Route: Mount Kimball (AZ)

Mount Kimball is one of the most prominent and accessible peaks along the Catalina skyline north of Tucson. For these reasons and because Finger Rock Canyon trail is so vertical and intense, Mount Kimball acts as Tucson's mountain running proving ground. Climbing the narrow rocky trail fast is one thing, but turning around and sending it back to Tucson is what makes this FKT so thrilling. By way of description, summitpost.org writes that "Mt. Kimball is one of the highest peaks along the southern front of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The Catalinas rise just north of Tucson, Arizona, and their forested summits often carry winter snow while far below, Tucson is warm. Like many of its neighbors, Mt. Kimball is a 'sky island' - its lower slopes are desert, and only as you climb higher do thicker vegetation and forests begin to appear. Although it does not present a forbidding face from most directions, Kimball still towers almost a vertical mile above Tucson and is a long, steep day trip for many hikers. The summit of Mt. Kimball also provides spectacular views into the heart of the Catalinas and of the surrounding southern Arizona desert."