Saturday, August 10, 2013

Incinerator Ridge Mount Lemmon Coronado National Forest July 28, 2013

                             Vegetation and scenery around 7300 feet in the Catalina Mountains

Location and General Information: Mount Lemmon is outside of Tucson, Arizona, in the Catalina Mountains. People can get to Mount Lemmon by taking the Catalina Highway in eastern Tucson. This is a popular hiking spot because it is five degrees cooler for every thousand feet of elevation change. Therefore, it is conceivable the temperature can be over 100 degrees in the valley while only 70 at 9000 feet in the Catalina Mountains. It is about 25 miles to the town of Summerhaven where the road ends. There are also 20+ trail heads that permeate from the highway giving visitors many options. Campgrounds are prevalent starting at Bear Canyon. A day pass is $5. A Coronado Adventure pass costs $20 for the whole year.

Hike: Today my dad and I are starting at the San Pedro Vista  Pullout and we are hiking a new trail north toward Barnum Rock, over Kellogg Mountain to Mount Bigelow. Because this trail is new and not on hiking maps trail metadata is not available. I surmised that we gained over 1100 feet in elevation and hiked around 3.5 miles. Vegetation on the hike included many conifers such as Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine. The trail was well constructed and it provided great views of the San Pedro River Valley to the east.

                                Looking east toward the San Pedro River Valley

                                 Catalina Mountains scenery