What's the Password?

I pulled up to the Dove Mountain Ritz Carlton guard shack in my dusty 2020 Dodge Ram. The guard came out wearing a frown and carrying a clipboard with a list of approved guests and hired help.  He was pretty sure that I didn't belong.  I rolled down the window and greeted him with a smile.  "Wild Burro Trail," I said.  He looked crestfallen and then motioned us through.  "You two have a good day," he managed.  

The Wild Burro Trailhead is technically on land owned by the Town of Marana Parks and Recreation Department.  The only way to get there is through the property of the Ritz.  We hiked Wild Burro once before, but yesterday we had a more ambitious hike in mind.  Wild Burro is an easy 3 mile trail that mostly follows a flat wash.  We chose the moderate Wild Burro Spur and Alamo Springs Loop, which is about a 6 mile hike, scrambling up and down the Tortolita Mountains.

We started out on the Wild Burro Trail but quickly joined Alamo Springs which gradually ascended to the tallest peaks in the area.  It was a hot day, and we quickly were down to shorts and short-sleeves.  

This is an area frequented by mountain lions, bobcats, javelina, and snakes.  However, the only wildlife we saw that day were plants and birds.

The rocky trail consists mostly of 600 million years or older granite.  Nothing like rock aging to make one feel inconsequential.  

There was no password required to leave the Ritz property.  We did not stop at the bar for a $13 IPA.

Visitor Season Continues

Julia's brother and sister are with us this week.  They've been doing all of the tourist things. Tombstone today, the Desert Museum tomorrow.  

Tonight, they were enjoying the neighborhood pool and hot tub when I got a call from Julia as to what to do about a rattlesnake.  I told them to just leave it alone.  I ran over there to make sure that no one was doing anything foolish, and the snake was moving at a slow slither, eventually through the fence and back into the desert. 

I guess winter must be over here.  Time to wear my headlamp when taking the dog out again at night.

Hugh Norris Trail to Wasson Peak

We made it to the Hugh Norris Trailhead about 7:15 a.m.   The sun was hidden on the other side of the Tucson mountains, but there was enough light to get going. Alltrails suggests that this trail is 9.2 miles with a 2404' elevation gain; however, we made it a little harder than it needed to be 

This trail was recommended to us by a couple that we met while completing the Finger Rock Trail on Mount Lemmon.  It was an excellent recommendation. This trail starts by climbing up well-maintained switchbacks and then along a ridge that climbs and climbs and climbs.

 

For the first hour, we were in the pleasant shade while still being able to see the sunrise off in the distance.  As we climbed higher, conditions became quite windy.  Also, we eventually began seeing wildflowers.  

 

We kept seeing higher and higher peaks as we climbed.  Usually the trail wound around the peaks, but we were left to wonder what might actually be the final peak.  There were a lot of false summits.  Eventually, we made it to the top. There were no higher peaks.

On the way down, I inadvertently got off on our trail toward a different trailhead.  Julia was not a happy hiker.  I tried to tell her that it was an opportunity to explore the Sendero Esperanza Trail (which we were accidentally on), but she was not amused.  We had to backtrack (all uphill) and wound up hiking 11.3 miles with an elevation gain of 2818 feet.  Her mood mostly recovered by the time we reached the car.  A late lunch at our favorite Greek restaurant and a pint of IPA brought her mood back.

Visitor Season

Visitor Season has commenced.  My mother spent a week here in Oro Valley during mid-January.  For 86-years-old, she is doing amazing.  We took her to the Sonoran Desert Museum, Tohono Chul, Whitewater Draw, and Bisbee.  We also fed her more Sonoran Mexican food than she has probably had in her lifetime.  Except for one day of rain on the way back to the airport, we had great weather for her visit.  And no, my Mom is not slamming margaritas, but Julia thought it was quite funny to place a large margarita in front of my non-drinking mother.  Well, it was kinda funny.

