Mountains May be Larger than they Appear; Tanque Verde Ridge to ManningCamp Backpack

Mountains May be Larger than they Appear; Tanque Verde Ridge to Manning Camp Backpack

We did this four day, three night backpacking trip on the last weekend in March 2016. The Tanque Verde Rigde trail starts low in classic Sonoran Desert, on the west face of the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson. The Rincons consist of three main mountains: Mica Mountain, on the northeast, is a dome shaped mountain; Tanque Verde Peak, about 8 miles in the foreground, essentially blends in to the view of Mica mountain as observed from the Tucson vantage point, and Rincon peak, which is more pointed at its summit, which lies far to the south and east of the other two mountains. In total, these mountains don’t appear nearly as impressive as the Santa Catalinas from the perspective of Tucson. The rounded contour would suggest a relatively easy ascent.

As it turns out, the total ascent from the trailhead to the summit is over 7000 feet of elevation gain over 16 miles. The trip starts in low Sonoran Desert and peaks out in thick pine and fir forest at around 8000 feet. At about half way, the trail ascends the 7000 foot Tanque Verde peak, offering panoramic views of Tucson and much of Southern Arizona, but descends another 1500 feet to Cow Head Saddle before resuming the ascent up to Mica Mountain and Manning Camp, requiring the prior 1500 feet be regained prior to adding the additional 1500 feet of gain. 

We hiked seven miles and gained 3000 feet on day one, camping at Juniper Basin. The water source in unreliable, so I unnecessarily carried an extra gallon of water up the mountain, which put my load over 50 pounds for day one.

Camp, at Juniper Basin, night one

At Juniper Basin

Juniper Basin had water. Just below the site was a huge sheet of rock which was carved by water with a stream flowing over, which is where we spent the afternoon and evening. We also had the site completely to ourselves; the most beautiful part of all. I slept about 11 hours.

View from Tanque Verde Peak; Left to Right: Rincon Peak, the Huachucas, Wrightston, Baboquivari, Kitt Peak, Tucson Mountains, Picacho, the Calinas, and the San Pedro River Valley

On day two we climbed further along the trail, which after about 2 ½ miles takes you to the summit of Tanque Verde Peak. While unimpressive from below, the views from Tanque Verde Peak were fantastic, offering views of Mica Mountain, the Chiricahuas, Rincon Peak, the Huachucas and Miller Peak, the Santa Ritas and Wrightston, the Saurita Mountains, Baboquivari, Kitt Peak, the Tucson Mountains, Picacho Peak, the Catalinas, the San Pedro River Valley, and the Galieros. I would rank it among the best in southern Arizona.

The biggest Alligator Juniper I have seen

The experience of climbing this surprisingly large mountain is like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Every time you look up, it seems the summit would be less than a quarter mile away. Relentlessly, when you get to that point, the next layer is revealed. 

Manning Camp

We made it to Manning Camp on the afternoon of day two with another 9 miles and 3100 feet of total ascent down. Manning Camp is a really pretty place surrounded by tall pines and is only reachable as a backpack distance hike from several different entry points. There is a reliable stream. There was one other tent and we did not see the hiker. 

Rincon Peak, viewed from the treeline just below Manning Camp

On day three we hiked to the summit of Mica Mountain, which is a viewless spot. We hiked out to the Northeastern side and enjoyed an expansive view overlooking the San Pedro River Valley. 

Then we  made our way back via the North Ridge Trail, an almost nonexistent route. Briars and fallen trees inflicted significant damage to our cloths and extremities. 

Very large tree, on the north face of Mica Mountin/ seemed juxtaposed from the Sierras

East Tucson and the Catalinas, from the North Ridge of Mica Mountain

The Catalinas/Mount Lemmon in the background, Reddington in the foreground, viewed from the north face of Mica Mountain

We completed the six mile loop as a day hike, returning to Manning Camp for lunch. Then, we descended along the Arizona Trail to Grass Shack, our third camp. There was good flow in the stream there and the more temperate nighttime temperature was nice. Unfortunately, we did not get as much solitude in this third site.

Stream, at Grass Shack

On day four, we hiked the 13.5 miles back to the trailhead, going from Grass Shack back to Cowhead Saddle, over Tanque Verde Peak one more time, and the nine miles down Tanque Verde ridge, experiencing the various elevation zones in reverse order.  The descent the was characterized by stadium-style views, a delayed reward for our toil three days prior.

In all, we hiked about 40 miles with about 10,000 feet of total ascent. I still find it hard to believe this unassuming appearing range was so large. Ironically, the Catalinas looked quite small from the impressively large Rincons. Interestingly, we did not have the time or strength to include the additional 20 miles and 3000 feet required to summit Rincon Peak and back from Manning Camp, a journey which would have to wait for another trip.

During our four days, we heard no motor vehicles, had two out of three camps completely to ourselves, and saw very few other people. This trip was an excellent wilderness experience with plenty of solitude and much more challenging than it would seem to have been judging from the appearance of this dome of a range just east of Tucson.