Marshall Gulch
July 22,2007
We knew this hike was "doomed" from the outset, setting out at dawn under a brooding sky with the Catalinas cloaked in an indigo blanket. But after six years in the Sonoran Desert, it's impossible to view a sudden rainstorm as "bad" weather. So off we went to explore the popular Marshall Gulch Trail at +8000 feet in Tucson's Santa Catalina Mountains.
![](https://www.desertlavender.com/southern-arizona/catalinas/images/marshall_gulch01.jpg)
I have avoided this area since 2003, when the Aspen Fire burned nearly 85,000 acres in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson. I was surprised to find that while there were plenty of blackened timbers, Ponderosa Pine still provide an impressive canopy and the forest floor is lush with new growth.
![](https://www.desertlavender.com/southern-arizona/catalinas/images/marshall_gulch02.jpg)
We wandered through waist-high summer wildflowers, including yellow columbine, Indian paintbrush, golden beard penstemon, common sunflowers and fleabane.
![](https://www.desertlavender.com/southern-arizona/catalinas/images/marshall_gulch03.jpg)
Mount Lemmon Drops - a trailside treat!
![](https://www.desertlavender.com/southern-arizona/catalinas/images/marshall_gulch04.jpg)
We followed Marshall Gulch Trail and then continued a couple of miles into Wilderness of Rocks. But as we dropped into Lemmon Canyon, a rain cloud rose up to meet us.
Our ponchos quickly soaked through, and with the temperature hovering around 60°, it was, well, almost COLD! Click the arrow above for a short video.
![](https://www.desertlavender.com/southern-arizona/catalinas/images/marshall_gulch05.jpg)
Back in Tucson and 98° heat, and waiting for a monsoon that can't quite get off the starting block, walking through a lush green forest in a gentle rain is one of the sweetest memories of this summer's adventures.
![](https://www.desertlavender.com/southern-arizona/catalinas/images/marshall_gulch06.jpg)
Lemmon Lookout, looking like a New England lighthouse in the fog.
P.S. Visitors to Mount Lemmon would be well-advised to pack a lunch. The only restaurant in Summerhaven has an $8.00 per person minimum (which is actually fairly easy to achieve with $7.50 for a cup of soup, $5.00 for a beer and a mandatory 18% tip).