It is about 6,900 feet of total ascent from the Romero
Canyon trailhead in Catalina State Park to the Summit of Mount Lemmon. There
are 5,280 feet in one mile. Thus, this is a 1.3 mile hike, vertically speaking
(6,900/5280 = 1.3 miles). Horizontally, it was about 13 miles.
The hike starts up Romero Canyon, past Romero Pools, up to Romero pass. Then, at the trail junction with the West Fork Sabino Canyon Trail/Mt Lemmon trial, we went north, joining the Arizona Trail Route.
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| View from a large rock outcropping high above Romero Canyon, just south out the junction between Mt Lemmon Trail and Wilderness of Rocks Junction. This is where we stopped for lunch. I would try to bypass Romero Pass as a lunch spot, because the brutality of the climb between Romero Pass and this point might make the food just slosh around in your stomach. We opted instead for a short snack break at Romero Pass and a later lunch here. The sandy ribbon at the base of the canyon is the CDO Wash, which is the wash you cross at the very beginning of the Romero Canyon Trail |
To do it, we shuttled a car up to the top and left it at the
trailhead above ski valley, near the summit of Mt Lemmon on Friday after work.
Then, on Saturday morning we drove to Catalina State park and started our hike.
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| Climbing higher, you get view of Baboquivari in the distance, Pusch Ridge and Wasson in the foreground. |
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| Still higher, there are views over Sabino Canyon to the Rincons, with Miller Peak and the Huachucas in the distance. |
The trail climbs steadily, with the steepest section starting about ½ mile below Romero
Pass and for about 2 miles after Romero pass.
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| Views North, towards Globe |
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| Still higher, near the Mount Lemmon Summit |
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We did this one with my BFF hiking buddy Kevin, and it was
everything you would think: continual uphill climbing with progressively more
expansive views. If you are as crazy as us and want to do it, I would recommend finishing along the meadow
trail (there are two options for the last .8 mile near the summit). This way
takes you through the giant trees of the north face and remarkably green
meadows and is one of the few flat portions of the trail making it a rewarding
home stretch cool down.
We attempted to stand on the actual summit of Mount Lemmon. Sadly, the area is fenced off with posted No Trespassing Signs courtesy of the U of A.
Very impressive! What fun.
ReplyDeleteFYI, I've been to the summit and did not have to violate any no trespassing signs. Unless it has changed... we were able to stay outside of the observatory fences the whole way.
To get to the summit we went to the main gate of the observatory and then then turned right, into the fern forest. There is an overgrown footpath. You follow that path around the perimeter, and it curves to the left to follow the fence line. There are lots of cool signs from when it was a top secret air force base saying "secret area, stay out" etc, but the fence isn't maintained and it's lying on the ground in many places.
The path is heavily "ferned" and it goes over some steep scrambles, but it's fairly easy to navigate. The summit is outside of the observatory's property, and you will see their secret back gate.
I highly recommend continuing the hike around the perimeter, after you enjoy the summit. At this point you will be bushwhacking, but I saw the most lush and dense forest I've even seen in the Catalinas. It's so dense that it's a little difficult to navigate, but it's very beautiful. You also get to see a bit more of the old base from the outside.