A Day Driving and Letterboxing the Catalina Highway

Today was a day for us to sleep in. We didn't set alarms and decided to see what happened. We were up by 7:00am, got things ready, had some breakfast and were on the road by 8:15am. We left our hotel and headed for Mt. Lemmon and the Catalina Highway (aka Sky Island Scenic Byway). When we visited Tucson last year we made a couple of trips on the Catalina Highway and found many letterboxes. But there were a few that had eluded us (either for time reasons or we couldn't find them). So we had a list of nine boxes to look for and we decided to start at the beginning and work our way to the top and then have a leisurely drive back down. (It would have probably been better to drive all the way to the top and work our way down - oh well.)

Our first stop was the Soldier Trail. We scrambled our way the short distance to the area of the letterbox. I found the box easy enough and found a great place to sit and stamp while enjoying the views. The box we found here was Azroadie's Geology 101: Gneiss. So we got the stamp and a nice geology lesson - good times. Back on the road headed up our next stop was the Babad Do'ag Vista. We parked and walked the short distance to the trailhead. We hiked the Babad Do'ag Trail and found Kristal and Ron's Babad Do'ag letterbox. The views from this area were also wonderful. We stamped in and took in the scenery before heading back down to the car. Our next stop was a little ways past mile marker four at a little pullout separated from the road by a rock and dirt berm. We pulled in and started to follow the clues and immediately noticed tons of gun shells all over the place. And as we continued on we noticed broken skeet discs. We focused on finding the box and after a short scramble up a small hill we found it - Hez, Grumpy and Mona's Peek-a-Boo Bear. I stamped in and then replaced the box. When we returned to the car there was a man parked next to us standing at the side of his car with a shotgun. It kind of took me by surprise and we hurried into the car and out of there. I was glad he waited to start shooting until we left. Another .2 miles up the road brought us to the Molino Canyon Vista. A short walk on a level trail brought us to Rubaduc's From Australia to Arizona. We had to wait a few minutes until the area cleared (lots of muggles) to retrieve the box. I got to sit and stamp in while being serenaded by gunshots coming from the last place we had visited. The box was put back in place and we continued our scenic drive. The next place we stopped was the Molino Basin Campground. Last year we had looked for angel1551us' A Little Something by the Manzinita and didn't find it. We decided that since we were in the area we would give it another try. Well, we still couldn't find it - and we didn't really spend a lot of time looking for it. We just wanted to say we looked again. So time to continue our way to the top. The next stop was at the Gordon Hirabayashi Campground (Federal Prison Camp). Last year we hiked from the campground and found over ten letterboxes. This time we parked near the entrance and then crossed the Catalina Highway and walked up a service road, crossed a rock and dirt berm, followed a wash and climbed a short distance up a slope to an abandoned concrete reservoir that supplied the prison camp. Here we found Hez, Grumpy and Mona's Things Are Not Always As They Appear. A very fun stamp and after stamping in and replacing the box we headed back to the car. So everything we had done so far had only gotten us up to mile marker 7 and it is 29 miles to the top of Mt. Lemmon.

Between where we were and the top there were no boxes to find so we had a nice leisurely drive to the Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley and beyond. We had clues for three boxes at the top of the mountain. One was near the ski area and two were almost two miles higher. We decided to start with these. We found the parking area, got the necesssary supplies and read the clues for both boxes. They started on different trails but eventually you would end up on the same trail. So in the end we decided to take the Mt. Lemmon Trail #5 and look for Azroadie's Geology 101: Schist. We followed the trail, noting the landmarks and had no problem finding the box. We found a nice place to sit and enjoy the views while stamping in - and once we were done we reread the clues for the second box. We both agreed that if we continued the way we were going we would indeed be in the right place to find the box. So we continued up the trail. We found the intersection for the Meadow Trail #5 and the Mt. Lemmon Trail #5 with the trail marker and continued on - and on and on and on. It seemed like forever before we reached the large Arizona Trail sign with the trail marker for the Mt. Lemmon Trail #5 and the Sutherland Trail #6. From here we followed the clues and found the next landmark - a tripod formed by a gnarly tree, a fallen tree and a burnt fallen tree. I aligned myself with the fallen tree and Picacho Peak in the background and got the compass degree to match. And then I looked for the box - Kristal and Ron's Arizona Trail #5. Nothing. So Thomas went back to the trail markers and recounted our steps, we did the compass thing again and looked for the box again. Nothing. So we started searching every log and under all the rocks in the area. We never did find the box but I did find a small piece of plastic that looked like one of the rounded corners from a Lock & Lock. Not sure if that what was used for the box but that is what I found. So after about 25 minutes of searching and rechecking the clues we decided it was time to return to the car. The hike back to the car was harder as it was mostly all uphill. So we took our time and took frequent rest stops which gave us a chance to enjoy the beautiful views. By the time we reached the car we were wiped. But, and there always is a but, we had clues for one more box. So we drove down to the ski area parking and followed the clues for Azroadie's Mt. Lemmon Aspen. I found the first landmark but seemed to have trouble with the next two. But eventually arrived at what I thought was the right spot. I then took my compass directions and scrambled uphill to a fallen tree and then followed the next compass direction to a group of three aspens. I didn't find the box. By this time we were so tired and it was difficult managing the slope due to snow and ice still present and carrying all my letterboxing stuff that I decided to call it a day. So we didn't find this box and by the time we got to the car we had very little energy left. We estimated that we had probably walked between eight and ten miles today.

So we made the long drive down the mountain and got to watch the sun set and we were able to enjoy the views one last time today. As we reached the bottom of the mountain we decided to find somewhere to have dinner before returning to the hotel. We found a little cajun restaurant called Don's Bayou Cajun Cooking. Since I am from South Louisiana and pure cajun I find that anytime I encounter a restaurant outside the confines of Cajun Country in Louisiana I tend to be a real snob. And very seldom does any restaurant (not in South Louisiana) meet my standards. Don's was okay. The flavors were good but it just wasn't like home but we did enjoy our meal. Just so I am not being totally negative here are some restaurants that I have really enjoyed and do recommend - Jake's Famous Crawfish (Portland, OR), Boudreaux's Cajun Kitchen (Richardson, TX) and Heaven on Seven (Chicago, IL). Once we had eaten we stopped to get gas for the car and then headed for the hotel. Boy, are we tired. I took a nice, long, hot shower and am in my PJ's. I hope this post makes sense because I am wiped. Now to get some rest for tomorrow.