Hikers pose on the Wilderness of Rocks trail. (Photo by Jeff Love)
Marc Humphrey
On a Tuesday in June, 11 members of the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club decided to get out of the Sonoran Desert heat and head up to the cool Mount Lemmon wilderness. Their destination was the Wilderness of the Rocks trail. The group started the 7.2-mile hike at the top of Mount Lemmon where it was a cool 65 degrees and took the Marshall Gulch trail, which immersed them in a dense pine/fir forest.
When they reached the end of the Marshall Gulch trail, they linked up with the Wilderness of the Rocks trail. This challenging path offers picturesque rock formations and a natural sculpture gallery. They could see the artworks of wind and water from a number of different perspectives. The variety of shapes and the arrangement of the boulders was simply amazing.
They paused in the midst of the rock sculptures and had a nice, leisurely lunch. Afterwards, they turned around and headed back. This time, though, they took the alternate Aspen trail. There, they were surrounded by beautiful aspen trees and wildflowers. The Aspen trail led to their cars, where the hike ended and the temperature was 74 degrees.
Finally, they headed back down the mountain and back to SaddleBrooke where the thermometer read 102 degrees when they pulled into the parking lot. To find an escape from the heat, Mount Lemmon is the place to go.
Hikers were Kaori Hashimoto, Melia Knecht, Marc Humphrey, Bertie Litchfield, Ruth Leman, Maria Spencer, Dale Leman, Dianne Ashby, Maria Szentiramai, Missy Rodey and leader Jeff Love.