Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
left to right, climbing west-northwest into the forest. After several hundred yards of
hiking, you might notice a small weather station on the right side of the trail with
rain gauges measuring rainfall variability in the Santa Catalina Mountains. About 100
yards farther, the trail crosses the stream a final time, from right to left.
Continue climbing steadily through ferns surrounding a mix of burned and living
pines. High to the northwest on the aptly named Radio Ridge, which leads up to
Mount Lemmon, you'll see several communication towers. A final push up a rocky
trail with views of granite cliffs and outcrops brings you to Marshall Saddle (7,920
feet), where signs point out the five trails that meet at this point. (If you hike the
Wil-
derness of Rock Loop
, you'll again reach this significant hiking crossroads.)
While resting at the saddle, look a few degrees north of west to spy Lemmon
Rock Lookout, a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout perched atop a cliff; you can visit
will discover that Marshall Gulch is a tiny section of the 800-mile trail that crosses
the entire state, from Mexico to the Utah state line.
From Marshall Saddle, you can return the way you came, making an out-and-
back hike of 2.4 miles, or turn left, heading south on signed Aspen Trail #93, to make
the full loop. This is the area in which the devastating 2003 Aspen Fire started, and
you can see remnants of the destruction mixed in with more than a decade of recov-
ery. During late summer, in July and August, alpine wildflowers are prolific in this
section. October is an excellent month to enjoy fall foliage.
