(If you're starting with this post, you might want to check out Part One first: Memorial Day Hike Down Mt. Lemmon to Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona.)
Someone commented on the first part of this story that they don't think of Arizona as being cold. That depends on elevation. Friends hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim last Tuesday, starting in the falling snow at the north rim, warming to 90 degrees at the bottom, and then back up to the south rim. It's cold at 7:00 in the morning when you're above 9,000 feet! It doesn't matter whether you're in Colorado, Arizona or Canada.
We had started by driving to the summit of Mt. Lemmon, where we arrived--nearly two miles into the sky--at that early hour. On top we found Friday's snow still covering some of the ground, and the whipping wind made us want to get started. The temperature at the base of the mountain--13 miles down and to the north--was a balmy 70 degrees.
Ignorance is bliss. None of us had taken this particular trail previously, though some thought that others had done so.
It turns out that a 7 mile stretch of this 13 mile hike is the steepest trail in all of the Santa Catalina mountains. It's nothing but switchbacks, and all downhill.
My companions were in significantly better shape that am I, a fact which was to give us trouble six hours into the hike. For the moment, though, we enjoyed the view...
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ mortgage lender.
Think of me as your local expert. (Not on this trail, though!)
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