Wasson Peak With My Bro

I asked around for a trail for Wednesday afternoon that wasn't too steep and sans boulders & scrambling as I continued to recover from my grueling 15-mile hike up to La Ventana on Sunday. Wasson Peak Trail was mentioned by several people, and at only 7.8 miles, seemed to fit the bill. Also, my brother Jon was visiting, just off the plane from Dallas (Plano), Texas, and I wanted to wear him and his 400-foot lungs out before our epic bike ride up Mount Lemmon the next day; he's a former cat 2 racer and still a very strong cyclist. Unfortunately, I wore myself out and would suffer the consequences the next day—certainly more than he suffered. More on that later.

We took the King Trail up, and returned via the Hugh Norris, Sendero Esperanza, and Gould Mine trails.

Jon had the exact same hat as I, a dorky but effective Tilley; we discovered many similarities during our short time together—it was great to reconnect with him. Photo by Jon Damon.

The Tucson Mountains, of which Wasson Peak belongs. Photo by Jon.

Photo by Jon.

Jon and his new best friend. 

Saguaro you happy to see me? Photo and caption by Jon.

Wasson Peak is entirely in the Saguaro National Monument (West).

Photo by Jon.

Jon shooting me, and vice versa, I'm sure. Photo by Jon.

Pano from the summit.

Not bad for 1,800+ feet of elevation gain and 3.5 miles. My plan was working. Now, to shave off  a few minutes per mile on the return. We would get the min/mile down to 14:14 by hike's end. And we had to hoof it as I left my head lamp at home.

Dueling sunset pics (mine).

Dueling sunset pics (Jon's). I must admit his is better.