March 30, 2022 hike: Romero Canyon to Romero Pass.
Back to my old haunt, the Catalinas after a number of hikes in Sedona, the Santa Ritas and the Tucson mountains. It was nice to get back. The Catalinas bring a mix of long trails, wilder trail surfaces, significant vertical and beautiful vistas that make for a really great hike and workout. I definitely felt the hike afterward, even relative to Mt Wrightson, which is long and very high.
The weather was good but not perfect. On the plus side, there was a lot of sun and the temps were fairly good (low 70s in town, 5-10 degrees cooler in the mountains, but perfect for hiking). However, there were enough clouds to be annoying at times and the wind was howling in places - especially Romero Pass - and light to non-existent for long stretches. Lunch at the pass was cold due to the wind. I think clouds augmented many photos, but prevented others because the shadows wouldn't recede from the focal point of the picture.
Photo 1 shows a rugged peak in the front-side of Pusch Ridge in the morning sun. This area has dramatic mountain views.
Photo 2 looks slightly to the left (north) of photo 1 showing the peak from photo 1 on the right-center of the photo and another ridge of mountains to the left-center. The canyon between the two ranges is Montrose canyon. I don't think there are any trails that go far up Montrose. Romero canyon is just to the left (north) of the mountain range in the left-center of the photo. The mountain range in the left-center of the photo forms the south wall of Romero Canyon for about 4.5 miles.
Photo 3 looks west from the middle plateau of Romero canyon. This is grass land territory. I liked the lone tree against the incredibly blue sky of the photo.
Photo 4 is roughly in the middle of Romero canyon (about 2 miles in). It shows a dramatic gorge formed by Romero creek and some impressive peaks in the distance.
Photo 5 looks southeast from further up the trail. The peaks are the ones in the background of photo 4. This is the south wall of Romero canyon and it is made up of dramatic peaks and canyons, as shown in this picture.
Photo 6 looks southeast from Romero Pass. The wind was howling, but the views were great, as always. The canyon is the West Fork of the Sabino Recreational Area (a very back country area of Sabino that rarely sees visitors as it is well over 10 miles from the visitor center of Sabino). The mountains in the right foreground are part of the ridge of the high peaks of the east end of the front side of the Catalinas (Cathedral Rock area). The mountains in the far background are the Rincons.
Photo 7 is a 50-75 foot waterfall on Romero creek about two-thirds up Romero canyon (maybe 3 miles up the canyon). This area has some very tall pines. The deciduous trees are just starting to leaf out.
Photo 8 shows Pusch Ridge, the side of the Catalinas facing west toward Oro Valley. The photo was taken from the flat trail in Catalina State Park that leads to the Romero Canyon trail. The right-most peak (most southerly) is Pusch Peak (5,361 ft), the peak at the top of the southwest entrance to Pima canyon (which is just on the other side of Pusch Ridge). The middle peak is Big Horn Mountain (5,662 ft) and the left peak is Table Mountain (6,265 ft), which is the peak that looks like a tilted table when you look up Pima canyon. The picture really doesn't do justice to the view. The view of Pusch Ridge from nearby Oracle Road is truly stunning. It is hard to believe you can be looking at such spectacular scenery when you are walking in a parking lot of a strip mall bordering Oracle Road - it certainly makes a trip to the local Home Depot, etc special!
Photos 9-26 show some of the many beautiful wildflowers out now, along with a very nice pine specimen near the waterfall.
All-in-all, another great day out, and I could definitely feel the workout today (much more than the more vertical Mt Wrightson that I hiked last week). The intense climbing of the front-side mountains and the rugged nature of the top mile or so of the trail makes this a more strenous experience than smoother trails like Mt Wrightson.
Hike stats: 14.1 miles round trip and 3,300 foot elevation gain, 7 hours 7 minutes of hiking/trail running.
