The El Rancho Motel, Mesa AZ

The El Rancho Motel, Globe AZ

Hutch's Pool

The weather in Tucson had improved considerably from Tuesday. The forecast for Thursday was for low 60s, partly cloudy ... much better weather for hiking. I went with the "Thursday Hiking Group" from the RV Park where my friends are wintering.

Hutch's Pool is a straightforward 8-mile out-and-back hike in Sabino Canyon, a very popular area outside of Tucson. There's only about a 500 foot elevation gain, although probably that much more again in ups and downs along the trail. The Canyon has plenty of water this time of year, with many beautiful pools and small waterfalls. As you might infer from the picture above, it is very scenic.

My GPS log and more photos are online at EveryTrail.com

wintry hiking to Guthrie Peak

I'm spending some time visiting friends Guy and Janet in Tucson, enjoying some warmer weather and hoping that the ski conditions back in Wyoming will improve by the time I get home.  I arrived in Tucson last Saturday, I changed into T-shirt and shorts for a short afternoon hike on the outskirts of the city. Sunday we did some road biking west of town.

In spite of the weather forecast, today we went hiking up in the mountains. The forecast predicted 60% chance of showers, highs in the low 50s, snow line at about 5000', winds 15 to 25 with higher gusts. We did a six mile hike to Guthrie Peak, starting at 6000' on the Mt Lemmon road, out and back to the peak at 7250' or so. The forecast said that conditions would deteriorate late morning and into the afternoon, and they had it pegged exactly. It was chilly on the climb up, though it didn't start snowing until we were at the summit. Thirty degrees and breezy at the top.

Curt, Ed, and Janet taking a short lunch break just off the summit, out of the wind.. 

We had some light graupel pelting us as we started the hike back down. That gradually changed to light sleet, and by the time we were reached the trailhead it had changed to snow.

On the drive back down into Tucson, it was raining steadily. The airport got about 0.1" of precip, by 3pm the skies over Tucson were nice and sunny but it was still cold. Soaking in the hot tub at the RV park felt great!

The trail to Guthrie Peak is easy-to-moderate, well-maintained, with a short section of Class 2 scrambling near the summit. My GPS log is online at EveryTrail.com

Windy Ridge wasn't windy

The snowpack has settled down just a little bit after the last storm cycle. Jill, Eric, and I decided it was time to get out and make some turns. Yesterday we headed up Mail Cabin Canyon to Windy Ridge. The snow depth on the summit (at 9100') was 110-120cm. There was hardly any wind, it was quite pleasant in the sun. We did one run down the main ridge; skier's right (the sunny side) was crusty and unpleasant, but the snow on the shady north side was very nice indeed.

It was Jill's first turns of the season. I was up on Phillips Ridge on Monday, the SE slopes at 8500' were awful sludge and suncrust. Eric had a better day Monday on Edelweiss and Thanksgiving Bowl.

A Ski Lake tour

Yesterday afternoon Eric, Jill and I went for a short ski tour to Ski Lake. The snowpack is still too shallow -- 26" at 9300' --  for me to want to do any turns. You can see the weeds sticking up through the snow in the picture, the snowpack here at 8700' was maybe 12-16" on the south-facing slopes, with many bare spots remaining.

Jenny Lake flat, again

Nothing much has changed snow-wise in the past week. I did another tour into Jenny Lake yesterday. The lake looks to have frozen over completely. There were some ice-skater tracks in the snow on the lake at the very south end.