[Bloated Chipmunk]

Next stop on our spring break was Table Mtn., a peak @ the west end of the Catalina Mtns. north of Tucson. This peak had evaded me & my sis a couple yrs. ago when we ran out of time due to taking the steep, brushy gully as recommended by others. It was a huge time sucker so I was determined to avoid that route this time, plus, the "trail of sorts" that my mom said existed 35 yrs. ago....well, no longer existed as far as we could tell! I did more internet research & still couldn't find much beta on this mtn., just a couple of reports mentioning the gully & all the horrible shindaggers along the way. Shindaggers, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of encountering them, are a type of agave that reach about shin height & have no qualms about going straight through pant legs & puncturing the skin. If you can't avoid the plants, it's actually best to just step right on the center of them. Much of the slopes leading up to the summit of Table Mtn. are full of shindaggers, not to mention the other things like prickly pear, pincushion, & ocotillo, etc. Higher up there are some juniper trees. After spending a long time looking @ topo maps & the photograph of the peak in this report, I thought 'well why not leave Pima Canyon earlier & just walk up the long gentle slope that heads directly for the mtn., avoiding the gully altogether'? (as seen @ the far left center of the 2nd photo). Sure, it would mean a little more of the distance spent bushwhacking but likely faster since it would be significantly less steep. My topo map showed the long ridge ending right by the trail at about the 3,600' level, so this would make an easy & obvious place to leave the trail & head up. So, MM & I decided to give this other route a go. We got an early start & headed up Pima Canyon. It was a nice sunny day but not too warm, which was good since much of the Table Mtn. hike is low-elevation & south-facing.

TH

Pusch Ridge

Pima Canyon ahead

Houses in the foothills

Table Mtn.

MM

Prickly Pear cactus bloom

Prickly Pear cactus blooms

Rocky peak next to canyon

We made a brief stop for pics @ "The Big Rock" which is ~ 1 mi. up the trail & the 1st place the trail crosses the wash. This was a prominent landmark during my childhood yrs., & my mom said she had even once changed someone's diaper behind that rock. Not sure if it had been mine though. MM has photos of this (the rock, not the diaper). We continued on, enjoying the greenery of the canyon. It was a lot greener than I had seen it in a long time probably due to 1) it was May, rather than Nov or Dec when I usually visit, & 2) Tucson actually had received a decent amt. of rain over the winter. We kept an eye on our ridge coming up, noting that it comes shortly after "The Tree" (more on that later) & when The Cleaver (see below) is seen more or less directly across the canyon.

The Cleaver

The Cleaver

MM coming up the trail

We kept our eye out for possible routes to cross the wash, which had running water in certain spots but the main issue was how brushy it was. We had to backtrack on the trail slightly in order to find a decent place to cross where it was still brushy but not as bad. Shortly after getting down into the wash, we spotted a frog.

Frog

We scrambled up the rocks on the other side, & found ourselves on nice slabs of bedrock that made for easy walking up the ridge, @ least initially. Later it got a little brushier, but still nothing like what I encountered going up that silly gully a couple yrs. back.

Slab walk

MM dreams big

MM having a snack

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Getting closer...

Closer still...

As we got further up the ridge we ran into the dreaded shindaggers, but for the most part I was able to avoid getting poked. I tried to focus instead on the pretty cactus blooms & the views out to the Tucson valley.

Pink blooms

Red bloom

Tucson

The bushwhacking overall was pretty easy - we could keep Table Mtn. in our sights for most of the hike up & just continued in a more or less northeasterly direction to the top. We eventually reached the top of the ridge & were able to look down the other side to Oro Valley; this was the furthest my sis & I got a couple yrs. ago before reaching our TAT. This trip, MM & I had made much better progress by avoiding the brushy gully & still had plenty of time to summit. So we pressed on, crossing more rock slabs & entering the land of juniper trees. We angled north for the last bit, ascending the "finger" of Table Mtn. to reach the summit proper. The summit is somewhat treed to the south, so views to Tucson are to be had just below the summit. However, we got great views to the north & east.

Oro Valley to the north

Oro Valley

Oracle area

Mt. Lemmon area

Mt. Kimball

BC Nixon pose

MM found the summit register inside the summit cairn & we both signed it. I noticed that others had written they came up via "Crescent Crack", undoubtedly the nasty gully I went through before. I made a note that we did NOT go up that way!

Summit cairn

MM signs the register

Summit area

We relaxed for about an hr. & soaked in the views.

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Buster Mtn. below

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Oro Valley with Picacho Pk. in the distance

Summit views

MM on summit rock

Behind Prominent Pt.

Mt. Lemmon area

Craggy pk.

