Catalinas - Esperero

March 17, 2023 hike: Esperero Canyon Trail to Cathedral Rock Trail.

It was a beautiful, somewhat sunny day with minimal breeze and temps in the low 60s at the base; perfect hiking weather. The trail was in great shape thanks to hiker traffic and maintenance teams. There were also some very nice waterfalls: one just north of Cardiac Gap (about 4-4.5 miles from the trailhead) and another at the north end of Geronimo Meadows (about 6-6.5 miles from the trailhead), the latter going by the wonderful name of Bridal Veil Falls. And, wildflowers were everywhere, providing colorful displays all along the trail.

Photo 1 looks north from the Sabino Canyon road near the Visitor Center. The large mountain near the middle of the picture is Cathedral Rock, the tallest mountain on the front side of the Catalina mountains facing Tucson. It is 7,952 feet high, over a mile higher than the Tucson valley floor. Cathedral Rock is at the top of Esperero Canyon, the goal for this hike. This lower desert near the Visitor Center is spectacular saguaro country.

Photo 2 shows a male Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris), a very colorful lizard about a foot long. He was basking in the sun about 1-1.5 miles up from the Visitor Center.

Photo 3 highlights the dramatic rockfaces and flora (especially saguaros) at the start of the steep section of lower Esperero Canyon (about 2.5-3 miles from the Visitor Center).

Photo 4 looks down lower Esperero Canyon and across Tucson to the Santa Rita mountains in the south. This shot was taken from the top of Cardiac Gap, a steep section that marks the end of lower Esperero Canyon and the beginning of the backcountry to the north. Most hikers stop at the top of Cardiac Gap. As noted above, it is about 4-4.5 miles from the Visitor Center.

Photo 5 is a video of the waterfall on Esperero Creek just to the north of Cardiac Gap.

Photo 6 is a video of Bridal Veil waterfall, a beautiful forest waterfall near the end of Geronimo Meadows. Geronimo Meadows is a lovely forested section along Esperero creek between the Cardiac Gap area and the final steep ascent to the top of Esperero Canyon.

Photos 7 and 8 are taken from near the top of Esperero Canyon looking back (southeast) at the immense twin spire rockface of the eastern wall of the canyon that towers over much of Geronimo Meadows. You can also see the snow-capped Rincon mountains in photo 7. The tall peak in the background of both photos is Rincon peak. The Rincons are the eastern boundary of Tucson.

Photos 9 and 10 are a couple of rock structures below the twin spires that look like characters. I think the structure to the left of the center of photo 9 looks like a craggy old man, while the rock to the left of the center of photo 10 looks like Dino, the pet dinosaur from the Flintstones cartoon of the 1960s.

Photos 11 and 12 look south as I descended near the end of the trail. Photo 11 looks up (east) the south wall of Sabino Canyon with Thimble Peak on the left and two other large ridges further to the west. Photo 12 looks across east Tucson to Tanque Verde Ridge, the western spur of the Rincon range.

The rest of the photos show some of the beautiful wildflowers along the trail.

All-in-all, it was a great hike. Warm sun, brilliant scenery, a great workout and beautiful flowers!

Hiking stats: 13.8 miles with 3,999 vertical feet in 7 hours (5 hours 34 minutes excluding photo taking and lunch time).