Sunshine Social Expedition 10/23-10/25: Mount Lemmon (V) ⛰️☀️
Let’s enjoy a fun and challenging expedition up and down Mount Lemmon in the fall! We will be hiking a modified half version of the Santa Catalina Mount Lemmon Loop
The trail starts in Catalina State Park and heads through Romero Pools, around Romero Pass and up to Summerhaven. It is a 15.5mile trek with 6500 feet of elevation and will take us roughly twelve hours 🥾
Itinerary:
Friday -
Meet at 5:45am at Catalina State Park
Load personal items into Sunshine van
Begin hike towards Romero Pools at 6:00am
Water and snack breaks
Lunch stop around noon
Arrive in Summerhaven around sundown at 6:00pm
Catered dinner provided at Airbnb
Saturday-
Cooked breakfast provided at Airbnb 7:00am
Optional hike (tbd, likely Marble Peak) 8:00-noon
Lunch free for all (Summerhaven dining options or you can pack food with personals in Sunshine van)
Optional afternoon yoga/massage, upgrade available through local wellness practitioners
Cooked group dinner provided at Airbnb at 7:00pm
Games and socializing before bed
Sunday-
Light breakfast and hiking pack lunch provided at Airbnb at 5:00am
Check out of Airbnb and load up Sunshine van at 6:00am
Begin hiking down at 6:30am
Lunch break around noon
Return to Catalina State Park between 4-5pm
Retrieve personal items from Sunshine van
Depending on interest, we will be sleeping in one or two Airbnbs. Pricing depends on sleeping arrangement preference and optional wellness add-ons. Please “sign up” on Gatherist, Meetup (links in progress) or email jon@sunshinesocialgroup.org to discuss cost estimates and to fill out a pre-expedition questionnaire 👍🏻
The expedition will include lodging, food, transport of personal items (Sunshine van), optional yoga and massage, and a personalized t-shirt
This is a very strenuous hike. We will be hiking pretty continuously for over eleven hours, so it is important that you are experienced with adventure hikes…that being said, it’s a relatively easy hike technically, with the toughest incline being the equivalent of 2 Romero Pools roundtrips, then the elevation evens out substantially for the last six miles. If you’ve been an adventure hike regular, you can do this! 💪🏻
There is only one true bailout point, and that’s Romero Pools. If you’re struggling at the 3.5 mile mark, we will ask you to turn around safely (live to hike another day, or drive up and join us for the rest of the expedition).
Most Airbnbs have sleeping arrangement options ranging from a bed to yourself in a room to a fold-out couch in the living room; pricing will vary accordingly, please be as honest as possible when marking preferences in the pre-expedition questionnaire.
Finally, the sun rises and sets just after 6am and 6pm on these dates, and temperatures may still be rather warm. Unless there’s a drastic change of weather, expect it to be around 60-65 degrees when we start on Friday morning, highs in the low 80s as we head up the mountain, and then 40s to 60s while we are up in Summerhaven.
Companion passes and modified lodging passes may be created based on interest. Last time we had a member join us Saturday evening and hike down on Sunday. Some members may want to bring a spouse or friend for lodging and games. Again, please specify these requests on the questionnaire
If you’ve read this far, you must be at least a tiny bit interested, thank you!
Looking forward to seeing you out there 😎
(pics below from previous Sunshine Social Mt. Lemmon Expedition, February 2025)
