It was raining when I parked at the Mint Spring Trailhead – not hard, but enough to make me reorganize some of my gear into Aloksaks to keep everything dry – just enough effort to keep the rain away for the rest of the evening! Highlights:
Mint Spring Trail – The first part of the trail was wonderfully overgrown – in spots the trail was almost a tunnel thru all of the summer growth – the fern covered hillsides with flowers peaking thru were memorable.
On the Mint Spring Trail – geranium richardsonii – Richardson’s Geranium I believe… September 2014.
Wilderness of Rock Trail – Water! Not the highest/fastest I have seen the water here – but enough that to make it exciting to see – small waterfalls, spills and pools!
Rushing water near the Wilderness of Rock Trail. September 2014.Aspen Trail – On the last climb to the ridge, burned years ago and now quite open, the flowers were blooming and beautiful and I had great views of the moon.
Moon and trees – near the top of the Aspen Trail. September 2014.Aspen Draw Trail – Sections of soft trail thru the big trees, it wasn’t long after starting the trail that I had to get out my headlamp to navigate the dark tree covered trail.
I finished with a run thru Summerhaven, by the time I arrived nothing was open (not unexpected on a Sunday night – but I was still hoping…), and the streets were nearly empty… 11.75 miles, 2600′ of elevation gain/loss.
We raced to be the first to the top of the Lemmon Rock Trail – all I saw until the top were footprints… August 2014.
Ominous clouds covered the mountain, but when we got out of the car there was no rain or lightning – just wonderful shade and cool temperatures. We took different trails down from the Summit Trailhead – the Mount Lemmon Trail and Aspen Trail, then onto the Wilderness of Rock Trail and up the Lemmon Rock Trail – we raced to be the first up the steep climb to the Lemmon Rock Lookout – I was second up the trail and all I saw were footprints until we met at the top…
Curtains of rain moving across Tucson – from just below the Lemmon Rock Lookout. August 2014.
I often avoid the Marshall Gulch Trailhead – often uncomfortably jammed with cars and sometimes an inspiring but overwhelming number of people – but it does quickly take you to an amazing area of the mountain – Aspen Trail up and back today.
A horned Lizard along the Aspen Trail. April 2014.
Antennas on Radio Ridge from the Aspen Trail. April 2014.
High on the trail there was snow hiding under some of the young pines – the storm the previous weekend had dropped the snow, I was surprised to still see it on the mountain. April 2014.
Running on the (well named!) Aspen Trail. April 2014.
Great weather – Mint Spring (water at the spring!), Marshall Gulch (plenty of water, other friendly hikers), Aspen Trail (great views and new Pines along the trail) and back on the Mint Spring Trail – great weather, but maybe a touch warmer than I thought it would be…
A great view from the Aspen Trail – Thimble Peak on the left, Brinkley Point on the right, Mount Wrightson in the background! April 2014.
Snow near the start of the Mint Spring Trail. December 2013.
Mint Spring was a joy with snow on the trail – continued up to the top of the mountain via the Aspen Trail – past the running ski lift – the Summit Parking covered in snow – the top emptier than usual – surprised to see the Turkeys, assumed they would be lower.
