Pusch Peak

Pusch Peak 5,361′
Southern Arizona
Total Time: 4:30
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 3000′
Crux: Class 1-2
Companions: Holly, Cara and Steve Whittingham
Trailhead: Linda Vista Trailhead, no services

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When my sister and brother-in-law first moved to Tucson, they attempted to climb Pusch Peak in the western Catalina Mountains. They made it about a mile up the approach canyon before being swarmed by bees, having to make a rapid retreat and spending the next few days heavily medicated with antihistamines. Needless to say, they were not excited to go back. African Honey Bees are fairly calm in colder temperatures, and don’t stray far from the hive below 55 degrees. So a cold post-winter storm day seemed like a good opportunity for redemption. We arrived early to the Linda Vista trailhead, only a few other cars in the lot with hikers on some of the other trails near the base. The hike starts easily enough, following one of the maintained trails up a wash and to the mouth of the steep approach canyon, where a sign indicates the route is not formally maintained beyond that point.

Here the path narrowed and steepened, and we quickly reached the spot where they had been swarmed on their last visit. We moved as quickly as we could up the steep path, stopping at a rock outcropping above a thin waterfall when we felt we were out of danger.

The trail broke through the first major rock band with a “Flatiron” looking feature to the east featuring a fantastic campsite overlooking Oro Valley. When we were several hundred feet below the main rocky and fractured ridgeline, the use trail made an ascending traverse to the east.

Although by distance we were nearly halfway there, we still had nearly 1500′ of elevation to go to the summit, and the grade did not relent as we left the shady canyon for the sunny slopes. We were quickly reaching a revolt from part of the group as the trail cut across the northern slopes of Pusch Peak beneath the summit that never seemed to get closer.

Thankfully, the route hooked hard towards the top, up and over a rocky step and took us to the summit. It was one of the finest views of any peak I’ve climbed in Southern Arizona. The rest of the Mount Lemmon massif stretched to the east, including nearby Table Mountain and Mount Kimball. The sky islands of Mica, Rincon, Wrightson loomed to the south. To the far southwest, I could pick out Baboquivari, Keystone Peak, Kitt Peak and Coyote Mountain. To the north, you could even see the Superstition Mountains and Weavers Needle faintly in the distance.

There was a summit register tucked into the rocks only going back a month or two. And despite multiple daily entries, we somehow had the summit to ourselves. It wasn’t until we were packing up to head down that another twosome reached the top.

Typical for our group, our pace on the descent was dictated by hunger, with discussions of thick burritos driving us down the mountain. We were too tired to care about another bee attack as we passed through the lower canyon, now completely in sun. Passing the sign and start of the use trail, it was easy trail the last quarter mile to the parking lot.