12/17/04 – Mount Lemmon, AZ – Catalina Highway

4.3 miles, 817'


During our recent trip to Tucson to meet up with my parents and visit my grandparents, lots of peaks called our names in this gorgeous area – especially Mount Wrightson and Elephant Head of the Santa Rita Mountains, the striking Baboquivari Peak, and several peaks in the the small but rugged Tuscon Mountains. Not having a lot of time for extracurricular activities, however, we thought a drive up Mount Lemmon with my parents would be a great way to spend one of our open mornings. Lemmon is the third most prominent peak in Arizona and the expansive Pima County's highpoint.

The long drive up the Catalina Highway was spectacular. Clearly this area is a rock climbers paradise, because we were gawking at innumerable outcrops on saguaro-studded ridges and slopes. As we continued the drive, the terrain transitioned from Sonoran desert to alpine forest. They don't call the mountains in the area "islands in the sky" for nothing! After a short stop in the partially rebuilt hamlet of Summerhaven (the Santa Catalina Mountains were devastated by a fire in 2002, destroying over 300 structures, many of those in this town), we drove to the Mount Lemmon Ski Area. It was hard for me to believe that there's a ski area near Tucson, but as we neared Summerhaven, the snow grew to a respectable depth, and we saw a few people skiing and sledding when we parked.

I had read little about the peak before our trip, so we were surprised to see that the road was closed to the summit. We left my parents at the ski area's lodge, and Erin and I started hiking up the road, ill-equipped for the chilly temperatures high on Lemmon. You'd have laughed to see us sheltering our ears from the wind or wrapping a scarf around our heads, with our slacks, cotton shirts, and tennis shoes on! Actually the temperature felt pretty good once we got going; it was just the high winds that were getting to us.

The road was snowpacked in spots, somewhat justifying the closure, but clearly someone had been using this road frequently and recently. We found out why when we reached the top, because there's a large space observatory complex covering the summit plateau. The gates were open wide, so we walked in and found the highpoint: a small rise on a side road with buildings to all sides. We were quite fortunate to have the opportunity to bag the actual highpoint, because in the summer months I've read they keep the observatory gates locked! We walked around a little more to find a good viewpoint. Southeast Arizona's numerous mountain ranges surrounded us, and the view 7000' down to Tucson was amazing.

Lemmon was a fun introduction to Arizona's mountains, and with so many special peaks down there, I'm hoping for a quick return sometime in the winter or spring before the temps become unbearable.