December 29, 2024

Tucson area hikes - Catalinas - Pima Canyon and Kimball Peak

You can get to Kimball Peak by way of Finger Rock canyon also. The trail is shorter, steeper, and some people don't like it.

Pima Canyon to Kimball Peak (14.2 miles, 4055 feet)

To get to the trailhead, drive north on Campbell to Skyline and turn left, then head west to Christie and turn right (north). Alternately, just drive north on First which transitions to Christie north of Skyline. Either way, procede north on Christie to where you must go left or right, go right a short distance to the trailhead.

If you are thinking of going to Kimball Peak, be sober minded about several things. One is that you will be climbing 4000 feet, approaching the same elevation gain that you tackle when hiking up out of the Grand Canyon. You don't believe me? The south rim is at 7200 feet and the river at Phantom Ranch is at 2450, making for 4750 feet of elevation gain Two is that the trail in upper Pima Canyon is seldom used and can be hard to follow if you are inexperienced. Many rescue call-outs have taken place in this area. This has always perplexed me -- if you get confused, just hike down canyon and keep your eyes open for the main trail. If you are unsure of your routefinding skills, take the steeper and shorter trail in Finger Rock Canyon.

Compare the following hikes: 

Pima Canyon to Mt. Kimball  7.2 miles 4300 gain (2960 to 7260)  600 feet/mile
Finger Rock Canyon to Mt. Kimball  5.1 miles 4140 gain (3120 to 7260)  812 feet/mile
Mt. Wrightson via Old Baldy trail  5.4 miles 4050 gain (5400 to 9453)  750 feet/mile
Wasson peak via Sweetwater trail 4.7 miles 1890 gain (2800 to 4690)  402 feet/mile
Grand Canyon, South Kaibab trail  6.3 miles 4750 gain (2450 to 7200)  754 feet/mile

The trailhead is at 2960 feet elevation, the first couple of miles of the trail is quite level and great for out of town visitors and such. After this, the trail climbs more and more steeply.

3.2 miles from the trailhead is a nice spot to stop and turn around if you are only in the mood for a short hike. This spot has a big rock slab with some grinding holes from when indians camped here and ground their acorns. There is also a dam, now entirely filled with sand. In addition, if you want to go up Table Mountain, this is the spot where the bushwack route heads up a big gully to the northeast. Note that off-trail hiking (more than 400 feet) is prohibited from January 1 through sometime in April. This is for the benefit of the bighorn sheep during their lambing season. Going up Table Mountain during this time is forbidden.

5.6 miles will get you to Pima Saddle (6350 feet), which has an excellent view. Another 1.5 miles (7.1 total) will bring you to the summit of Mount Kimball (7255 feet). Either Kimball or Pima Saddle are worthy goals. If you hike to Pima Saddle, you should climb to the top of the small peak just to the north (6490 feet) to take in the view of Alamo Canyon and the amazing terrain to the north.

On 2-6-2010, Tom did the 11.2 mile loop to Pima Saddle (11.2 miles, 3150 feet) and back in about 7 hours, moving fast although somewhat out of shape.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org