On New Year's Eve I went on a hike with my brother Brandon as well as one of my really good friends here named John. I have always wanted to do this hike because of how close it is to my house (30 minutes to trailhead) and because it is the highest peak in the Tucson area. The hike was about 11 miles round trip and was beautiful. The change in terrain was really fun because it went from shrubs and bushes at the bottom to pine trees and snow at the top. The change in elevation really pushed me but I was impressed at how fast we were able to complete the hike (just over 6 hours with rest stops). But what made the hike memorable was the great view from the top. We could look out at one end and see all of Tucson. We could also look in the opposite direction and see Patagonia and the Mexican Border. There was even an observatory pretty close that we could see on Mt. Hopkins (shown below). John mentioned that in the spring and fall that the whole mountain is full of wildflowers. So I will have to make a trip when the flowers are blooming.
Mt. Hopkins Observatory
The summit
Looking South
We came across this hiker on the right named John Wayne. The name was fitting!
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