I finally got in another hike this week, but I had to go up the mountain to 9,000 feet to escape the 108 temperature down below in Tucson. The views were breathtaking! Those red flowers are penstemon.
I was invited by a friend to join the Sun City Hikers Club for their outing, and I'm very grateful. There were seven of them and all were super welcoming and friendly. It was my 39th hike on my way to 70 before my 71st birthday.
There were a lot of wildflowers.
Going from the desert up to the top of Mt. Lemmon takes you from the Sonoran Desert to alpine forests. The steep drive with breath-taking lookouts takes you through these bio zones:
1. Sonoran Desert, 2,500-4,000 feet
2. Desert grassland, 4,000-5,000 feet
3. Oak woodland/chaparral, 5,000-6,000 feet
4. Pine-oak forest, 6,000-7,000 feet
5. Ponderosa pine forest, 7,000-8,000 feet
6. Mixed conifer and Canadian zone, 8,000 to the peak at 9,157 feet
It was in the 70s and sunny for our hike, which was slightly heart pounding (at least for me) because of the elevation. But we only went a little over two miles, on the Meadow Loop near the top of the mountain.
Afterward we had a picnic lunch in a very pleasant shady area -- but I forgot to get a picture! Then it was down, down, down the mountain into the inferno that's Tucson in the summer.
Have a colorful day
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