Mar 24, 2023 hike: Tanque Verde Ridge Trial to Tanque Verde Peak.
Tanque Verde Ridge Trial is in the south end of the Eastern section of Saguaro National Park.
The Tanque Verde Ridge is an east-west mountain range that intersects the north-south Rincon Mountains roughly in the middle of the Rincons. The fact that the two ranges intersect at roughly a right angle gives the Rincons their name ("Corner" in Spanish).
Tanque Verde Ridge is a long trail with lots of vertical. There is significant climbing in the first 3 miles and near the peak with lots of undulations in the middle sections.
There are spectacular views of Rincon Peak and the Catalina mountains, but otherwise it is a bit sparse for notable views. There is a nice forested section just below the peak, called Juniper Basin (which has a popular campground). The trail surface is quite decent, enabling lots of trail running. It is a good trail, but not one of my favourites, due to the limited really notable views.
The day was OK for hiking with mid-60s weather, but a fair bit of cloud and wind. This trail appears prone to cloud and wind. I could see much more sun in Tucson, just to the west.
Photo 1 shows Tanque Verde Ridge, the ridge that dominates the background in the photo. You hike the length of the ridge from the near the far right of the photo to the peak near the far right of the photo. The photo was taken last week (March 17, 2023) from Esperero Canyon trail, which is north of Tanque Verde Ridge.
Photos 2 and 3 show the very nice low-desert vegetation and rock structures. This part of Saguaro Park East is nicer than the low desert section in the north part of Saguaro Park East near the Douglas Spring trail.
Photos 4 and 5 are a couple of pictures of the Catalina mountains, to the northwest of Tanque Verde Ridge. Photo 4 was taken from Tanque Verde peak (7,049 foot elevation). You can see the four large peaks on the front side of the Catalinas facing Tucson, Cathedral Rock to the right of the center of the photo, Window Peak near the center, Mt Kimball to the left of center and Table Mountain further left. Photo 5 was taken from the middle of the trail. There are quite good views of the Catalinas from many points along the trail.
Photos 6 and 7 are a couple of pictures of Rincon Peak, the highest mountain in the south Rincons at nearly 8,500 feet and the second highest peak in the whole Rincon/Tanque Verde range. Photo 6 was taken from relatively nearby Tanque Verde Peak. The views of Rincon Peak from there are spectacular. Photo 7 was taken from about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. Rincon Peak comes in and out of view as you go up and down the terrain undulations through the middle and upper part of the trail.
Photos 8 and 9 show Juniper basin, a nicely treed area a couple of miles below Tanque Verde Peak. Photo 8 looks down on the basin from the trail leading to the peak. Photo 9 shows the typical scenery in the basin.
Photo 10 shows the typical landscape through the middle of the trail. You can see the four main peaks of the front side of the Catalina mountains in the distance.
Photo 11 looks down at the start of the trail. Yes it is a fair climb at the start. This is from about 3-3.5 miles from the trailhead.
Photo 12 was a bit of bonus. The Davis-Monthan Airbase air show was on the next couple of days. This shows one of the jet teams practising over the base.
I'm a bit less positive on this trail than I was last year. It is great for a workout, but the views, aside from the Catalinas and Rincon Peak, are not up to the level of many of the Catalinas' trails.
Hike stats: 17.5 miles (measured by a GPS tracker) with 4,498 feet of elevation gain to a peak elevation of 7,040 feet in 6 hours 40 minutes (5 hours 59 minutes excluding picture taking and lunch time).
