Pima Canyon

November 11, 2022 hike: Pima canyon to about 0.7 miles from the Saddle (the Saddle is the ridge at the top of the canyon where a hiker can see the canyon on one side and whatever is on the other side - the northern Catalinas in this case).

Pima Canyon is my traditional start of season hike, since it is my "home trail". It was a very tough start to the season, as is often the case.

The weather was beautiful with copious sun, temps in the mid-60s and very light winds - excellent hiking conditions. Hiker traffic was very heavy in the lower canyon, possibly due to Veterans' Day, but I only encountered one hiker after the dam at the mid-point of the trail. There is usually very light hiker traffic in the upper parts of the Catalinas trails due to distance and increased trail difficulty.

It should have been easy to make the summit, given the great weather, but as was usual with my first hike of the season, I fell a bit short due to trail conditions and conditioning. The trail was very overgrown with grass making finding the trail and seeing one's footing very difficult. This is often the case at the start of the season due to summer monsoon plant growth and lack of hiker traffic; it should improve a lot in a month or two. On conditioning, nothing substitutes for mountain hiking and my post-Covid symptoms probably didn't help too. Anyway, it was great to back out on the trails!

Photo 1 shows the dramatic scene entering the canyon. The canyon is quite broad at the bottom, creating an panorama of massive mountain walls in the gorgeous morning sun.

Photo 2 looks at part of the long western ridge near the start of the canyon. The ridge clearly shows angled rock caused by the faulting that created Pima Canyon and the Catalina mountains between 5 and 15 million years ago. This ridge is still in the warm, lower part of the canyon, as is evidenced by the extensive stands of saguaros.

Photo 3 looks up the canyon from about a quarter of a way up the canyon. This is still in the lower part of the canyon, but near the northern extent of the saguaro range. It is about half way to the dam, which is as far as most hikers go.

Photo 4 was taken near the top of the canyon, looking up to Pima Canyon saddle (the notch in the middle-left of the picture). You can see some of the extensive grass in the upper half of the canyon, which obscured the trail and footing. You can also see that the trees are taller and more of a mix of pine and Arizona oak, which is typical in the higher parts of the Arizona "Sky Islands". This was close to the top for my hike for the day.

Photo 5 was taken a short distance below photo 4, looking down the canyon and across Tucson to the Tucson mountains. The Catalinas form the northern border of Tucson and the much lower Tucson mountains bound Tucson to the west. You can clearly see how Pima canyon broadens out at the bottom.

Photo 6 was taken well down the canyon on my return leg of the hike, about one-third up the canyon. It shows Prominent Point, one of the massive rocks on the eastern wall of the canyon.

Photo 7 was taken near the end of my return leg of the hike, about one-quarter up the canyon. It shows Rosewood Point, another of the massive rocks on the eastern wall of the canyon.

Photos 8 and 9 show the mountains lit up from the setting sun, near the end of my hike. Photo 8 looks east to the ridge line near the Finger Rock trail and photo 9 looks north at the mouth of Pima Canyon, with Table mountain on the left. Photo 8 again shows the tilted rock formations caused by the faulting that created the Catalinas.

All-in-all, it was a tough hike but a great start to the season.

Hike stats: 12 miles and 3,117 feet of vertical to a peak of 5,820 feet in 7 hours, 34 minutes.