We have a couple of weeks without visitors, and then Julia's brother and sister arrive separately in the next wave.  We've been busy during the lull, but I'll save that for another blog post.

Maiden Pools via Ventana Trail

 It's a drizzly, cool, and cloudy day in Tucson.  Starting temperature was 46 degrees.

Julia and I got up at 5:30 a.m. this morning, had a quick coffee and were to the trailhead by 7 a.m.  It was still pretty dark as we left the parking lot behind the Ventana Canyon Resort.  The first mile took us past the rich people's estates.  The trail was a narrow corridor with barb wire fence warning of the consequences of trespassing, but soon we began winding up through the canyon.

The trail passed back and forth across a dry wash. Huge saguaros rose up along both sides of the trail with closer prickly pair and pencil cactus leaning in to catch our clothing if we weren't careful.  

After the first mile, we rose high enough to catch nice views of Tucson below.

Until today, there hasn't been much rain here lately, so the first"pools" were small and algae-covered.  The Maiden Pools are actually an underground stream which rise to the surface in several locations on this trail.  After the first mile or two, the trail climbed steeply via sharp switchbacks, and the terrain changed to tall grasses and shrubs, leaving most of the cacti below.  The pool below was the largest of the ones that we saw.

By the time we reached this pool, the sprinkles had started.  We hung out above the pools for a few minutes to eat our snacks.

Then the drizzle picked up, which had two effects for the rocky trail.  The water brought out beautiful colors in the rocks, especially deep red, which Julia mistakenly took as blood or ketchup at first glance.  Second, the bare rock became slippery as pig snot, which resulted in a very slow walk back to the trailhead in the rain.

No blood was spilled on the way down, and we made it to the truck.  Total distance was 5.6 miles.  Elevation gain of 1335 ft.  And a leisurely 3 hours and 20 minutes for a hike that turned wet and cool. We rewarded ourselves with a late breakfast at Victoria's Cocina Mexicana on the way home.  A little pricey but so good.

Happy Medicare Day!

Pima Canyon

 Happy New Year!

We are in the midst of chaos with Allie and her four friends taking up residence for a week in our downsized home.  All of the bedrooms and bathrooms are full, and there's a young woman sleeping on the couch in the living room also.  They've been having a good time.  Yesterday was a trip to Saguaro West and to the Desert Museum.  Today, they are off on a trail at Sabino Canyon.  

New Year's Eve

Whew, Medicare is here!  I really hated the high-deducible Obamacare plan last year, which wasn't really health insurance.  It was catastrophic health event insurance with a $7500 deductible for each of us.  This year, we will pay a little more, but with a lot more actual health benefits, including some basic gym memberships that come with our supplement plan.  

Tomorrow, I'm supposed to have a Leer Truck topper installed.  I hope to take advantage of that to do some camping in more remote regions than I could with the now-sold Scamp.  Still deciding on how basic I want the build-out to be.  I can always start out with the lazy way (cot and gear) and add as I go.  

Merry Christmas 2025

 That sounds better than *cough, cough* A Sickly Christmas.  

Julia thinks I've gotten her sick too so I'm not getting any pity from her.  I'm muddling along but still managing to have some good family fun.  

Finger Rock

Just so my readers don't think I'm sitting in a rocking chair on my front porch, looking at the mountains all day, Julia and I headed out before sunrise for a challenging and beautiful hike in the Catalinas this morning.

This hike on Alltrails is called "Finger Rock, Pontatoc Connector and Pontatoc Loop.   We arrived at the trailhead parking lot at 7 a.m.  There are some really fancy houses near the trailhead.  We were thankful that their "back yard" (the Coronado National Forest) is still free to the public for outdoor enjoyment.

Alltrails has some good advice on this loop.  It's best hiked clockwise, especially for us early-starters. Most of the hike was in the cool shade of the canyon, and we finished the hard part first.  The Finger Rock section is gradual for about the first mile but quickly steepens and involves scrambling on rocks with hands and feet for the next two miles.

