Coronado National Forest - Mt. Lemmon - Marshall Gulch / Wilderness of Rocks Trail

The temperature finally got too hot for hiking in the desert, so it was off to the mountains for this weeks hike. I took the Catalina highway out of Tucson, up and up, all the way till it runs out, to arrive at the Marshall Gulch trail head and picnic area at Mt. Lemmon. This is a wonderful spot nestled in a valley with a stream meandering through it with many little rapids and falls. The area looks like it could use some work as you have to park outside the gate and walk in as the roads and bridge are in definite need of repair. The Marshall Gulch hike starts in the parking lot by the outhouse (yeah - nice) and follows along the stream with a slight incline for a good distance. There is a trail right next to the stream and one that is higher up the hill. It appears the top trail is the official one and maybe the trail along the stream comes from people wanting to be right down by the river. It is a peaceful, pretty area with fairly easy hiking no matter which trail you choose. Unfortunately, there is a lot of burned out trees marring the hillside, some even in the valley smothering the stream, a reminder of fires from a few years ago. This hike takes you into the wilderness area very quickly and has one decent climb near the end to get you up onto the ridge where several trails meet up. I would be heading for the Wilderness of Rocks, a fairly popular area for both day hikers and backpackers as well. (As usual, since I am hiking on a weekday I only ran into a few other hikers and a small backpacking group, but it was quite obvious on weekends the area may get a lot of use.) As the NFS website states the name stands out in the trail listing and naturally draws people to it. The trail goes mostly downhill at the start and there isn't much to see except forest with some boulders about; although there is a decent overlook of where you'll be headed if you keep your eyes peeled. When you get to a massive boulder that appears to of had some rock climbers using it, to the left is a little path onto another boulder providing an excellent view of what's to come. Like Marshall Gulch this trail will work its way down to a nice stream flowing through the valley, amongst the rocks. I moved at a steady pace which was not too hard on this hike as most of the time the trail was a dirt path or went across flat rock. There were some hills, rocky stretches, and a few tricky spots due to tree falls from fires that added some challenges, but overall it was easier hiking than my last 2 canyon hikes. Eventually it brings you to an area of rock formations in all directions and boulders doing all sorts of balancing acts appearing to defy the laws of gravity. It is an awesome, rugged area of rock sculptures and pools. The trail immerses you in this wonderland, wandering all through these interesting formations. As you begin to leave the big rocks behind, you will go through a small grassy open area that has a small amount of water where a branch of the river begins and you will be met with a good climb up, which gets you to the Mt. Lemmon trail junction. If your intent is just to hike through the rocks I'd stop at this point, but you do get a nice view of the area if you hike to the top of the ridge. After making it to the top and resting for a while I began a leisurely journey back, this time knowing that I should make it back well before sunset. I really enjoyed this hike and will plan an overnight there in the future. This 11.5 mile round trip with an elevation staying between about 7,500-8,500 ft made for a great days adventure without placing me on the brink of exhaustion. My heart was definitely pounding at this height, especially at the beginning, but by taking my time, enjoying the surroundings, and taking picture and meditation stops I had no problem with having the energy to complete it. If you like this trip I'd highly recommend visiting the Chiricahua's in southeastern Arizona. They are also a "Sky Island" and have many similarities to the Catalina mountains including plenteous rock formations, many of which are more accessible if a long hike is not something you can do. If you are looking to travel to Tucson, or anywhere else, be sure to click over to my travel site.
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For Coronado National Forest visitor information click here.