windy Point Vista

Since we stopped at most of the scenic overlooks, it took a while to get to the top.  The change in temperature and habitat was amazing - we'd gone from an arid desert climate to that of the western Canadian border featuring Douglas fir rather than saguaro.  We stopped at Sommerhaven, a small resort town by the ski slopes, and in our case, the end of the road since the gate was closed to the slopes.  The gift shop had a bird feeder an interesting variety of hungry birds.  Our splurge was a fresh, plate sized, still warm cookie from the bakery/deli next door - we were asked if we needed a bag or planned to demolish it in one sitting.  While it would have been easy to do (the gal said folks frequently do), part of it made it to dessert.

Female acorn woodpecker

Yellow-eyed junco

Full Scale Panorama further up the mountain- Tuscon is in the distance
(High Resolution Photo)

We had planned to do a hike on the mountain, but lacked a detailed trail map.  The ranger's station, almost at the top, had trail maps for sale, and while we were allowed to take a picture of the no longer published free trail map, the chilly wind, steep slopes and remnants of the last snow fall was enough of a deterrent. We enjoyed the views and stopped at one of the lower camping grounds for lunch before heading to the Saguaro East - Rincon Mountain District.

Gate on the road to the ski area

Rock formation as we head down

The Rincon Mountain District East, more than twice the size of the Tucson Mountain District West has an 8 mile loop drive with numerous hiking trails through the desert and the Tanque Verde ridge trail up Mica Mountain, an 8,666' peak. We chose to link a series of trails for a 5 mile hike, with little elevation change, on the desert floor. While it was an interesting hike, we were disappointed to see little wild life.  We completed the 8 mile loop road before heading back into to town.

Cactus Forest Trail in Saguaro East - Rincon Mountain District

Moon rising over the Rincon Mountains from Cactus Forest Trail

While the temperature was forecast to reach 70F in town, at 8000' it had been in the 50's.  Note this was the first day on the trip that 70 was even mentioned in a forecast.  After a week with a lot of clouds, the skies cleared, giving us sunny but cooler than normal temperatures. We weren't complaining, it's easier to put on a jacket than swelter in the heat, especially if we're hiking,although we wondered why we packed shorts.

Full Scale Late afternoon panorama at Saguaro East
(High Resolution Photo)