Unheralded Mount Lemmon

COMPARATIVELY unheralded, yet possessing the qualities which will make it one of the Southwest's most attractive summer and winter sports resorts is Mount Lemmon, a towering peak in the Santa Catalina mountains at Tucson's front door. A fine new highway is now winding its way up the tortuous canyons of Mount Lemmon and soon it will be but a matter of minutes instead of hours to reach the lofty summit from the Old Pueblo.

Here the spicy air is ever cool and the deer bed down in lush fern-filled glens. Log cabins perch on banks of tumbling icy streams arising from springs on the high slopes.

New Highway Up Lofty Peak in Santa Catalinas

The trip to Summerhaven or Soldier Camp, the two resorts on the top of the Catalinas, is well worth the time spent, and a hike to the summit of either Lemmon or Bigelow gives one a view long to be remembered. Emerging from the forest of spruce, pine, hemlock and aspen through which one passes along the trails to the top, the whole Southwest is unfolded to view.

From the rangers' observation tower on Mount Bigelow can be seen the winding road over which the ascent was made, as it dips in and out of canyons. The fine details of the nearby trees, rocks and canyons fade slowly into a gigantic sweep of country in all directions, studded by mountains of varied shades and sizes. Foothills appear as mere lumps on the surface of a flat desert. To the north stretches San Pedro Valley and to the southwest one can distinguish Tucson, and perhaps a train creeping slowly across a broad rolling desert of lavender and rose.

The trip can be made in less than three hours, and the route is via Oracle and up the mountains from San Pedro Valley side. The road is fair all the way and traverses a wealth of sceneryclimaxed by the choice views from high points along the ridges. A control block system is effective over the most difficult part of the journey, a seven-mile stretch near the top. The control opens every three hours, beginning at 8 a. m. and cars are allowed an hour and a half to reach the upper control gate, which is at Summerhaven. During the summer months many business men spend their week ends in these resorts, regularly.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS SEPTEMBER, 1935.

When the short road to the top of Mount Lemmon is constructed, a road which is now being built by the federal government up the south slope of the range, the distance to the top will be cut in half and a great deal of additional recreational area on the south slope of the mountain will be made available to those seeking relief from the warm summer days in the valley.Many of the citizens of Tucson de manded a short all-year highway to the top of Mount Lemmon. To meet this demand two county bond issues have been attempted but both failed because the majority of the taxpayers felt that this project should be provided by the federal government who control the area. The U. S. Forestry Service would not undertake the Catalina Highway as that branch of the federal service had co-operated in building the present Mount Lemmon road. Reaching the resort area from the north side of the mountains via Oracle, this route is a controlled traffic highway built under low standards of highway construction, reaching Mount Lemmon, 72 miles from Tucson and only open from May until snow time.Catalina Highway appealed to the late General Frank H. Hitchcock and through his resourceful work in Wash ington, co-operation of the Bureau of Federal Prisons and the Bureau of Pub lic Roads was secured to set up a work project to build the long sought Catalina Highway. The Bureau of PubPublic Roads surveyed a route which would enable a highway of under six per cent grades, and wide curves. Following the survey, the Bureau assigned one of their best construction engineers, Mr. Woodman, to take charge of the construction.Two years ago a camp was estab lished by the Bureau of Federal Prisons and short term federal prisoners were assigned to the camp for work under a project experiment. At first the prog ress of work was exceedingly slow as it was entirely a pick and shovel job. Cuts and fills with 85,000 cubic yards of rock are work for air drills and steam shovels. Continual efforts of General Hitchcock assisted by the Bureau of Public Roads, secured some limited road building equipment and greater progress has been made on the Catalina High-

SEPTEMBER, 1935. ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

way. The project was estimated as a five year program. The results of the work camp have proven very satisfactory to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and it is possible that the Bureau of Public Roads may find ways and means of furnishing additional road building equipment and the road will be opened to travel before 1938.

The Catalina Highway when completed will develop the Mount Lemmon area into a summer haven for the people of Southern Arizona. As an all year highway it will also open the Mount Lemmon area to winter sports.

Prof. J. G. Lemmon and Mrs. Lemmon, on a honeymoon trip in March, 1881, attempted to scale the Catalina Mountains from the south but after two weeks' futile efforts in which three separate routes were tried, they returned to Tucson.

They were noted botanists from Oakland, California, and were interested primarily in securing botanical specimen from the summit as well as on the sides of the mountain.

After a brief rest they then took the route to Oracle by stage, then some forty miles from Tucson and from Oracle packed into the Stratton ranch by burro. Here the services of E. O. Stratton were secured to lead them to the summit. At Summerhaven, they encountered two hunters, a Mr. Carter and William Reed. As the hunters were out of provisions, Stratton proceeded to fill the larder by shooting ten deer with eleven bullets and one deer had two bullets in him. The deer were so unused to man that to kill them was an easy achievement by Stratton who was an expert shot. None of the meat was wasted, however, for the hunters kept some and the rest was taken back to the ranch on the return journey.

The highest point was soon reached and in honor of Mrs. J. G. Lemmon, the first white woman visitor to its summit, it was called Mount Lemmon. It was so designated on a map prepared by Mr. Roskruge of Pima county in 1904. Twenty-five years later the Lemmons returned to visit the mountain on their silver anniversary.

The record of who and when the first white man visited the summit has never been discovered and undoubtedly both Mr. Stratton and the hunters mentioned had been there previously as Mr. Stratton very definitely says in his personal reminiscences that Mrs. Lemmon was the first white woman to reach the top.

About halfway on the present road to Mount Lemmon is Oracle, at an elevation of 4,500 feet, nestled in oak-covered foothills overlooking two great valleys. Cool in the summer months and moderate in the winter it is well adapted to pleasant living the year around and is easily reached from Tucson, 36 miles away. Merely follow U. S. highway 80 north from Tucson for 25 miles then turn to the right.

Scenic beauty, with grotesque rock formations, make the visit there more enjoyable. There are hotels and good restaurants there, where one may obtain meals and lodging if desired.

At Oracle is located the Home of the Arizona Grand Lodge, F. & A. M., the land and buildings which make up this home having been given to the Grand Lodge for that purpose. This Home is used for tuberculars who are members of the Masonic lodge, or are members of families of Masons.

Oracle is also the headquarters and postoffice for two of the better-class "dude ranches," whose guests add materially to the population of the popular resort. Heretofore, Oracle has been mainly a summer resort, but with the location here of the dude ranches, it is fast becoming a winter resort also. Stages run regularly between Tucson and the hamlet.