Boot shot

Table edge

Once we got our fill, we headed down just below the summit where the views open up to the S-SW for some pictures of Tucson. I attempted to see my mom's house or the park near it w/binocs, but I couldn't be sure if what I was seeing was the right thing.

Tucson far below

On the way down, we mostly stuck to the same route w/the exception of MM checking out a little nub on the ridge & then later going through a particularly thick patch of shindagger on a slightly steeper part of the slope. Nevertheless we eventually made it back down to flatter terrain, where we paused on a rock for a snack. The rock was in a small drainage & worn smooth by water, so when we stood back up to continue on, MM slipped & banged his elbow really hard. He recovered in good time & soon we hiked down.

Nub

Top of Crescent Crack

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Heading down

Looking back @ Table

Prickly pear spines

Lots more bushwhacking to do...

Once back in Pima Canyon, I told MM I wanted to stop @ "The Tree". The Tree is a place that we would visit on family trips throughout the yrs.; climbing into the tree & posing was mandatory. I have various pictures from childhood & then in subsequent yrs. when I would come back to visit...of me or others sitting in the tree. So, this time was no exception. I noticed that over the yrs. the tree became increasingly difficult to get into but this time it was easier (though still not easy!) b/c my sis & mom had been there not long before & placed a log @ the base of it to help get a leg up.

BC Tree

MM getting into The Tree

Still trying...

Success!!

MM relaxing

MM straddles The Tree

It was getting late in the day, so we got to see the fading sunlight on the surrounding rocks. Only the last 1/2 mi. or so was spent using headlamp, & soon we were heading back to Ma's house for dinner.

Sunset

[Cascade Hunter]

Those pics make me miss being home back in the deserts of CA.

[marta]

Nice report. I've been up Pima but typically in the early spring. I've wondered what it is like later when the cactus bloom. Your pictures give me the full story. Thanks!

[MountainMan]

Finally, we got Table Mtn.! There's not too many places near Tucson that BC hasn't already done, but this was one of them (for good reasons, as she mentions). It sits overlooking the city and it calls to you every time you look up. BC was a little reluctant after her previous attempt, but I would keep bringing it up every time we were talking about trip ideas, so finally we decided to go for it. It was a day of very interesting bushwacking, but our plan to head up the ridge and avoid the "crescent crack" ended up working great. Heading up Pima Canyon.

map

Rabbit

Pima Canyon trail

Cool spot for a house.

Pima Canyon trail

Pima Canyon trail

Saguaros on the hill

Blooming Saguaro

Table Mtn. in the distance.

Zoom of Table Mtn.

Us on "the big rock"

Prickly Pear bloom

BC on Pima Canyon trail

Small peak along the Pima Canyon trail.

Green

The Cleaver

Ridge we went up.

Looking up Pima Canyon and ridge we went up on the left.

We came across this little guy while crossing the wash. We think it's a Canyon Treefrog:

Canyon Treefrog

Canyon Treefrog

Canyon Treefrog

Here are some pictures of shindaggers, for those unfamiliar with them:

Shindaggers

Why they're called shindaggers.

Shindagger

How to deal with shindaggers.

On the ridge and heading up.

Looking down at the wash

On the ridge.

Pincusion?

The rock slabs made it easier for awhile.

Cholla

Barrel Cactus

Looking down on some Saguaros.

BC on rock slab.

Looking down Pima Canyon.

Ocotillo bloom

Further up the ridge.

Prickly Pear and flowers

Our destination

Cactus blooms

Getting closer.

Side of the Table and Oro Valley.

Zoom over Oro Valley of Picacho Pk.

On top

BC on summit rock.

MM on summit rock.

Summit cairn

Summit pic

Views from the NE edge:

View to the NE.

View NE

MM on the NE side of Table Mtn.

Boot shot from Table Mtn.

View of Pima Canyon:

Pima Canyon hills

- View from the SE edge:

Pima Canyon and Tucson beyond from Table Mtn.

Tucson from Table Mtn.

Safford and Panther Peaks

Can you see BC's Mom's house?

Heading down

Chunks of mica

Barrel Cactus blooms

Barrel Cactus blooms

BC on the way down

rock teeth

Century plant

Field of shindaggers.

Through the shindaggers

Looking back at Table Mtn.

Looking down towards Pima Canyon and the way down.

Almost back to the wash.

Cacti jungle

Sunset light on Pusch Ridge.

The tree

Ready

Get the leg up...

Slide over...

Made it!

BC in the Tree.

BC in the Tree.

MM in the Tree.

MM in the Tree.

[Hikingqueen]

Love the summit pic of the two of you. I think that might win cutest nwhiker couple? I'm just saying..

[The Angry Hiker]

Sunshine. Must be nice.

[MountainMan]

Thanks HQ AH - Yeah, it kind of sucked getting back to Seattle.