On a pleasant day in August, seventeen hikers gathered on top of Mount Lemmon, outside of Tucson, for an agreeable excursion through the woodlands. The weather forecast called for thunderstorms likely, but we never felt a raindrop or heard a thunderclap the entire day.

We started at the Mint Spring trailhead at the end of Carter Canyon Road. This took us up and over some hills with lush vegetation. Some of the trail was a bit wet from recent rainfall, but nothing to worry about. There were mushrooms, ferns, and wildflowers growing abundantly along the way.

After about 1.7 miles we reached Marshall Saddle, a crossroads of several trails. Per plan we took the Marshall Gulch trail downhill through a valley with flowing water. We crossed the creek several times along the way, making our way to the picnic area at the bottom. Here we stopped for a bite to eat and a short rest before we set out again.

After relaxing for a bit, we continued our trek. This time we took the Aspen trail which led uphill, giving us great views of the granite boulders in the surrounding valleys. There was ample evidence along the way of the Aspen wildfire that had burned large portions of the region in 2003. The forest is slowly recovering from this devastation.

After a fair amount of climbing we made our way back around to the Marshall Saddle. We stopped here for a short break while some explored and climbed on the large boulders nearby. Then we set out on the Mint Spring trail again, finally arriving back at our cars.

Afterwards we all stopped at the Sawmill Run Restaurant in the nearby town of Summerhaven to have a meal and reminisce about the hike. Then we headed back home.