Around the Next Corner With Wendy: Bagging the Peak, or Ending the Battle of Rincon (Part 1)

There's this peak in Southern Arizona...one known for beauty, epic vistas and a challenging approach. It's near the top (pardon the pun) of the "prominent" peaks list, along with Mica, Lemmon, Baldy, Wasson and Carr. You can see it from nearly anywhere in Tucson, and if you're a real Tucson hiker, it will call to you.

If you're like me, a hiker who has attempted but never conquered the summit, it will mock you. 'You call yourself a hiker, woman?', it teases, 'Ha! You still haven't been up here!'

This year was the year it was going to happen, I told myself. Never mind that you said the same thing in 2010 and 2012. Forget that you've tried twice and both times barely made it past the saddle. That peak is going to be mine, and I will NEVER again be mocked by it's prominence!

'Oh, yes', I swore. 'It will be mine.'

Sirena (who was in a similar state of not-bagged-Rincon-ness) and I watched the conditions, weighed our heavy calendars and debated routes and options. Most folks hit Rincon on a very long and strenuous day-hike, 16.2 miles round trip and 4,000' of elevation gain long and strenuous. Sirena and I knew that at this pace, we would make it, but we'd feel rushed the whole way and robbed of the magic that is an overnight in this most beautiful of Sky Islands. We wanted to make it a backpack, and I really wanted to try to make it a through-hike of the range - using a trail that we had almost no information on (in terms of condition) because it's rarely (if ever) used by members of our hiking societies. In other words, we made it harder on ourselves because that's pretty much what we do. We call it 'doing it with style'. Other people just call it 'crazy'.

Finally, the conditions seemed perfect (before the heat, after the snow, no big wind storms expected), and we set the plan into motion. It began with a long car shuttle, provided by a good friend of Sirena's, which left us standing at the Miller Creek Trailhead around 2pm with our car at the far side of the mountain range. There was nothing to do at this point but walk. And walk. And walk.

About 2 miles into the hike, you come across the boundary for the park and the trail register. I suppose they don't want you to stumble into the park without being thankful to your friendly-neighborhood managing agency...

In the past, I've hiked up the Miller Creek trail early in the morning in an effort to avoid the relatively steep climb in the heat. What I learned over the years is that it's impossible to hit that trail early enough to stay cool - it gets direct morning sun thanks to its unprotected eastern exposure. This time, we deliberately attempted the trail later in the afternoon, when the sun would be headed behind the massive mountain we were climbing. I think the strategy is a strong one - we didn't get too hot on our climb and we had amazing photo ops looking east, where the best views are. We were planning to camp at the saddle campground, so this meant a relatively short 4 mile hike up with plenty of time remaining for dinner and water-hunting (always a challenge in these hills).

Across Happy Valley to Eagle Peak

The trail ducks into a high drainage before reaching the saddle

Saguaro National Park is known for its prolific if confusing trail signage. This one at Happy Valley Saddle still indicates that the Miller Creek Trail is a part of the AZT, which it is not.

The new Happy Valley Saddle Campground I found to be nice - spacious, shady, and hosting lots of beautiful pondorosa and old junipers. It's further from the more dependable water sources on the saddle (not that any of these sources are truly 'dependable' in the strictest sense). Most of the pools were nearer to the old campground, and they were already getting a bit stale and cloudy (in April!). Thankfully, there were enough that we weren't worried about water - though the quality was questionable so we filtered it carefully (love the gravity filter). Wandering about looking for fresher water pockets, I chanced upon the outhouse which is VERY well camouflaged and tucked far north of the campground. It's so well hidden, that previous visitors ended up leaving toilet paper (and presumably more) all over the campground rather than using the facility. A sign would likely solve that problem, but for once the park lacked the sign it needed.

At Happy Valley Saddle she greets us...Rincon Peak!

Playing the game of "find the outhouse"...Not one I recommend.

Ah - there it is!

Since the campground is new, there was still plenty of readily available firewood, and we had a small fire that was just about for our needs. I had my hammock, and I was a little worried about the temps getting a little lower than I'd planned on, so I placed some hot rocks from the fire underneath it to get a little boost. Yeah.

Well, here is an important note for those of you who use hot rocks to warm your campsite: keep the synthetic fabric of your sleeping bag off of the hot rocks. It can melt. When it melts, it lets feathers out. Lots of feathers. All over the place. In the dark, this can be quite confusing and troubling. Then, it takes a lot of duct tape to seal a hole of that size in your very nice, rather expensive sleeping bag. Trust me. Not fun. Hand stitching ensues upon your return to town - exactly my favorite activity...

The next morning, with my sleeping bag well taped and my breakfast in my belly, we began our ascent to Rincon Peak. Happy Valley Saddle Campground is at approx. 6130', and Rincon Peak is a lofty 8500' - so we had a bit of climbing to do in the 4.25 miles to the top. As is our general method of attack, Sirena and I enjoyed the climb, stopping often for photos, water and snacks. The water from the pools we'd found the night before turned out to be pleasant tasting, which was an unexpected surprise, and the day was bright, sunny and dotted with puffy white clouds. There was a slight breeze that kept us from getting too hot. Really, it was the perfect day for a climb!

Looking back at the Happy Valley Saddle and the Lookout peak as we begin climbing...

Getting higher and Mica Mountain appears from behind the Happy Valley Lookout...

Tanque Verde Peak becomes prominent to the southwest, and the Catalinas begin to appear behind it (Cathedral Peak)

Sirena contemplates the view as the last of the snow melts and runs off the mountain

The theory is that we're getting closer...so why does it still feel so far away?!

The descriptions we'd read of the hike to the peak talked about the final push up being extremely steep - so we kept steeling ourselves for it. Even as we passed the sign that told us that the remainder of the trail was not suited for livestock, we kept waiting. As we're climbing this set of forested switchbacks (which, mind you weren't even close to being flat) - we even said to one another "when is it going to get steep?". I suppose it's a clear indication that your off-trail adventures have become habit when you don't recognize the steep part of a trail when you're standing right on it!

Sirena on the steep switchbacks near the summit - where it was still just a bit snowy. Snow/ice on steep slopes can be dangerous - but because we were still waiting for the worst, we just flew past it.

Even when we got to the steps right at the summit, we kept fearing that there would be a scramble or steeper climb around the corner. Thank goodness we were wrong!

So, we made the peak after all. Years of longing and planning, of feeling inadequate and small all were erased by the magnificent views from this majestic mountain. We spent more than an hour and a half enjoying perfect weather at the summit before clouds and wind blew in to cool us down and drive us off. Anyone who tells you that Rincon Peak isn't worth every effort is just plain lying. This place is AWESOME!

Sirena and I celebrate making the top...each with our own flair. The massive cairn is a legendary piece of Tucson 'architecture'...

Can you believe my camera took this panorama? I was impressed!

Labeled Pano 1

Labeled Pano 2

Labeled Pano 3

As we hiked down (now laughing at our own need for steeper routes and scrambling), we felt euphoric and well worn. We made it back to camp in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset and a delicious (and well deserved) dinner by the campfire. We knew that the biggest day of the trip would be tomorrow - on the Rincon Creek Trail back down the mountain toward Tucson. But for now, we could languish in our feelings of success and take in all the glory of the Rincon Mountains.