Fingar Rock Trail - Tucson area

[Peakbagr]

Finger Rock Trail - Tucson area

I was out on Tucson expecting to have zero hiking time. Got a chance to sneak in one this morning with only a 2-3 hour window. On the way to pick up a family member who lives near the trailhead, I scooted up the Finger Rock trail up into the Catalina Mtns that tower over all of Tucson. The trail as flat and gradual for the first 1/2 mile, with John Wayne western Saguaro all around the trail marching up the steep sides of the canyon on both sides.
The trail picks up elevation slowly, and then gets steeper. I ran into a Forest Service volunteer ranger and he was explaining how tough the trail was. On an Adirondack 1-10 scale, I'd rate the lower part a 2, and the upper portions I reached in my 2.5 hour foray a 3 or maybe a 4. The views got better and better, and I reluctantly hit my turanround time and headed back to the trailhead.
What a beautiful morning. Temps around 72, a few mares tails and washboard clouds, a slight breeze and 10% humidity.
For those in SW Arizona, this is a great hike if on a limited time frame, fantastic views of the towering canyon walls, and Finger Rock right above you all the way up the trail.
With sneakers, no daypack, no hiking pole, I felt like a real hiking rube, but since the day was going to be short, no harm, no foul.

 

[blacklab2020]

I second that this is a great trail.

How far did you get? There is a spot where there is a rock overlook within the canyon on the left and the trail levels off briefly here after a steep incline on bedrock. After this the trail heads up right to the "window". If you are ever up there again, PM me and I can give you details on the bushwhack to the top of the finger rock gaurd... which is class 3-4.. I think its 4, but its a beautiful extension of tha trail with an adjacent summit looking down on finger rock.

Seems like you are out there quite often, if you ever get up to near the seven catarachts vista on the santa catalina highway, there is an excellent off trail excursion to the falls here, as well as the summit crags. You can ascend the backside of the "fortress" (a nearly thousand foot high crag perched on the hillside near the summit of lemmon overlooking wilderness of rocks and down into lemmon canyon: class 2, one short section of class 3) about a 35 min walk from the observatory on the summit of Lemmon

 

[Peakbagr]

Justin,

I was out due to a family situation and completely unorganized and unready to hike. Usually I have my daypack as a carryon, and wearing my hiking boots.
I'm ready to go on a moment's notice. This time, it was sneakers, no pack, no hiking pole, nada, rookie, and I even forgot to bring a water bottle.

I got to the spot you mentioned, maybe the lookout above it, but was being chased by a time commitment. The USFS volunteer ranger and I had a nice talk, and when I asked how the bushwhack up the valley to the Finger would be, he looked at me like I was nuts(he was probably right with all the Cholla, Prickly Pear, and other spiked nasties.
Spencer(peak_bgr) is going to be in Phoenix the end of March and is looking for some hikes up there. I've been trying to talk him into the drive down to Tucson and doing the long ridge hike( forget the name of the trail) that ascends Rincon Peak. Finger Rock would be another gem.
I'm probably heading back out in a few months and would like to get some more ideas from you.

Alan

 

[blacklab2020]

"The USFS volunteer ranger and I had a nice talk, and when I asked how the bushwhack up the valley to the Finger would be, he looked at me like I was nuts(he was probably right with all the Cholla, Prickly Pear, and other spiked nasties."

Bushwhacking out there certainly is interesting. The trails in the middle of the santa catalinas are not heavily traveled. I visited the wilderness of rocks and descended to lemmon canyon and exited via sabino canyon as an overnight in the spring of 1999. I came back two years later with a group of friends to do the same trip and would not have been able to descend the canyon, without prior knowledge of the area. We followed a very very faint path. That same trip we tried to ascend the palisade trail just above sabino canyon only to find the trail disappear into a hillside of cholla. While bushwhacking to relocate the trail, the back of my hand hit a cholla and .. my god!!!... there were 20 of those barbs stuck in the back of my hand. Every time you tried to pull on out the skin would lift up with it . At certain elevations, bushwacking is very feasible, but between 3000 and 5000 ft I would know what a cholla looks like before proceeding, otherwise you will learn fast!!!

I will be heading back out for the first time in five years in May and am quite excited. There is nowhere near enough time to do everything.

The trail out to Rincon Peak is another excellent hike!

There are some good trails in the superstitions near Phoenix, but I would highly recomend to Spencer to drive down to the Tucson area. Its worth the 90 minutes and the restaurants in the foothills.

About the bushwhack to finger rock -- It leaves that spot I mentioned and heads up the hillside at a diagonal on the left. Watch out for cholla, rattlesnakes, and mountain lions (two have been removed from sabino/bear canyon area for suspicious/aggressive activity in the past couple of years and I was followed by one above sabino canyon near thimble peak). I would rate the bushwhack to the top of Pusch Ridge an Adirondack 4 with bad footing (i.e. the sandy soil slides out at times). From the ridge its class 3+. I was actually trying to get to the base of the finger when I found the ascent to the top of the rock gaurd.

Anyway, Please dont hesitate to contact me about hiking or climbing suggestions out there. I would be more than glad to help out.

 

[audrey]

It's amazing to think that spring flowers are just around the corner for them. A good rain and a bit of warm weather...not that I'm not loving ski conditions right now! Ain't nature grand!