Our favorite thing about Tucson is the abundance of fabulous hiking. This week our good friends Ron and Corrine joined us to hike the Tumamoc Hill trail, new to both of us. We met Ron and Corrine last March when we were camping next to each other in Pensacola. In sharing road tales, we were amazed that we hadn’t met previously as our paths had crossed so many times before. They also love to hike and from the list of trails they’ve done, seem to put on hundreds of miles each year.
They also hail from Minnesota so we chose a fine day when the temps in Tucson would crack 80 while those in Minnesota would not clear zero. I really admire my siblings ability to get outdoors and enjoy winter activities, but I can no longer do that!
The Tumamoc trail is different in that it is paved the whole way, which is good given its steep incline. The grades range from 9% to 22% which is fairly steep but the real challenge is that the incline is unrelenting to the top.
This is a popular hike and the hikers ranged from babies being backpacked to 85-year-olds clipping along at a pace indicating they do this trail many times a week. And there were plenty of really fit people running up that hill, wow!
I was quite irritated to not make it to the top, having to stop one switchback short of the summit when I got very dizzy. I wasn’t too worried though, parking for this trail is in the St Mary’s hospital parking lot, so if I hadn’t recovered, Greg could have simply rolled me down the hill straight into the ER. Which he probably would have enjoyed.
Our goal for the rest of the winter is to increase our hiking miles and vistas.
We are wishing you all a very happy New Year and some amazing views of your own!
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