Mount Kimball - Santa Catalina Mountains

Finger Rock Canyon offers one of the most direct routes into the Catalina Front Range. The hike starts in saguaros and climbs through the Upper Sonoran Zone into a habitat of yucca, live oak, juniper, and agave. Mount Kimball is located in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness near Tucson.

I started this hike at Finger Rock Canyon Trailhead at 7:18 AM. At 9:22 AM, I arrived at Linda Vista Saddle. It was 2.9 miles. From there it was another 1.3 miles to the Pima Canyon Trail, and it took 1 hour and 35 minutes. Then I followed the Pima Canyon Trail 0.4 miles to the Mount Kimball junction. That took 22 minutes. Then it was a very short walk to the 7,258-foot summit where I arrived at 11:26 AM. The summit was 4.7 miles from the trailhead. After taking many photos of the incredible view I headed down at 12:03 PM. I arrived at Linda Vista saddle at 1:22 PM where I took the new Pontatoc Connector Trail back. Then after hiking 4 miles I finally arrived at my car at 3:53 PM. My hike was 10.6 miles round-trip. The elevation gain was about 4,222 feet. The hike took me 8 hours and 33 minutes.

SP Crater - San Francisco Volcanic Field

SP Crater is an 820-foot high cinder cone of basaltic andesite. The cone is capped by an agglomerate rim that helps protect its structure. The lava flow extends to the north of the cone for about 4.3 miles. The cinder cone is believed to be about 55,000 years old. It is 25 miles north of Flagstaff. 

At 10:06 AM, I started hiking up the cinder cone. The hike from my van to the saddle took me about 20 minutes, which was a half mile. From the saddle to the rim it took me 29 minutes, and it had taken me 43 minutes from my van to get on the rim and look down into the crater. That was 0.7 miles. Then I proceeded to hike around the rim. The circumference was 0.8 miles, and it took me 49 minutes. After that I scrambled back down to my van. It only took me 22 minutes to get back. The entire hike was 2.1 miles round-trip, and it took me 1 hour and 55 minutes.