Finger Rock Trail

Saturday Jared and I along with some friends hiked the Finger Rock trail in the Catalina Mountain Range. What a work out! Jared and I attempted this hike about ten years ago. I remember it being a grueling hike that took every ounce of energy from me back then. Well- I must be a little more woman now than I was back then. It was tough- really tough. But not as bad as I remember it. We didn't make it to Finger Rock (which apparently you have to bush wack to get to) but we did make it to the Linda Vista Lookout Point which was beautiful. The first mile of the hike was really nice. We hiked along a nice riparian area, lots of flowing water and desrt foliage. We hopped along rocks crossing the stream and had several nice lookouts along the way. This is where we lost our way. Somehow we followed the trail that followed the stream that wound through the canyon bottom. Luckily the trail ended abruptly and we were forced to figure things out before we lost to much time. We saw some hikers on the trail above us and made our way back. We stepped over the pile of rocks that was meant to block the path of the trail we took and continued on the correct trail that seemed very obviously marked in retrospect. Still not sure how we missed that one- must have subconciously chosen the easier path because the right one was way more work. THEN we began to ascend a very steep grade for the next couple miles. Jareds GPS gathered that we ascended over 1000 ft. in a mile while scrambling up granite, climbing over boulders, stepping up the switchbacks. Really fun though. The nice thing about hiking in a group is that there is never lack for conversation. Let me tell you, you can really get to know a person trudging up a mountain with them for a couple hours. I enjoyed having the opportunity to hear so many fun stories and experiences. I loved the hiking, the excercise, and of course the views, but what I enjoyed the most was getting to peek into the lives that were around me a little more deeply. On the way down I lost the sole of my shoe. It was a sad moment. I've had these hiking shoes for about 10 years now. In fact they were with me the first time I hiked this trail. I guess it's fitting that this was the last trail they trod. Time to move on....and time to go shopping! Though I have to say hiking shoes are expensive and I can think of a whole lotta other shoes I'd like to spend the money on. The way down seemed almost harder than the way up due to the steepness. I just wanted to run to loosen up my muscles- but there was no way to run. The entire hike took about five hours. Two days later my legs still feel like rubber and I'm hoping they will recover for our Sombrero Peak adventure on Saturday. The hike was great. I'm glad we did it. I hope we can fit a few more in before summer.

Love,

Mel