Cool Shadows of Canyon at Sunrise

After a couple of hours, things began heating up, both in temperature and trail difficulty.  

This is a hike where there are views everywhere one looks.

From the top of the trail

From here, there is a new Pontatoc connector trail which was absolutely beautiful (and fairly flat at the top).  Then it was the Pontatoc loop which brought us back to the initial trailhead (and later to the Tucson Hop Shop.

Hazy IPA and Oatmeal Stout (nitro tap)

The Catalinas at Sunset

 

It's a great time to be in Tucson with high temps in the 70's and low temps in the low 50's.  All it takes is this view from our front porch tonight to remind me why we moved here.  

Visitor season is approaching.  Allie arrives in ten days and will stay for two weeks, working remotely.  After that, there will be a steady stream of friends and family through April.  Next month, my shell for the Dodge Ram should be delivered.  I plan to do some rough "truck camping" in the desert this winter.  

Hail no!

 We've really been enjoying the change of the weather with one exception.  Nights have been around 40 degrees, while days are generally in the upper 60's and 70's.  We did get one day of rain with over an inch--that's a lot in the desert.  And there was this unexpected storm that lasted about 20 minutes and left our side yard looking more like Wisconsin at Christmas.

It doesn't look like much; this white plastic bucket took the brunt of marble-sized hail.

No damage to the clay roof--that we know of.  

Bear Wallow, Etc.

 Julia has been bugging me to take her somewhere there is some fall color, so we headed up to Mount Lemmon yesterday.   It takes about 90 minutes to drive up towards the top of the mountain, where temperatures are usually about 15 degrees cooler at about 9000 feet elevation.  

It was a beautiful Arizona day.  Not a cloud in the sky.  

We parked next to a ticketed automobile at this vista on the way up for a bathroom break.  When I looked at the ticket taped to the outside window of the vehicle, the ticket indicated 72 hours abandoned.  Before we left, a three vehicle crew with a stretcher parked the other side of the vehicle and headed off up the mountain.  I hope it wasn't the driver of the car. Couldn't find anything about it in the newspaper.  

The Bear Wallow turnoff is at Mile Marker 22--a few miles from Summerhaven.  From Mile Marker 22, it's a short drive on a dirt road to where we accessed a trail in the Bear Wallow Unit.  We were probably a couple of weeks past peak season, but there were still some golden aspens and reddish maples.

Shortly after joining up with the trail, we encountered an unusual thing in the woods. I think it's some kind of toilet, but it was locked with a padlock.   Anyway, someone went to a lot of trouble to "plaque" the occasion.

When we got home, I looked up the phrase, and it's apparently some kind of weird slang or joke.

From here we followed a number of switchbacks up towards Mount Bigelow, a minor summit close to Mount Lemmon.  We found some nice campsites up there and a University of Arizona station. We did not find a trail that provided a loop so we ended up on a road walk, another short trail, and then traced our steps back to the beginning.

What we discovered is that the best fall color was a short distance down the mountain from where we originally parked, so we walked a short distance on the Sunset Trail.

We ended up meandering about five miles with no particular destination in mind.  This was after our 3 mile early morning walk with Callie.  So we felt like we deserved a burger and a beer, even though it wasn't quite noon yet.

Summerhaven is the resort town on top of the mountain.  We ordered an overpriced, but well-prepared burger with Slow Body IPA, a Tucson brewery that we hadn't tried yet.  It may have been the sunny deck location on a beautiful fall day after a lot of walking, but we both agreed that the food and the beer went down really well.

We weren't quite ready to drive down the mountain yet, so we drove a few miles to Marshall Gulch, which we discovered that the Arizona Trail goes through. The map of the trail from the Mexico border to the Utah border made me think of my A.T. thru-hiking days.  It seems unlikely that I'll be completing the Arizona trail, but I do intend to do some more research about some section hiking.  For sure, we will return to Marshall Gulch, which had a beautiful picnic area and trails to discover.