🍋 Lemmon Pools up in the 😺alina’s by Tucson (Intermediate)

Fall may be in the air at the time of this trip but it should be warm enough to go for a mid afternoon dip at 7000'. This trip will take us up the Catalina Highway north of Tucson (a.k.a. Mt. Lemmon) to the little town of Summerhaven. A number of fires have charred this range and town over the years but somehow this gem area has been mostly spared.

We'll meet early so we can make the passenger car 🏎️ friendly 3 hour+ drive to the trailhead north of Tucson. The Marshall Gulch trailhead is a popular destination so depending on the parking situation will determine our route.

We may have to set up a car shuttle for this one and I'll get to that later. Plan #1 is to hike up the Marshall Gulch trail to Marshall saddle and then descend down the Wilderness of Rocks trail to the camping area, setup camp 🏕️ and then hike about 20 minutes to the swimming hole. For fit and/or experienced backpackers, I'd rate this trip as moderate/intermediate. This trip is only about an 8 mile round trip backpack with 1600' of accumulated elevation gain (AEG). There's a 600' climb to Marshall Saddle on day 1 and then a 1000' climb back up to the saddle from the other side on day 2.

Plan #2 is more complicated and would require a short car shuttle. We'd leave a car at the Marshall Gulch trail head and then everyone would cram into the remaining vehicles and drive up the mountain to the Lemmon lookout tower TH. This hike would have us plunging 1600' over 2.5 miles to the camping area. We’ll setup camp then go off to the swimming hole. The next day, we'll hike out the way of plan #1, someone would drive the drivers back up the mountain who would then go back and pick everyone up.

The night will be chilly (35F-45F) but we'll have a campfire. 🔥 There's a creek by camp so you won't have to haul water on this one. In the morning we'll pack up at a leisurely pace which means we'll be on trail 3 hours after first light. Many of the parking spots are considered “improved” and a fee of $10 covers this (2024 price) 😠 car pooling is recommended.

I'm by no means a professional guide but have spent hundreds of nights out on backpacking trips. I don’t lead trips for financial gain but instead to bring backpackers together and create new friendships. Many of the places I venture to are remote with help being many hours and sometimes days away. When you attend a trip of mine you must realize that you are responsible for yourself and bad things can happen. I intend on using good judgement when leading but will not be with you at all times. In an event that something bad happens I intend on getting help and/or helping out as soon as it’s safely possible. I expect the same in return, I watch your back and you watch mine.